I'm a big fan of porches when they create an outdoor container where there isn't one, but in the case of our back yard the porch is overkill. It's a box within a box that keeps the kitchen and outdoor space separate.

We have been brainstorming the next iteration - double doors with a little deck that flows right onto the patio with trellises that give us a little more privacy. Since we won't be doing that soon, we've also been brainstorming a temporary solution to the flow problem: removing porch walls. We were explaining this all to our awesome neighbors Jean-Francois and Nora last weekend, and JF suggested we just do it right then.

And then JF said he and Nora have some spare stairs in their back yard they'd be happy to give us. Spare stairs? Yeah.

et voila