Street Side Porch | One Room Challenge Week 1

Hooray! It is One Room Challenge time again! I would specify that this is the spring One Room Challenge, but Mother Nature is playing a cruel, cruel joke on us. The snow flurries are back, and it’s a balmy 25°F outside this morning.

If you are visiting the BHH blog for the first time via the One Room Challenge link-up, welcome! Blake Hill House was built in the early 1880s. We have lived here for almost four years, and we have been steadily repairing and respectfully renovating this big old house. I invite you to take a look at our past posts and the Meet Stacy (That’s me.) page, to see all of our work and to get acquainted with BHH.

This is our fifth ORC. It is hard to believe. You will find links to our past ORC projects at the bottom of this post. Now, let’s get to it. After all, we only have five weeks left to make this happen. The room I am restoring and renovating for the 2018 Spring (ha!) One Room Challenge is,

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The Street Side Porch

This photo of BHH was taken last July.

To clarify, I will be working on the inside of the street side porch. Let’s take a look.

The Scary Interior

After three summers of painting, BHH finally looks gorgeous in Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore. However, one step past that bright red door, and it’s a different story altogether.

What is happening here?

To save money, we told the painters that we would take care of this porch three years ago. However, the more I got into it, the more problems I found, so I abandoned the project altogether.

We use this porch every day, and it is such a sad entry into the house, especially since the exterior of BHH looks so inviting now. The condition of this porch is unacceptable.

View from the inside hall

Problems? We’ve got those.

The obvious issue is that the color of the porch no longer matches the rest of the house. So, that will need to be fixed. The other problems are as follows:

As shown above, the floorboards are worn, and some are rotten.

Our doorbell button is broken.

The light fixture is outdated, and it does not fit with the style of the house.

There is a ton of mildew on the walls.

And there is this situation:

Yuck!

The porch door is rotting at the bottom because it fits improperly in the jamb, and it is an interior door.

Lastly, this porch is a disorganized mess which is a most unwelcoming sight.

Millie, peeking out the front door, softens the blow.

The Plan

Right now, the plan is very vague. I know, I know. That doesn’t seem to bode well for this project, right? However, if you have followed this blog for a while, you know you can trust me to pull this whole thing together in time. I should add that I am recovering from a stress fracture in my left leg and a bum finger. The timing of my injuries is less than ideal.

All that aside, the main reason that the entire plan is uncertain is that I do not know if I can repair the porch floor or if I will have to replace it altogether. There is a considerable cost difference between the two, and the rest of the project is dependant on keeping expenses reigned in. I am in the midst of researching so that I will have a better idea next week.

The Suprise

Now, if you watched my IG story yesterday, I promised a surprise. While I was taking photos for this post, I found a little something. The photo below shows the view from the hall adjacent to the street side porch. A long time ago, I noticed that there was a significant gap above the door and below the trim. I just figured that the original door must have been much taller.

For some reason, I never considered inspecting that view from the porch side. Yesterday, when I finally took a hard look, this is what I found.

Do you see what I see? Old house lovers, I bet you do! That gap is a space where there might be a transom window, and if so, it is possible that it is still there between the interior and exterior panels. No question, I’m opening that baby up, and together, we will all find out what is hiding behind there. Everyone cross your fingers. An original transom window would add so much character to the street side front porch.

This space has great bones, and I cannot wait to have a beautiful porch entry into BHH. Please visit the new One Room Challenge website to follow the projects of the talented featured designers and guest participants too. I predict an inspiring, creative, and fun-filled season.

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PS: Here are the links to our past ORC projects:
Breakfast Nook | Library | Dining Room | Kitchen Pantry