Monday, August 3, 2009

29th Metamorphosis Monday...a Partial Met!






I have joined Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday. This is still a work in progress. I have been working on it for about 5 months now. Just thought I would share the process with you. It did have 2 drawers in the middle. Took them out to add room for a shelf and a light. I have a photo with drawers somewhere I'll add when I find it. It took more than I thought to reconstruct it, but I am really loving the way it is turning out.

Hugs...Linda

Mosaic Monday and Shotgun Houses!

Mary over at Dear Little Red House is so graciously hosting Mosaic Mondays. Please take some time and visit her and all of the wonderful mosaics up this week on various blogs.
I have always been fascinated by these tiny homes. I knew I could NEVER live in one. But as I get older and the "material things" are no longer as important, I wonder...could I be comfortable in one of these "Shotgun Houses"? I mean, I could really add a lot of architectual detail and really cuten (is that a word?) it up! I thought I would share with you today my love of the Shotgun House. Tell me, could you live in one of these? Leave a comment, and I will enter you in a surprise giveaway to be held Sunday eve at 6 p.m. CST. BTW, did I tell you that my father is from Louisiana.....a Cajun....born and raised...so perhaps this is why I love them so.

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Popular folklore says that these homes got their names because if you fired a shotgun through the front door it would exit through the back without hitting any walls. The style is characterized by houses that are one to two rooms wide, and three to four rooms deep with no interior hallways- each room opens directly onto the next. However, the doorways of each room are not always aligned, so you’d better check before you decide to put that folklore to the test!
The architectural style was imported from tropical Haiti, where the cost-effective and unique structure drew in the air to circulate through each room. The homes were typically raised a foot or two off the ground, which also allowed air to pass beneath, further cooling it and keeping water away from the main structure. With New Orleans’ Gulf and river breezes, the benefits of using the shotgun style were apparent, and it soon became the most popular housing style in the South from the end of the Civil War (1861-65) through the early 1920s.
There are many varieties of shotguns, including the single, double, and camelback shotgun. It remains the most popular housing style in New Orleans.

Have a wonderful week!