SHOW + TELL MORNING PORCH

Okay, I thought I'd shock you with another of my lovely Before and After Show House rooms.

I'll start off with an After photo so you won't be too frightened to read further. You can click on this one to get a closer look. Now here's a couple Before's:

This Show House was all the way back in 1999. I was told by some of the other designers that if they had been given this room to makeover they would've shot themselves. Okay...thanks, I actually picked this. It was a long, narrow space that more resembled a bowling alley. It was a boarded up porch on the back side of a neglected mansion. While I scratched my head and wondered what I'd gotten myself into, my husband Tim went outside to investigate. As he tredged around he tripped on some wrought iron that was buried in overgrown ivy and weeds. To our amazement, someone had unscrewed and pushed the original wrought iron railings over the hillside before boarding up the back of the house. The railings were rusted and in sad shape, but after huge amounts of loving care, they were restored to their former glory. And I was able to locate a wedding photo of someone who had actually lived, got married and threw her bouquet off the very porch of this mansion quite a few years earlier.

This is what the porch looked like from the outside before I started the restoration process. I'm just sorry I can't find an After picture. It was beautiful. I had the 3 outside walls removed, replaced the restored decorative iron railing, and not only added screens, but had a remote control, retractable awning installed and topped it off with plantation shutter doors on the inside. So awesome, since the St Margaret's Guild Decorator Show House starts in a usually very chilly and rainy April.

I hand painted the floor and trim just below the ceiling, and hand made and painted 2 privacy screens. I used an antique french daybed, vintage wicker and planter full of greenery and flowers. There were so many details that can't be seen from these angles, but it really did turn out nicely for the time. I won the Maggie's Award which is given each year to one designer (interior and landscape) who goes above and beyond the "call of duty". I also got 2nd Place People's Choice Award. The Indianapolis Star did a huge write-up and I was interviewed on TV. Good thing it was way too early in the morning, so if I said "um" or "absolutely" too many times anyone up wasn't really awake yet.

This Before and After journaling is a great way for me to take a walk down memory lane.