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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

The Steel Drum Band Porch


The Steel Drum Band Porch


Many years ago, in a life far, far away, I lived in a 100+ year old home.  It was a great home.  It had many of the problems you can have with an old house, but we (x-wife and I) had put in a lot of sweat equity in fixing it up.  It was a block away from Main Street in a nice little town, and a block away from the train station which gave me a sweet commute to the city.

The first thing I did to this house was knock out a door and windows in the enclosed front porch, and restored it to the original open air porch that the builder in 1904 intended.

I loved that front porch and spent many hours on it.  The house was on a slight hill and far enough from the sidewalk that I could observe what was going on in the neighborhood without feeling the need to wave and say hello to everyone who passed by.

One year, after a weekend visit to Cape May, I had a brilliant idea.  Cape May is an old Jersey Shore town known for its beautiful old Victorian houses.  These houses are all painted very colorfully.  I thought “I live in an old house; I bet it would look beautiful if I painted it colorfully.” It did not occur to me that the multiple color thing really only works for old Victorian houses, not just old houses.

I painted the inside of the porch a lime green.  The floor was already a British Racing green; I painted the ceiling a light red.  The porch had four large openings with classic arches where I blew out the crappy windows and a large arched opening where I blew out the crappy front door when I restored the porch to its original glory.  I painted the inside of all those arches a dark maroon.

It took me all day on a Saturday to complete this masterful paint job.  When I was done I assumed it was very popular as I noticed many cars slow down and gaze at my porch.

My across-the-street neighbor “Big John” (an x-European League basketball player) crossed over to get a closer look.

Hey Big John, what do you think?  I’m going for a Victorian look.”

“Nice, nice…very unique.  Every time I look at it from my house I hear a Caribbean steel drum band in my head!”

It took me all day and two coats of white paint on Sunday to cover what I painted on Saturday.

17 comments:

  1. You painted an entire porch in one day? Good going! What a shame to then make it white. You should have researched the general colour schemes from the era the house was built. that could have looked really good. Much more betterer.

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  2. I actually like Caribbean steel drum bands...as soon as the rum kicks in. :)

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  3. LOL, it would have been unique for sure if you kept it the original colors you painted it. I do like steel drum bands, not often, but occasionally :)

    That house sounded like a cool one too!

    betty

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  4. Sometimes you just have to experiment, don't you?

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  5. I've made quite a few curious color choices in my day. We have many old Victorians here in Portland and they do look great in those bold colors. My Mrs. C. loves the sound of those steep drums and loves hearing them when we're in the Caribbean.

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  6. Hey, I'd have loved it but then my interior walls are blaze orange and peach.

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  7. I can visualize your nice little NE town, as well as the porch job. We did interesting things when we were young, no?

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  8. Yep, you have to go with the neighborhood. Old house are pretty cool. I grew up in one that was over 100 years old. It's still standing too.

    Have a fabulous day Cranky. ☺

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  9. There are a couple of houses in town like that and they call them Painted Ladies. Beautiful! Oh yeah, my bedroom is Halloween and the kitchen is Banana, so I do love color. Have a great day, Cranky.

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  10. Oh my gosh this is too funny! I guess less is more in some cases! My hubby' s Chiro practice is in a Victorian house...it's light gray with red and white trim. Very Buckeye State colors I guess!

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  11. Once I was going to have a painter put a red 1 foot wide diagonal stripe on a white living room wall. My husband threatened a divorce so I chickened out!!

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  12. Ah, we all have an idea we think is swell but that turned out not to be quite as we thought it would. After My Dad died, i did some painting and other upkeep on his house in New Hampshire, prior to making it a rental property. I painted his old bedroom in bright blue with bright yellow trim. It wasn't until My Aunt said, "It looks like a Cub Scout troop exploded" that I realized it looked like... well, like a Cub Scout troop exploded. I spent another day repainting it in tan and white.

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  13. Oh, I would have kept it. And played steel drum music loudly. And drank rum copiously.

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  14. I admire your guts. When it comes to color and decorating, I'm a wuss. I think I lack a gene, because my sister laughs about how I dress (jeans or khakis and white shirts, all the time). When my husband and I had our first house built, the builder said he loved us. Whenever we had to make a choice about any kind of color, we always quickly said, "white" or "off-white" or "tan."

    I like steel drum music. And rum. And old houses, as long as someone else owns them.

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  15. This is why you guys can't be trusted to pick out your own clothes.

    I painted my 10-speed bike with stripes like a candy cane. Problem was, the can of paint that was labeled RED turned out orange when it dried. A lot of people slowed down to look at my bike. When I took it with me to college, I didn't even have to lock it up.

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