Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Memories from a Porch Swing

We often idolize our parents, but perhaps our grandparents even more so. One of my best memories from childhood is the time I spent with my grandfather on his porch swing. My grandpa and I spent many evenings watching the traffic go by. We would each choose a direction of travel, and make a contest out of counting the cars as they sped by. He always knew the direction most vehicles would be traveling, and picked the opposite so I would win. I remember he would often be sipping a cup of coffee and humming a tune, while I rubbed the belly of his old dog with my foot as we swung.

Those types of memories aren’t created just anywhere. My grandfather’s porch swing was a place of bonding, relaxation and seclusion from all the hectic disruptions of life. Now that I have my own family, I realize he probably treasured the time on that porch swing with me, even more than I do the memories today.

A great trend with many new home builders is to give more focus on outdoor living spaces. Bigger wrap-around porches and features like exterior fireplaces on a porch are becoming more common. On upper-end homes, outdoor kitchens grow to be a center of attention for family gatherings. The opportunities to create great outdoor living areas are only hindered by the imagination and one’s budget.

There are also very practical reasons to design a home with more porch area. The sun and rain are two major enemies of a home, and a porch helps protect the exterior walls, and doors and windows; whether it be log or conventional. A log home uses stain to help protect the logs, which in turn requires it be re-stained every so often. A porch further protects the stain, so the added expense of re-applying stain again comes much later. On homes featuring large porch areas the energy savings can be substantial, offering a “Green” advantage as well. Finally, and possibly most importantly, a porch is a great place to create long-lasting memories for you, your children and grandchildren. Whether the porch on your log home is simple and classic, or has a built in kitchen and hot tub, just remember to hang that porch swing!

Josh Beasley
Honest Abe Log Homes, Inc.

If you would like to receive information on our log homes, visit: http://www.honestabe.com/info/