Friday, April 2, 2010

spring day dreams...over the top

for now the spring rains have stopped, the bulbs are starting to bloom and the temps are warming up (slightly).

and my spring day dreams have started...

our home is a 1970's ranch,  if we added a second floor,  we would have this view..


yes..over that roof top,  in the distance,  is cape cod bay

the way my roof is constructed, it's not happening..so I'm dreaming up a way to get those views

on Cape Cod they're called  widow's walks

A widow's walk is a railed rooftop platform often found on 19th century North American houses.




A popular romantic myth holds that the platform was used to observe vessels at sea. The name comes from the wives of mariners, who would watch for their spouses' return, often in vain as the ocean took the lives of the mariners, leaving the women as widows. 






 These two are more like roof decks, but they still serve the purpose


Widow's walks are in fact a standard decorative feature of Italianate architecture, a variation of the Italianate cupola


This beauty belongs to one of my favorite beach house's on cape cod, full photo below,
it also has stunning views of Nauset Inlet....dreaming...



Beyond their decorative use as viewing platforms, they had another use.  they were frequently built around the chimney of a home, creating easy access to the structure. this allowed the residents to pour sand down the burning chimneys in the event of a chimney fire.

I'll have to file this last bit of info away...it just might help my 'want' argument!

I'm sure you must have a few spring day dreams yourself....share a few with me, in comments...
c'mon I know you do :)



 Happy spring dreaming everyone

Sue





















1 comment:

Pearl Maple said...

Good luck in finding a creative way to make the best of your views, they are special and too good not to be enjoyed.

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