Porch Dreams Really Do Come True!

Hello lovelies! it is a dreary, rainy day here in Washington, DC. Perhaps a little foreshadowing of the week ahead? Sigh. We'll leave politics aside.....instead I am dreaming of sunny, summer days and longing for some porch time. You know that feeling when you've been at the beach all day and you come back to the house, take a shower, throw on a summer dress, grab a cocktail and find a comfy place on a porch to just stare at the water and enjoy the breeze? Ahhh....I call that porch dreaming. How's that for specific? It's truly my happy place and I'd give just about anything to be there right now.

My love for porches comes from the porch around my grandparent's oceanfront house in Gloucester, MA. I have so many great memories sitting out there every night, wrapped in blankets, listening to the adults talk and the waves crash. Those years sealed my love of porches for the rest of my life. Check out some pictures of the house known as Fiddler's Green. I know, I know...I was a lucky kid to spend holidays and summers at this place. I so wish it was still in our family!

So of course, when we were renovating our house three years ago...I desperately wanted to add a front porch. Not that our view, a few miles from downtown DC, is anything even close to oceanfront, but the idea of sitting and watching the kids play in our (small) front yard, and having porch parties with friends, was important to us. And let's face it, our boring Colonial needed a little punch. Even though we couldn't afford to put it on during the main construction phase, our architect drew up the plans for us and we loved it. Here's the virtual design.

And drum roll, here is how it turned out....

We absolutely love it! It was completed last spring and of all the building projects we've done, this was by far the easiest. Three weeks from start to finish. Well...that was after two years of saving the money we needed to do it, a ridiculously lengthy and complicated permitting process that took 10 months to complete and then three weeks of construction. But who's counting right? Here are few more shots. 

To save some moola, we decided to have them put fieldstone over the existing concrete path and steps. This saved us several thousand dollars over ripping the whole thing out and starting over. And it looks pretty good!

We also landscaped the yard ourselves - again to save some money (noticing a theme here?). 

The best part about the porch, other than sitting on it and drinking a lot of wine, has been decorating it for holidays.

Fourth Of July 

Halloween 

                  

Christmas

So there you have it! Our porch is a favorite spot and makes the house feel bigger. Is it a gorgeous, wrap around porch overlooking the Atlantic Ocean? Ok...maybe not. But it is a place to just sit and contemplate the state of our nation. HA HA HA....just kidding!