Like being in a tree house

A goal for renovating Casa de Roo has been to get daily moments of, “it feels like we are on vacation!” One feature in particular has required quite a bit of tweaking to provide opportunities for chllin’ out. Amazing how much work it has taken to turn the screen porch into a place where we can relax (and we have a few more steps to go).

Before: A view of our structurally unsound deck
from our neighbor’s deck on June 14, 2008.

After: View of the screen porch from the same
vantage point on July 5, 2009. The peak over the
porch balances the peak over the front door.

On April 24, we took the screen porch apart again. In March 2009, we removed view-blocking support posts that had been in the architectural drawing, but were structurally unnecessary.

Screen porch on March 8 (left) and March 28, 2009.

Screen porch parts on April 24, 2010.

This time, it was to rip out perfectly installed quarter-round pine trim from around the screens because it began turning black. After removing the screens, we cleaned, repainted the existing white trim and then put the screens back in, this time using PVC trim from Lowe’s.

We added a Cocktail Ledge, also made from white PVC.

After giving the room a good scrubbing to remove layers of yellow tree pollen, it was time to build the daybed Matt and I considered a “must have” since a December 2007 trip to the Bahamas.

Lounging around in our bungalow on Andros Island.

We had discussed the design many times since and determined it should be clad in cedar, to match our privacy walls, hot tub and deck skirting.

The daybed project takes shape on May 1, 2010.

As seems to be the case with all our projects, building the daybed took longer, featured some rework and required more materials than we expected. For example, we didn’t have quite enough cedar. Luckily, we had some wide-plank slag rejects from our deck skirting-with-barn-door project, which we used for cushion slats.

To get the rest of the materials needed to complete the build on May 2, we made a post-Saturday-night-out run to both Home Depot and Lowe’s. Other steps included long sessions of sanding, as the clear cedar boards we had ordered specifically for the project were slag, too. Dirty. Gouged. Strap-marked. Written upon. Then we topped the back and arm rest with the same PVC used for the Cocktail Ledge we added to the front of the screen porch.

At last, it was time for the finishing touches. First in place are the luxurious parrot green custom cushions that arrived on April 13 from OutdoorFabrics.com, topped by five outdoor pillows featuring sea life images by Thomas Paul that we purchased from Semplice Home in Montclair. (An ad in NJ My Way reminded me about the store I’d enjoyed way back in our Bloomfield days, and a lovely e-mail exchange with co-owner Kelly made me believe it was worth the April 11 trip.)

The daybed structure is complete on May 2, 2010.

On May 5, we moved all those cushions back inside so I could apply the first layer of tung oil. “No problem,” I assured Matt over coffee, “I can get this done before we need to pick up David at 10 a.m. and head to Philadelphia for the communicator’s conference.” Yeah, right: No problem. It was a turbo-driven tung oil application session.

A second tung oil session started before 7 a.m.
on Friday, May 7, 2010, a so-called “vacation day.”

That Friday, I applied two more coats, keeping my eye on the clock: we needed at least 16 hours of curing time before we could set the bed back up so it looked nice for our guests on May 8. Whew! The wood was dry just before Jean and Jennifer arrived with other family members and respective girlfriends for the combo Mother’s Day / Birthday party we were hosting last Saturday.

Finally, after work on May 13, I got to lounge on the fruits of our labor. Matt was playing softball, so I grabbed a magazine and plunked myself down on the daybed at dusk. Birds of many feathers were chirping all around me; it felt like relaxing in a tree house.

At 8:07 p.m. on Thursday, May 13, 2010.

Yesterday, I gave the tung oil finish a quick buffing with my new power tool, to smooth out a few lingering drips. Time at last for an easy project: installing outdoor FLOR® carpet tiles by Interface.

I’d wanted to use this environmentally responsible company’s carpet since the first time I heard their founder speak in September 2006. I saw another Ray Anderson presentation in September 2009, and even got him to autograph his book.

OK, OK… eco-cred aside, we choose this product because it ended up presenting the best design solution we could find. What a joy the carpet tiles are to work with—and so soft under my bare feet!

My goal for this week is to spend some time lolling around in the screen porch.