Exterior

BEFORE: Here it is just a few days after we moved in. Notice the semi-sized dumpster in the driveway--we would soon fill it to overflowing! What we loved about the house: Its location, the big bay window and two little pop-out windows in the front, the interior layout--all on one floor, and the size of the lot. What we didn't like: the giant tree that was pushing up the driveway pad and threatning the foundation, the brick patio out front (we like to sit out back!), the overgrown bushes, and the grey-ge with teal trim color.
DURING: The bushes are out and the tree is pruned, but not much else.

Who's that man in my tree? This big willow tree in the backyard was slowly dying from locusts. Down it goes! The tree removal here and in front was definately a BIG added expense we weren't planning on, but what good would it do to fix up a house only to have large trees fall down on it during the first bad storm?

AFTER: So here is the outside now! I painted the front door red right away. I love houses with red front doors! New lights and numbers came next. Pulling out one of the two giant Elms let a lot more sunshine in and made for a nice burm on the left side of the house (which you can't see). We added the second island out front in June, about the same time we pulled up all but a border of the brick patio. The final touch was having the whole house painted in August.

WHAT'S UP NEXT?: *Letting all the perrenials (Clematis, Russian Sage, Peruvian Verbena, and a few boxwoods) fill in the front. *Adding a dummy dormerwith the same board-and-batten trim work right in the middle of the roofline to break it up a bit. *Reroof it, but probably in the same color since it matches the brickwork.

UPDATE 2010:
The old hot tub got to be too much work so when someone offered to take it off my hands, I jumped at the chance. And lucky me--beneath it was a concrete slab. Now I'd have TWO patios :)

A dear friend helped me shore up the deck that connected the two patios. I added a big ottoman and umbrella bought on a Memorial Day sale, and brought the robins egg blue chairs out from my boys room (where they never got sat in).

And voila! .... An outdoor room that I love to be in. Eating breakfast or reading a magazine out here is the best!