[haint] your porch

as we started to get settled into our new house, one item i wasn't a fan of was the color of the porch ceiling.  it was an odd shade of light blue which didn't match anything else on the house.  i couldn't wait to change it.

repainting the porch wasn't a high priority, but it was thinking of it as a future project.  like many things, when something is on your mind you tend to notice it in other places in your life more.  as i went through my normal day to day routine, i found myself paying more attention to porch ceilings on homes and restaurants and noticed most of them were this exact same shade of blue!  now i was intrigued.  asking around and talking to a few friends, i was told "it was a very new england thing to do."

this answer wasn't good enough for me. i wanted to know WHY this was a thing.

just like anyone in need of an answer, i turned to google.  a quick search turned up a several reasons for the light colored blue ceiling.  one explanation is that it's actually a color called [haint] blue.  painting your porch ceiling haint blue, which is derived from crushed indigo plants, is a tradition originating from the gullah geechee in the deep south and it's  meant to ward off ghosts and evil spirits.  other articles i found said light blue is used to confuse birds and insect.  this specific color makes critters think the porch is open to the sky, so they don't build nests, although there seemed to be no scientific evidence of this.  as far as a more regional explanation, i found that painting the porch ceiling a light blue was a cosmetic way to extend that sunny summer day feeling throughout the year, in a region that tends to have short summers and long grey winters. 

my research only took me so far and i was unable to determine if one of the traditions started before any of the others.  thankfully for me, the explanations i read were enough for me to fall in love with the color. maybe it was my years in architecture school, but it seems design choices based on reason always hold up better than those based on a whim.  i LOVE knowing there was some thought put into our porch ceiling and i fully intend to keep it. 

also, anything that wards off evil spirits and ghosts from your home seems like a plus.

a [house] of a different color

i think one of the first projects any new home owner tackles is painting, and we were no different.


the kitchen of the house we moved into was kind of a light peach and light green...almost sherbet like colors.  although not horrible, we felt it could use a fresh coat of...some other color.  wanting to go pretty bold we decided on blue.  i'm not sure if i'm just the victim of watching too many house hunting shows but blue and kitchens seem to be a thing.  i was nervous going with such a bold color but i felt the all white cabinets and appliances we currently now own, would help balance out the boldness.  i was also hoping to make the white trim pop.

as an architect, i've specified countless colors for rooms, but none of those were going in my own home.  i spent several hours researching blues and shades of blues to determine the best color.  even at the store i requested four different shades to try out on the wall, and to see how they looked in the different light that would hit the room.  finally after tormenting myself, we made the choice, "dyers woad" seemed to be the perfect mix of grey and blue.

my wife ans i spent the entire weekend taping, trimming and painting our new little kitchen. naturally during the course of the project, i kept needing new supplies, so i went from a couple of brushes and pans to the owner of several different brushes, cups, spackling paste, drywall sander, 5 in 1 painters tool, a goofy looking roller to get behind the radiator and a ladder.

in the end, just getting the project done felt good and it allowed us to unload several boxes and get the kitchen organized.  as much as i had researched the color i'm not thrilled with it.  i wish it would have turned out just a tad greyer, but it's a happy shade and my wife really likes it.  also it really did make the white trim pop.  more importantly than the actual color, there's something about a fresh coat of paint that makes a house feel more [yours].  maybe it's the covering of the old layer, or maybe it's the fact that it's a decision you made about the house, but our new [blue] kitchen made us feel more at home.

new flooring will probably make it seem like our home too... but that's later down the road.

 

 

duck, duck, [cheese]

i'm a fun of duck architecture.

if you're not familiar with the term "duck" architecture, it's basically any building that takes on the form of it's actual use.  a business that sells ice cream cones from a building that looks like an ice cream cone is an example of "duck" architecture. the term came about from two architects, robert venturi and denise scott brown, referencing a building in long island that sold ducks and duck eggs that was shaped like, you guessed it, a big duck.

for those of you who are curious, there is an opposite to "duck" architecture which is a "decorated shed;" a term for any generic building covered with sign on it, so you know what it's function is.  this is actually most of the buildings you see in the world. 

to me, that's why "duck" buildings are so entertaining; you don't see them a whole lot.  which is why if you're traveling in the car with me, and i spot a duck, we will for sure be turning around and stopping to take pictures of it.

now imagine my surprise when i found out there was a classic duck building not too far from portland.  it was a building that sold cheese, shaped like a giant wheel of cheese!

a company called "the cheese house" built several cheesy buildings in the new england area in the 1960's.  some have been bulldozed, some added onto, some remolded beyond recognition, but the one in wells, maine is still in pretty good shape, though it's now called "the cheese shop."

needles to say, on a recent trip back from boston, i pulled off the interstate, and made my wife take a 30 minute detour with me, to see a giant wheel of cheese.

now i'm not saying "the cheese shop" in wells, maine should be on anyone's architectural bucket list, but it is a building that will put a smile on your face...


which actually seems like a pretty good goal for any architect to have.

bbq and [besties]

another year older and another year celebrating with bbq.  i'm not complaining about either....

i entered 38 with a surprise gathering my wife planned at one of my favorite places to eat.  she knows too well some of my favorite things in life are well done burnt ends and good friends.  the only downfall was i was so busy chatting and catching up with everyone, i didn't have time to enjoy much bbq.  i did however snag a few smoked chicken wings from a friend which have know entered my top five all time best wings i've ever had in my life.

much like the wings i have a feeling 38 is going to be one of the best years of my life.

snow [bowl]

as i’ve written about before, to get through a maine winter one must find themselves a hobby or three.  one that i’ve taken up is bowling.  it’s on an architecture, engineering, construction bowling league but it's a bowling league nonetheless.  the season goes from january  through march which takes a nice, healthy bite out of the winter months.  it’s not so much about bowling as it is about networking, making friends and doing something, anything, to get out of hibernating in your house for a few precious hours. 

i joined a team that had recently taken last-place in the league.   however this year we had a few new people join the team who seemed to be pretty good.  as the season went on we find ourselves getting more and more competitive. by some miracle, we snuck into the semi finals by a half a game.  by  yet another miracle we beat the dominant number one team to make it to the finals.  during the final game we kept her cool against a construction team who had won before.  at the end the night we came out the winners. 

i’m no athlete. in my life there have been very few teams i’ve been on let alone on teams who have won a championships.  we did get a trophy recognizing our teams accomplishment this season, but all in all the best prize was making new friends and strengthening those relationships with friends i already had. 

...that and having something to do during this long, dark, bitter cold and miserable season we call winter here in maine.

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