The Entrance

Darlings,

it’s been a winter unlike any previous ones with me having returned to work with a bright and joy-filled school girl and a terrible-two-symptomed little rosebud to look after in the mornings, afternoons and evenings. Even though the big work on the New Home was finished six months ago, the darkness and the short evenings that came with it made us accept the fact that in our climate it’s best to stick to routines and try and have some rest until the sun comes back out again.

And, as is the tendency, the sun came out and the days were suddenly longer and warmer and we could have the doors and windows open so we could open a can of paint.

So this is the front porch. The house is from 1925 and back in the day there was no electrical heating, only the stoves where you burned wood, so in the Finnish winters it was essential to block the cold air outside with as many doors as possible. And reasonable. There used to be a window there on the wall to the left, but it was blocked with unpainted pine board a few decades back. A heat saver, that, as well.

We thought about re-opening the window, but decided not to, for the time being. I had a revelation some time ago: fixing up an old house is a job that will never be finished. So maybe one day, when we’re just too bored to enjoy a day of peace and quiet, we’ll order a made-to-measure double-glazed window and pick up a chainsaw and start working on it, but not just yet.

What Husband did, however, with the help from my Bonus Daughter, was paint the old pinewood wall. The whole entrance is now much more airy and perhaps will stay tidier now as it is just sooo cute!

I stuck some self-adhesive Tiffany-patterned film on the glasses on the innermost doors. The pattern initially reminded me of an aunt’s apartment and the painting on the door of our arts class back when I was a teenager (I can still catch the smell!), so good vibes just flew in. Actually I covered the first glass months ago, but now with the lighter paint only had the guts to cover the other one too. If it begins to feel too dark in the hallway I’ll just tear the other one off again.

To the right of the front door there are three melamine doors behind which there are shelves full of shoes. And in the corner there are pegs for rain and jogging gear and some shelves with boxes for miscellaneous stuff.

And yes, the dartboard. It will probably go when we change the front door.