Monday, May 21, 2018

The pretentious lanai...

I have mentioned our "pretentious lanai" more than a few times in my blog. I call it this because I had never heard the term "lanai" until searching for a new home in Florida. "Oh, it has a lovely lanai," was something I simply could not appreciate. Finally, I asked.

What I grew up calling a back porch or patio - that is what a lanai is. Mind you - porches can be on the front or the back of a home, as can patios, although they are usually more back. A lanai refers to a back porch or patio with a roof. Apparently, the term originated in Hawaii and Florida adopted it. Basically - if it has concrete, a roof, and is located in the back of a home, it is a lanai.

Ok, so the word "lanai" does sound Hawaiian, but in Florida, it just sounds pretentious to me. "Oh, what a lovely lanai you have," spoken in the snoodiest of accents. Our's being screened in makes it all the more pretentious - "Isn't our screened-in lanai marvelous?"Yet, it comes up in many blogs, due to the fact that I love to sit in my pretentious lanai and write, teach homeschool, watch wildlife, and the likes.

Recently, we added a roof to floor curtain on one side of the lanai. As the spring turns to summer, more and more of it would be flooded with sunlight and, therefore, heat. Adding the curtains cuts the outside temperature quite a bit and negates the need for sunscreen. (Also, it adds privacy, which is nice.) With the outdoor couch my husband added, it has become my favorite room in the house, or…hmm, my favorite room on the property? The overhead fan blowing and breeze from the lake, the curtains blocking heat and harmful rays, and a comfortable couch facing the water and wildlife - why wouldn't it be my favorite?! :)

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