PLAYING WITH A FULL DECK
Welcome to a wrap-up feature on some of things happening with the "PrairieMod-ification" of the Little Red House. Big changes are on the horizon, but before you embark on a run-down of what's been happening, feel free to catch-up on the back story of this tiny Mid-century Modern abode by checking out the link to my previous column series, "PrairieMod Monday."
So what's happening? Our deck(s) are getting a much-needed overhaul!
As past readers may remember, when we moved into the house, there were 4 entry doors! An entry at the front of the enclosed carport, an entry from the side deck into the dining room, an entry off the front deck into the living room (which used to be the home’s original front door), and an entry at the back of the enclosed carport near the garage. After this past winter, we had to replace some of the drafty doors in our main living room due to the cold winter air that would come pouring into our combined living/dining/kitchen great room area. We replaced the door off the dining room (and its leaky picture window) with a new energy efficient sliding glass door, allowing us to maintain access to the side deck. We then decided to complete our "window wall" effect in the living room, which meant taking out what used to be the original front door to the house and replacing it with a new window. It looked great; however, it took away the main access point to our front deck, which left us with a unique design challenge. Looking for a solution using the 10 PrairieMod Principles, we figured out a way to "Integrate and Unify" our side and front decks.
Our idea was to extend the front deck and marry it up with the side yard deck, putting a hidden passageway in the privacy wall (which currently separates the two), thus linking the two decks together. With both decks connected into a single unified area, we’ll be able to enjoy both areas in ways we couldn’t have before. And because our home is small and cozy, it will help to utilize our deck spaces as an extension of the house, giving us a fantastic, functional area to use for entertaining our family and friends. Plus, if we want a more intimate entertaining area, we can close off the built-in passageway and use just one of the decks. Flexibility coupled with function is a great combination that will transform a previously underused part of our home into a new and wonderful strength.
With all of these ideas in mind, we sought out someone who could help us realize our plan. Nathan McBride, of McBride Company, is a true craftsman who totally understood our vision for this deck project. He also made some great suggestions as to how we could salvage some of the pre-existing deck materials, continue our built-in flower box motif, and find a solution that would save our evergreen shrubs by including them into the overall design. I especially loved this last suggestion because it’s exactly the sort of thinking that Frank Lloyd Wright would employ. In order to save living trees, he integrated them into several of his designs, such as Fallingwater, the Curtis Meyer House, and the Isabel Roberts House – to name a few. Not to mention, having the evergreen shrubs growing through specially built areas in the deck will make a really cool visual effect! The icing on the cake was when Nathan suggested some Usonian touches to the siding, preserving and emphasizing a more horizontal nature for the design. As you can imagine, that was music to my ears!
With the ideas for the project in place, Nathan put together the plans for how the two decks would ultimately be brought together. Here are the drawings he executed:
We can’t wait to get started. I'll be documenting the progress on this project (and the rest of what happens around the Little Red House) in our weekly "Living PrairieMod" newsletter, so be sure to subscribe here. And don’t forget to meet me back here from time-to-time to see other wrap-up features with plenty of photos and much more! In the mean time, if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to drop me a line. Until next time! pm
Images copyright PrairieMod
Eric O'Malley is a co-founder and contributor to PrairieMod. He lives in the Little Red House, a Mid-Century Modern ranch in suburban Chicago. You can email him at eric@prairiemod.com
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