Sunday, August 7, 2011

Pretty Vintage Porches


I worked on the design of this cute, vintage home located in a historic area of Houston a few years ago.  It had been damaged by fire and water, the fire having been caused by old electrical wiring.  The home was over 100 years old, so lots of work had to be done to update it as well as correct problems like leveling the floors, new wiring and plumbing, etc.  Finally finished for a young family, it has a cheery facade and adds value to the neighborhood.

Part of the appeal of this home are the porches.  It was so much fun to work on an exterior, something I don't do every day, but as part of being the resident aesthetician (see previous post), I became involved. 

When the homeowners came to me about this project, they showed me their exterior paint color selections and said they were happy with them. They were basically much brighter versions of what we finally did.  Think school bus yellow and baby blue. We had so much to do and since painting the exterior was about the last thing in the process, I let that slide and we forged ahead to work on kitchen, bathrooms, etc. When we finally got to the exterior, I was excited to be able have input on mouldings, trim, railings, door and window selections, and paint! 

They wanted a yellow house and I thought it was very appropriate for this type of home and this neighborhood, but we had to tone down the schoolbus color.  Then we added some punctuation and seriousness with the dark blue/gray for the trim and lighter blue/gray for the porch.  It was quite an involved process placing just the right paint colors on just the right features or mouldings. 

The railings were designed, scaled, and detailed for the contractor.



We made some decisions on site.  (See the paint samples on the wall?)



Before photo of the back porch balcony.



Back screened porch - Before



My details of the back screened porch.



Back screened porch - After

It was a long process, (there was a hurricane in the middle of all this!) but I think it turned out to be a happy looking house with some nice vintage appeal.  I think we brought the house to the place it should be. It was really a unique project for my portfolio and one I am very proud to have been involved with.

"After" photos by Miro Dvorscak.


Linking to:

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

20 comments:

Splendid Sass said...

Oh wow, Carla. What a difference. Just gorgeous.
Hope that you are having a great weekend.
Teresa
xoxo

Anonymous said...

fun project, indeed..and I would think the homeowner's are very glad they had you involved in the process..they got a very nice paint color in the end and it's still a good yellow just not as bright..toning it down a bit allows it to tie into the neighborhood a little better...
best,
maureen

Donna said...

Absolutely beautiful Carla! That is some project. What is the name of that yellow? I love the color but my HOA would have a fit. Did you have that color approved by Historic board? Excellent job :-)

Mona Thompson Providence Ltd. said...

Fabulous and everyone loves a screened porch. This will be their favorite spot forever.

Kathysue said...

carla this is gorgeous and I would not change a thing, it is perfection. I love a yellow house and the trim work and porch railings are spectacular, kathysue

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

FAB! Love this happy inducing porch!

under spanish moss said...

Wow, what a big difference. We love the railing so beautiful. The homeowner must be so happy! There's nothing like a great porch. XO Angela and Renee

Belle said...

Nicely done trim work and porch railings. Loved the color too! Check out also 3D Rendering

Marivic said...

Yellow is my favorite color and this house looks fabulous! A perfect toned down butter yellow!

Kellie Collis said...

What a lovely home! Very well done! Have a gorgeous day, Kellie xx

Karen said...

Aren't historic homes fabulous! I really like the way you gave this old home a fresh look. I'd love to spend a lazy afternoon on that sunny porch.

Vintage Rose said...

Porch is beautiful (front and back)! My husband and I are soon to add a porch to the front of our home. We can't decide on a design.

style-for-style said...

what?!?!?! that is amazing, I'm inspired

quintessence said...

You did a great job on this house - I just adore the porches - what a dramatic improvement!1

Mary Ann Pickett said...

LOVE it. Very charming.

Deb's mind said...

Stunning!! I love the historical reference. It is truly stunning.

Princess Kate said...

So glad you were next to me on the party over at Between Naps on the Porch because you are my new favorite blog. This is so beautiful. Love your work. Wish you lived closer to me.

Princess Kate said...

I am so glad that I was next to you over at Between Naps on the Porch because you are my new favorite blog. Love your style. Wish you lived closer.

Heaven's Walk said...

Holy cow, Carla! You are truly one talented lady! What a stunning transformation! LOVE it!

xoox laurie

Tammy @ A Walk in the Countryside said...

Super job! It looks great! My husband is wanting to add an upstairs balcony to our house but I keep putting him off. I love them but don't want to jump into such a big job right now!

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