Thursday, August 18, 2011

Curb Appeal

We have a cute little ranch house, not my preferred architectural style, but I'm embracing it.

The curb appeal needed some assistance though.
This was taken in the spring so not all the hostas and lilies are in yet.
The cream color wasn't offensive, but it just kind of washed out. I'm not so much a fan of the brown trim and door either. The numbers were really tiny and a very old style.

One annoyance was that while I didn't like the original mailbox, I loved that it was on the house. We move in and then the post office says we have to move it down to ground level, but near the porch. It's hard to make that look good!

Here's a couple pictures of the transition. We painted, but still needed to do more planting.

I didn't blur the 0 to give you an idea of the style of numbers.
So here it is now:

I repainted it a green with gray undertones. It just pairs with the brick color better. The door went black, the numbers are bigger and more modern, and I added some decorative touches.

I found a great mailbox that is designed for this type of placement. I lucked out because they are typically special order and pretty pricey, but this was marked down because someone returned it.

I also scored lots of mature plants from my master gardener neighbor. She was changing things up in her yard and offered not only to give me 3 roses, 2 shrubs and 2 hollies, but also gave advice as to where to put them. I'm so lucky. :)

We plan to repaint the soffits a charcoal gray so that there is no more brown, but it's not that noticeable right now and we are running out of steam for outdoor projects right now. I'd love some window boxes and to change the front walkway. In my dreams I add a small pergola to the front porch, but that's just a dream for now.

For now, I kick back in that chair, watch the kids play, and enjoy my not-bland house.

A Little Knick Knack
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14 comments:

  1. I think it looks awesome! Great job! I know what you mean about running out of steam...I get tired of painting projects inside the house after the wintertime (when I repaint rooms) and tired of outside projects by the end of the summer. Great choice on the paint color and score on the plants....I LOVE free plants!

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  2. I love the green paint color you chose and plants always dress a place up. Your mailbox is also nice. I love your pergola idea.

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  3. Wow what a great transformation. It is so inviting, good job.

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  4. Great transformation! :) I have also enjoyed "shared" plants with neighbors! Thanks for linking it to Thrifty Thursday!

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  5. That is wonderful. I love the transformation. Fantastic job!!

    Ruth

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  6. What a great transformation! The color looks great and the plants are wonderful! How lucky you are to have a gardner right next door! It takes time to do everything we want but it's a great start to all the projects you want to do.
    Visiting from Boogieboard Cottage.
    Rebecca

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  7. Found you from A Little Birdie Told Me. I love the new look!

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  8. Great job. I love the new look.
    New follower stopping by from the Creative Blogger hop. Hope you stop by for a visit.

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  9. Very nice transition! I am a new follower!

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  10. It's a great makeover! I love the color you added to your house. I'm DYING TO PAINT my front door black, but I'm not sure how to do it! How did you do it??

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  11. I gave Meg a more detailed email, but in case anyone else is curious, I took the screen door off the hinges and used spray paint on it. Then I used Rustoleum's Painter's Touch in Gloss Black to paint the door and trim. The guy at Home Depot told me that Rustoleum makes a truer black than anything he could mix up. And it is very good, just black, it never looks like any other color.

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  12. Really appreciate you linking up this fantastic post at the Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop. Hope you'll continually share your creativity with us at the weekly party :)

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  13. Thanks so much for the info! I gave you a little feature! Come grab a button!

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  14. Such a beautiful transformation! I love the new paint, all the landscaping and the new mailbox! What a wonderful sight to come home to each day!

    Thank you so much for linking up to "A Little Birdie Told Me..."!

    Jenn

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