Exterior Progress...

I realized yesterday that I haven't included many photos of the exterior of the house on this blog yet.  And since I will be going into detail about our shutter installation and door painting over the next week or so, I thought it would be helpful to offer a little taste of the progress we have made so far.

Here is what the house looked like before we moved in. You can see the white storm doors with the scalloped edges. I know they are popular and a lot of people have them, but they are just very dated for the house. Not to mention the fact that they are beaten up and worn out from 45+ years of wear and tear!

This next photo was also taken before the trees were removed for the installation of the new septic system.  The privacy that the trees provided was great, but it was so much darker in the house with all of that shade (not to mention the CRAZY amount of pine needles and sap that would amass in the fall).  Ultimately, though, we didn't have a choice whether they stayed or went since the new septic was going to force them out anyway.  BONUS!!!

Since these photos were taken, the trees were removed, sod was laid and grass seed was strewn about (resulting in a less than stellar lawn, unfortunately), and we also pulled up some of the dead plants/bushes/trees from the front of the house.  Also, as you saw the other day, we installed new black storm doors and painted the front door black!  I'm still working on the other door, but here is where we are at today.....

There is definitely a lot of work left to do (landscaping, painting and shutters), but it has come a long way already!!!  I'm excited to see the shutters up next week!!!  I think it will help to balance out the space between the front door and the windows.  I also feel like it will add a little dimension to an otherwise box-y house.

The only transformation that is close to completion is the front door.  We still have some patching and painting to do on the trim around the door (water damage and the like), but we are getting there.  I think that painting the door black helps to make it more of a focal point.  Before it almost disappeared in the facade, but now it seems to stand out. 

Here are the before and afters (since I always love a side-by-side comparison):

                                         

So there she is.  Not that impressive, I know, but we are getting there.  I can't wait to show the shutter install process next week, and then the final reveal shortly after!!  The exterior of our casa is shaping up....slowly but surely!!

Happy Friday!!!