My grandmother’s abode was not a typical Southern house but neither was my
grandmother a typical Southern woman. She like her house was highly flavored
with influences from many countries--England and the Caribbean included. And
like her house, she knew how to make the “local conditions” of living in
Charleston, South Carolina work for good. Many of the Charleston Single
Houses have porches that are called piazzas. Her house didn’t have a “piazza” it
had a “stoop” but if you knew my grandmother that stoop was like a piazza. You
stepped into her living space as soon as your feet touched the stoop and it made
you feel like you had entered a space with the energy of a grand two-tiered
piazza; of course the garden on the south side of the house was included. As
soon as you entered the main house you would be in the formal living room with the
grand piano and formal furnishings—the room was like my grandmother—as totally
contained as a vault of rare gems. However, if you went to the left upon
entering the house, this space was the place where all the action happened. The
dining room too was like my grandmother, totally accessible as the air we
breathe. The last room on the first floor and in the back was the kitchen. In
“Charleston Single Houses” the kitchen is in the back of the house attached to
the dining room. My grandmother was like that room too; it was her private space
where she prepared the meals and prayed; the kitchen didn’t have a window, only
a backdoor that led to a side yard. The kitchen design like Adeline Pinckney
Gregg provided the privacy and protection needed; also a way out to the side yard if one
needed a refuge. This house is the house she built and it like her is a grand
cathedral in my memory. Part two next week, got to talk about the upstairs. Oh
boy! This is Tuesday talk.
© 2013 Theda Okona All Rights Reserved