Workin' On Some Curb Appeal

Lately? No.

This summer when I wasn't dying from multiple cold viruses and lung infections? Yes. 

(Thank you for the well wishes that you left earlier this week. I am feeling a smidgen better {I heart antibiotics} but have barely made it through the last two weeks. I think my husband secretly wants to stab me in the eye from all of my horrible coughing. He was such a good sport though and made all of my suppers, lunches, and cups of tea. He's a keeper.)

Since I haven't been able to do anything around the house lately, I thought I'd share some curb appeal projects that we've tackled since we bought the house. There are still sooooo many things that we want to do but we've accomplished quite a bit so far.



Alex and Roary the day we got the keys. Look how small Roary is!



What we loved about our house when we bought is was that it was all original. The previous owners (there were only 2 families before us) maintained all of the character and charm of the original home. We shopped around for a whole year and found that all of the old, old homes had hideous or poorly done additions or "updates." Our plan was, and still is, to update the home but with finishes and features that reflect the age and style of the home.

In the above picture, please make note of the ugly, random bushes and vines, a light fixture that's so small you can hardly see it, and faux gold house numbers. Thanks to my adventure-loving dad the first thing we did when the snow melted was to chain those shrubs and bushes  to his pick-up truck and rip them right out of the ground. I'm sure our neighbours were so pleased to have us that day. ;)

Here is a list of all the curb appeal projects we've tackled so far:

1. We ripped out all of the old/ugly shrubs, bushes, and vines. They were half-dead and full of bugs anyway.

2. I painted the front door a soft, sage-y green colour. I spray-painted the front door hardware black to match the roof, railings, and light fixture.

3. The trim work around the front door was chipped and peeling so I scraped, primed, and painted it all a crisp white. 

4. We installed a large, glass lantern (that I love) to replace the tiny, crusty, old one.

5. I had a custom sign ordered out of slate with our street name and number to hang over the door.

6. Alex installed a new roof (with the help of oh-so-kind friends and family).

7. Alex built a picket fence so Roary could play in his very own yard.

8. We built, painted, and installed the longest window box you've ever seen in your life. 

9. I planted ten, yes ten, hydrangea bushes under the windows along the front and side of the house (inspired from a Country Living photo from a long time ago).

10. We built and installed two tiny window boxes on the driveway side of the house.

11. I purchased a metal flower trellis and planted some clematis to climb it.

12. I shopped for four years and finally found two ceramic pots with the same shade of green as the front door. Picky much?

13. We installed cement curbs in the driveway to stop grass from growing into the gravel.

14. I watered, fertilized, weeded, and babied the heck out of the grass to get it all lush and pretty. I may or may not be in a make-believe competition with a lady down the street for the greenest grass.

15. I found a creamy, rusty star and installed it in the empty space on the left hand side of the house. It looked unbalanced because of the large windows on the right hand side.

Here are the five things that still bug me (a lot ) about the exterior: 

1. We have no shutters. I know that it will instantly make the house cozier but I just didn't seem to have time this summer to make them. Shutters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. The front door is ugly. I hate the half-moon shape of the window. I have a door picked out already. It's sooooo pretty expensive.

3. The concrete steps and walkway are also very, very ugly.

4. The metal screen door with the Neighbourhood Watch sticker is also very, very, very ugly.

5. The gravel driveway. Need I say more.

So, that's what we've done to the front of the house so far. It doesn't seem like much until you list it in a blog post. Maybe we're doing okay after all.

Any ideas for some more curb appeal? What have you done to the exterior of your home?

I'll leave you with one last picture that shows the ginormous silver maple tree that sits in our front yard. See all of those leaves? Guess who gets to rake 'em all up..... :)

Linking to:

Everything But The Kitchen Sink @ A Little Knick Knack
Remodelaholic's Anonymous @ Remodelaholic
Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints On The Fridge
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Style Feature Saturday @ Perfectly Imperfect
Before and After Party @ Thrifty Decor Chick