SPACES-JUNE 2007

Photography Brian Vanden Brink

Exceptional porches that extend the home

Before the distraction of radio and television arrived, the porch was once the center of a New England family’s social life during the summer months. While the front porch kept the family connected to their neighbors and the comings-and-goings on their street, the back porch offered a more private extension of the home’s interior. More than ever, today’s porches encourage us to set aside time for the luxury of leisure. A porch with a wide sweep of decking below and a high ceiling above almost urges us to laze in the sun with a book, or when night falls, to gather friends together for a summer evening of wine and conversation. And when a porch is built for the view, all it asks of you is to simply stand at the handrail, absolutely rapt by the beauty before you. The renowned architect Wallace Harrison designed this rooftop porch, and the intricate spiral staircase leading to it, for Nelson Rockefeller’s home in Seal Harbor; Harrison is revered for his design of the Metropolitan Opera House at New York City’s Lincoln Center and the United Nations headquarters. Blue Hill Residence Elliot Elliot Norelius Architecture Atlantic Builders Pemaquid Harbor Residence John Morris Architects Boothbay Home Builders