Inching Along
The west dining room window after being reglazed.
And after being painted. All the restored windows at the Cross House have obsessively precise edges where glass meets paint. This delights me. And I adore adore adore black sashes.
And the whole corner looks a bit better than it did.
I love seeing the dining room crystal chandelier. I light it whenever I am in the house, and two different passersby’s told me how much they enjoy seeing its beauty as they walk by!
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It’s beautiful. Sigh!
The porch is truly gorgeous. But this has me wondering, why were the railings so low back then? They don’t seem functional, maybe they would keep a small dog from falling off the porch, but not much else. Perhaps they are low to present an illusion of height and exaggerated size?
According to this article: “The top of your porch railing should never be higher than the top of the window sill”. A lot of the article is about building codes, but he does discuss the aesthetic reasoning behind lower railings, and also includes photo examples of good and bad railings.
Interesting read. I am in the process of re-doing my porch. I may now change some details. Glad I read this!
Jet, I was born in 1951, so I was growing up around those railings. Surprisingly, no one thought about it because porch railings were DECORATIONS back then…and nothing more. They were not a safety concern simply because Mom didn’t think of letting you out of the house without her…or a companion like the neighbor kids. We played in the back yard where Mom could see you. Under the tree, playing house, playing cowboys, jumping rope, or eating the fruit off the vines or trees. Railings were to sit on with your foot on the porch…when Mom was resting in the breeze. The front porch was an extension of the living room, so kids didn’t play there unless a parent was there.
It wasn’t until the mid 70s (I think) that it became a safety concern. That’s when people began to think of railings as a safety feature. Even so, it was a concern for apartment dwellers, not home owners. Tumbling off the porch was a minor affair like falling off your bike. But a second floor? That’s when it became dangerous. I remember news stories about kids falling and THAT’S when codes were changed.
That was fun, Dodi! Thanks for that trip back in time!
Thank you for the information!
It’s starting to look so much like a HOME. For some reason the second and fourth pictures had me seeing a Christmas dinner party being started and people arriving at the side door and getting a sneak peek of the cheery, warm wonders inside through the gorgeous window. It looks like the perfect place to go to get out of the cold.
Incredibly gorgeous, all of it!
My goodness, Ross…that looks fantastic!
Ross, you have done so much excellent work all over the house, but more than anything, this window is my aaaaahhhh moment.
I love the north porch! There are so many great features. From the curved steps, to all the beautiful windows, to the door with original hardware, to the railing, there is so much to love in such a relatively small area.
Fantastic work but…….not a fan of the blinds. The cloth strap connecting the slats is too big! It almost looks to be part of the window. Changes the whole look. Just my opinion! You do wonderful work!
I feel the same about the blinds. It clashes with the nice black sashes.
Some time ago I even mistook the straps from far away as bars against burglars…
In person, the blinds read as blinds.
And, the width of the cloth strap is the traditional width for such blinds.
Oh, I would like to offer a sincere apology for what I said.
(As much as I understand the sentence I have very upset you. I will hold back such comments furthermore. It’s just not my mothertongue. I learned English from the age of 11 onwards at school.)(It`s not the blinds itself, it`s just the light colour of the straps shining out. It might be nicer to have the backsides of the straps dyed, in case there was a chance.)
Hi again, Meike!
No apology necessary!
I was not upset. My response was intended as an explanation.
And please never hold back your thoughts. I am OK with differing views!
Das ist ganz richtig. Amerikaner nehmen Vergehen nicht und halten Groll leicht.
To Michael Bazikos:
That’s a problem for Germans in communication. 😉 We likely don’t recognize when we’ve offended someone (because he is still so friendly and polite…) We are accustomed to tell things straightforward…
Sie werden immer wissen, wo Sie mit einem Deutschen stehen, nicht wahr?
I adore your blinds
I love the blinds; my great-grandmother’s house was built in the 1890s, and when I spent time there in the 60s and 70s, it was still decorated in styles ranging from when it was first built up to the late 30s. She had these wide venetian blinds in every window, and although her house was white, she had shiny black sashes. She took great pride in clean windows, and was caught on a ladder cleaning one when she was nearly 90 🙂 . I have spent every spare hour for the past month reglazing my old windows, and hope to get at least a few of them painted before freezing weather.
My husband doesn’t understand my passion for our giant sparkly chandelier. I always turn it ON, and he always turns it OFF!
Well, you should switch your husband for me! A kindred sparkly spirit.
Compromise: get a dimmer switch! 🙂