The Sleeping Porch

Admit it, Boston. Winter has barely begun and you’re already planning your summer. How else to distract yourself from the bitter cold that’s only getting worse? And we’re in the midst of the holiday season (thankfully we can see a light at the end of that tunnel), so my guess is your every other thought is immersed in fantasies of deep, restorative sleep. Am I right?

That’s exactly where my mind wandered while leafing through a back issue of Design New England. (It was the July/August 2011 issue, in fact—ah, remember July? Shorts and T-shirts? Were we ever that young?) The magazine featured an engrossing article on the history of the sleeping porch, a throwback to the turn of the 20^th century when such constructions were promoted for the beneficial effects of sleeping in the open air, a popular notion at the time. The sleeping porch died away as more and more houses adopted modern-day air conditioning, but this nostalgic home feature is making a comeback today. As the article concludes:

Architect Christopher Dallmus of Design Associates in Cambridge and Nantucket, Massachusetts, designed a new sleeping porch for a client who was renovating her Federal-style Nantucket house. "We put it on top of an enclosed porch and adjacent to the master bedroom, and it fit in beautifully," he says. "The owner asked that it be air-conditioned, but I hear her grandchildren like to sleep there with the windows open." 

Interested in adding a sleeping porch to your house? I found this helpful, succinct guide on how to get started. As the guide indicates, fixing up a sleeping porch can be a simple DIY project or a full-scale renovation. As with all construction projects, the more thought you put into it, the more satisfying the result will turn out to be. I particularly agree with the advice to consider who will be using the space the most--is this simply a room for one or two people, or is it more of a family space? The choice of materials here is as important as with any other project--take into consideration sun exposure as well as moisture and all the rest of the slings and arrows of the elements.

And most importantly--tell us what you think! Have you added a sleeping porch to your home? Share your stories/pictures in a comment.