Back to Life!

We just got back from an adventurous 10 year anniversary trip to Nicaragua! 

Laundry is done, suitcases are unpacked- back to life! Big things will start happening soon with the house, but until then I have a few little projects I have been working on. Here was a quick one that made a big difference. 

Grant and I spend two hours: weeding the gravel beds, weeding the grass, moving the stepping stones (that don't really lead to anything) and sweeping.  Dave is going to bury the drain from the gutter this summer and hopefully we can add a bunch of plants!

The backyard is another story. Weeds EVERYWHERE. Our neighbors have told us that the people that lived here before us NEVER did yard work... and that we are lucky the grass doesn't look worse! We hope to spend a lot of time in the backyard this weekend... 

A Fresh Coat

This house was in MAJOR need of a fresh coat of paint. I knew after seeing the brown brick that I wanted another brown house, (we painted our old house brown too). It is a classic color, with bright white trim and a black door.And I love how green plants pop against it and wreaths look great against a black door.  BUT I wanted a little deeper, grayer color than the last house- that had more green in it (as apposed to red, yellow, purple etc.. look around, browns are VERY different and most have another color in them).

Here are some before pictures of our butter yellow house:

This is the dog run that will someday be our garden area. The fence will be ripped out, hopefully this summer and get the area ready for garden boxes next spring! There was a dog door into the garage from here, so we had that patched up.

Front door with sneak peak at the color...

You get the idea lol...

 My friend Francesca painted their house while ago and I always loved the color. So I asked her what the color was and then we drove around one Sunday afternoon and wrote down the addresses of other house colors we liked. I decided I really liked one other one the best. So it was between the two. I called our HOA- which keeps track of the colors people paint their houses (so handy!)  and GUESS WHAT!?! The houses were the same color :) DONE. That was our color. I did go and get a sample can and paint a few places around our house in places that the light hits differently too but so easy picking paint this time!

Painted got delayed a little because of weather but it started Wednesday! They caulked, filled holes, closed up the dog door that was into the garage etc... we left for soccer practice and we came home to the first coat of color on the front of the house. We love it!!!

Some more "painting in process" pictures...

Alright you ready? Drum roll please.....

One last before....

And now the after...

We LOVE it. So much better! I still have some things I need to fix on the house (not even thinking about the landscaping yet)- paint the exterior lights black, dealing with the rain gutter spout in front of the column, and I am going to find a great wreath for the door to brighten up the entrance, planters and plants for next to the door, a new doormat and change out the gold deadbolt and add a nickel kick-plate and threshold... all in time. We are taking off on our 10 year anniversary/birthday trip tonight! See you when we get back :)

PS. I am thinking planters like this, taller though.. maybe topiaries with white flowers around it.... I would love an entrance light like this over the door to replace the can light...

and I am thinking of making a wreath like this:




 or this would be a great spring time wreath...





Or just a classic one...

Out With the Gold

You all know what gold door knobs look like, but here are a few pictures to refresh your memories:

A few of the door knobs had parts that were plastic and Grant couldn't open the door to his bedroom! He would wake up in the middle of the night yelling "I have to go potty and I can't open the door!" So this change-out wasn't purely for looks- we needed door knobs that work.  

I ordered some new satin nickel door knobs and hinges, once again from overstock.com. I love this site because you can read reviews and really know what you are buying and they have GREAT prices- and I lucked out and got free shipping too (their regular shipping is super cheap also). 

Dave and I changed the knobs and hinges out late one night, so not exciting pictures of us working on doors, but here are the results-

Grant can open his bedroom door!

These doors to the office are begging to be painted a different color- I am thinking black for a great contrast or something fun... 

 

ahhh, much better!