Monday, July 14, 2008

Before and After

I love before and after photos... there is something so satisfying about them. (It is assumed here that the after photos are better than the before). I think that is why I love the show "The Biggest Loser" so much, but that is for a different post.

So we've been working on our house. We've been digging, and pulling and painting, and weed whacking, and building and spreading and raking and spraying and so on and so on. We still have lots of plans and projects in the works, but finally, finally, we are ready to show you some of our progress!

So here is the house when we first bought it one year ago:

It looks pretty good... we liked it well enough I suppose... since we bought it! ; )

The color never really bothered me so much, although it always struck me as pretty drab. Nothing to write home about you know? And that bush... look at that mini jungle there, the one growing under the front window. It never occurred to me when we bought the house that it was a hideous beast, just waiting to be tamed. Or torn out. But alas, the projects commenced this spring and things have changed just a bit.


Here is our home today... just moments ago. Unfortunately, the sun decided to hide, so it has a different tint to it than the other, but I think the color comes in clear enough. We love the color, although we've both commented that the dark blue shutters and door don't stand out as much as we would've hoped. Black may have been a better choice. But those things are fairly easy to fix, should we change our minds later. Or should I change my mind later, as Jeff points out I am so apt to do. : )

See the other big change? The beast is gone!! And in its place, a dainty little raised flower bed. We've still got to finish the capstones, but over all you get the idea. It looks really nice against the dark trim work. And it really opens up the front of the house, don't you think? You can't see it well in this picture but we changed the side of the yard there too... to the left of the house:


That tree was back at the side of the house closer to that fence. We liked it, and thought it would look better where you could see it, as a focal point in the yard. we then scalloped the left edge of the lawn and added some greenery and some "hardscape" a.k.a. rocks and Walla! (Or viola for you more sophisticated folk) a better looking lawn than before. There are more plants to plant and things to do, but this will be the general look of things for years to come. At least if I have anything to say about it.
So that is what we've been up to for the last 75 Saturdays... working working working. Jeff is such a slave driver. He gets me out of bed at the crack of dawn and hands me a shovel... "Get to work Woman!" he shouts. And then he hands me my coffee, and I love him again. Ha!
Coming soon... the backyard.

6 comments:

Jeff said...

Who said you could stop working to post a blog? Back to work woman! I have many more plans for the yard that you have no idea about.

That bush was a beast! The work is hard but as you can see, the fruits are worth it.

Love, Jeff

Julie said...

It looks great. I love the blue. We have randomly placed rocks in our beds too. Man, you need to watch out for those, you never know when one will just fall out of the sky.

Anonymous said...

the house is beautiful. What a difference taking that bush out made in the front yard! Can't wait to see what you do with the back yard. I need to send Joe and Carla your blog address so they can read your comments. They'll be delighted that Lump Gulch meant so much to you. Counting the days (115 to b exact) til we see you again...unless something comes up sooner.

Love and Big Hugs to you both
MT Mom

Melissa said...

Hey- this is so pretty!! i absolutely LOVE the blue. It makes me think of being near the ocean, in a very classy, New England-ish kind of way. I don't know if that was the feeling you were going for, but that's what I get! I also like the flag. We just put one up on our house, too, and I love seeing it when I pull in the driveway. Congratulations on a very beautiful home!

Anonymous said...

The house looks great! All your hard work is really starting to show. Blessings to you both, OR dad

gabesmama906 said...

I also love, love, love the blue! It looks fabulous! I know you've put in a lot of work - you should be proud!