When you live in an area with hot, hot summers you can still enjoy sitting in a swing sipping iced tea. Just create a space indoors to set up as an indoor porch ... like our loft that looks out large windows to treetops.
I N D O O R S W I N G L O F T T O U R
B E F O R E
F R E N C H C O U N T R Y C H A N G E S
Summertime breezes on a shady porch invite you to sit in swings to read, to visit with neighbors, or to take afternoon naps, but if your summer weather sizzles, and your breezes are blasts of hot air, beat the heat with an indoor swing.
It only takes a small space to carve out a porch-like room. We created our indoor porch in an open loft that overlooks a vaulted ceiling living room.
If you like the idea of an indoor swing, here are a few tips.
W H A T T O C O N S I D E R
W H E N H A N G I N G A S W I N G
📌 Allow space behind the swing for the swing to go as far back as forward while swinging.
📌 Attach chains to large springs to allow "give" when people sit in the swing.
📌 Attach springs/chains to solid wood. If you add a swing to a room with a sheetrock ceiling, find the rafters above the sheetrock and attach large screws through the sheetrock all the way into the rafters.
📌 The longer the chains, the greater the swing arc.
📌 Attach chains so their lengths are the same. Different length chains cause swings to move erratically ... which will disrupt your summer daydreams.
📌 Adjust the length of the chains so seat height, including any cushion height, is a comfortable leg distance from the floor for the person with the shortest legs who will be using the swing.
Our indoor porch loft is above the dining area on the first floor. As you reach the second floor the space is immediately across from the stair landing.
Seeing this area as an indoor porch was easy. The natural pine railings, posts, beams, rafters, and ceiling are reminiscent of outdoor porch structures.
Look around your house for someplace you can recreate a porch feeling. How about adding a porch swing to one side of a breakfast room with window views of your back yard? Or, how about using a porch swing in a bay window area instead of a built-in bench?
Take a quick tour of our swing loft as it looks now before some upcoming changes to French country decor.
When we built our house, all of the second floor had random-width natural pine boards as the only flooring. We soon discovered noise was a problem, and we carpeted the floor for sound insulation.
Sound still carries, but not as much with uncovered wood floors. There is no subfloor between the second and first floors. The ceilings of the first level are the exposed underside of the pine wood floors of the second level.
The view from the loft looks over the living room and straight out the second floor windows to large oak trees.
To the right of the swing loft is the stone fireplace with another loft beside it.
The view to the left has more large oak trees visible through the palladian window.
The view of the swing loft from near the fireplace shows how much the loft looks similar to an outdoor porch.
Secluded, but not, the loft allows daydreams out windows while gently swaying back and forth in the cool air inside.
We were getting ready to have our carpet cleaned the day the photos were taken which is why the space looks so empty, and why there is an upturned small table sitting on top of the oak draw-leaf table.
With a clean fresh area, daydreams of a French country swing loft began to emerge as part of my ongoing change from American country to French country decor.
Changes to come include replacing the country floral pillows with French country blue toile. The chairs that go around the square oak game table are French wood-carved ladder backs with woven seats. Some off-white linen seat cushions will add more French style.
And, the swing-arm wall lamps could use updated shades.
Where would you put an indoor swing?
How would you decorate it and the area around it?
For more information about our post and beam house and changes from American country to French country, see Post and Beam Dream House for a series of blog posts.
