Curb Appeal: More Renovation Progress
Do you see this? This, my friends, is serious progress. I’m not sure if you remember what our home looked like before, but it was gross.
Yay! A yellow front door! I've been dreaming of this moment...
And yes, we have a long way to go, but I’m thrilled that our exterior is somewhat presentable. Specifically, for Halloween, because we happen to have two canines who loooooove this holiday:
Behold: George, the hot dog, and Bernie, our resident banana split. They look delicious, yes?
We’ll be passing out treats and trinkets for the neighborhood kids, and I couldn’t be more excited. I can imagine we’ll be giving a few tours of the new drywall as well, because it looks absolutely fantastic.
Anyway, you’re probably wondering how we got to where we are now with the exterior. And I’ll tell you — many, many sweat drops. Ready for the breakdown?
- When we purchased our home, it looked like this. Which is crazy intimidating, because the siding was rotting at its very core and those bushes? Oh, dear. Those bushes. Anyway, we got to work and filled two dumpsters with dead landscaping, determined to give this sweet little home a serious facelift.
- Once the overgrown landscaping was gone, we got to work on the siding. And you know exactly how that story goes…
- Next up? Front door. We ordered a Crestview Doors sidelight and painted our new front door a bright, cheery mustard yellow. It absolutely sings and I couldn’t love it more.
- We’re still waiting for our garage doors to be delivered, but in the meantime, we’ve painted the existing ones white. Just for the big reveal. Because we’re dedicated to you, friends.
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We've got four big items on our to do list...
And of course, we’ve got a ways to go. Here’s what we plan to tackle next summer when the weather decides to stop playing mean, wintry games on us Midwesterners:
- Install white window boxes with yellow tulips — my favorite!
- Paint the brick white to match…
- …a modern pergola! We get quite a bit of foot traffic past our home and our neighbors are fantastic, so I like the idea of a seating area for afternoon lemonade and such. Ideally, we’ll DIY something similar to this Stardust model, but much more winter-friendly.
- We’ll be pouring concrete in this section for our new seating area and fixing up a few cracks in the sidewalk.
Lovely, yes? I’m so, so excited to get started on the exterior next spring, but for now, we’ve got the interior to finish! Wish us luck!
Oh my nephews are the cutest! The neighbors will love them!
Your dogs are SO adorable! And way to go on the house — with your step by step visuals, I can TOTALLY picture the finished product! It's going to be divine!
PS – I seriously want to photograph you and Ken. 2011, 'kay?
Looking good!
Love the door!!! I too dream of a technicolored ingress, but in the mean time I'll live vicariously through you!
Oh, you guys are too adorable. The dogs are my favorite, of course, followed closely by that gorgeous door. I've been dying to do a bright color on our door but am scared!
Oh, you guys are so sweet. And Kristen — don't be scared. You can always paint it back to a more expected color!
BK — no worries. We've tested it out in our new fireplace and LOVE it.
p.s. Gail — you can most definitely photograph us in 11.
We'll have you over for tea in our NEW HOUSE!
Wow. I am thoroughly and genuinely impressed with the exterior of the house and how it's come out. Truly. I mean, it really looks wildly different, but still respects the bones of the structure. Really, really good-looking. And I love the color palette! Reminds me of a certain favorite blog of mine!
I’ve regretted painting brick before. Be careful.
I love the Halloween costumes. And the house. Can't wait to see it in person
That little banana split and hot dog just melt my heart! Your trick or treaters will get such a kick out of their Halloween greeters. I know all four of you will have lots of fun! The house looks great too, although I really like the brick the way it is…I can already picture the white flower boxes with the yellow tulips next spring.
thanks, guys! we love our junk food!
and you're welcome to visit anytime.