Our Humble Abode... Before and After


The front porch last summer and now... as you can see, still need to paint the blue beam along the ceiling of the porch. Hubby finished caulking the foundation under the porch the other day; I need to get Kilz primer on it, then paint it. Note the new front porch light; we bought the same light for the back porch but still need to install it. The previous owners had just bare bulbs as their porch lights... nice, eh?


Another view of the front porch. We still need to replace the screen door; it will be the same as the back screen door that we replaced last autumn. (Just wait until you see the pic of the old BACK screen door further down in my post!!) We also want to get some roll-up blinds for the front porch. It would be lovely to sit on that bench in the evening, but alas, the setting sun is directly in front of our porch. It's not only blinding, it's freaking hot!


The back side of the house; you may notice a small patch of gray near the eaves (see pic below). There was a bird's nest there, and upon closer inspection we believed there could be babies, so we painted around them for the time being. The other day, the nest was laying on the ground with several broken eggs. The nest was an old barn swallow nest from last year and sparrows had decided it would make a nice home; obviously they did not do a home inspection first and so that was a flawed decision on their part, as the old barn swallow nest probably needed some shoring up. Oh well. I guess we can paint that area now. We still need to paint the entire eaves on this side of the house too.



The other side of the house last summer. Ehw.

And now this summer... much better, I think.

The back door, last summer.
That chair protected Ringo's dog food from rain, just in case you were wondering...
click here to see post about salvaged chairs.


The new back screen door.

We removed the awning, which was beat to heck in a hailstorm last year; not sure if we will get a new awning? Still have to put up the new porch light. Need to replace (or paint) the board along the roof line. Moved Ringo's doghouse off the porch and eventually we want to build a bigger back deck.

So you can see how busy we have been... all this house work in addition to all the fence repairs we have been doing, and tons of outside property maintenance. I'm hoping we can get our vegetable garden started NEXT year, and get more bushes and flowers planted around the house.

Baby steps, right?! :-) But I think we've come a long way since last summer already. A big thank you to my mom, who hatched up the plan to paint the house while she was here a few weeks ago. How many moms do you know that would suggest something that insane when they come to visit you?!

(I haven't even posted the before and afters of the kitchen,
only because it's not done yet...)

20 comments:

  1. I'll bet it's great sitting out on that porch! You have done lots of work around there, be proud!

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  2. Wonderful improvements! Won't it be nice to have everything all fixed up so you can just sit and enjoy it all? Dream on...lol! We call our place the hundred year project...

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  3. Girl,I think you have worked your behind off! It looks great, a lot of work went into that and I am so glad you got that done. Nothing like a fresh coat of paint and a lot of elbow grease to make a place come together.
    If I was there I'd be helping ya!

    By the way have you been having a hard time getting on my blog? I think I fixed the problem,
    but I am not sure so please let me know,
    Bobbie

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  4. Everything looks great. Your mom must be very special. My motto is, cover it with paint until you can replace it. When you are waiting on someone else to do the work, it always takes longer than you expect.

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  5. WOW it looks wonderful, even the Hubster came over to admire your handywork and we both said "great job".

    He also asked are you SW or Central or SE on the KS/OK border area? We are NW OK so I think he was wondering if you're not too far from us?

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  6. I love the open spaces surrounding your house as well as the renovations. Nice.

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  7. You and Mom did good!! Still waiting on Mom to show up at my place and my house. Guess if she doesn't show up soon I'll have to paint it myself. Didn't you say you were looking for a job? Are you willing to travel? *wink*

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  8. I bet you have wonderful views there and can enjoy the fruits of your home improvement labors. The Mrs. is the landescape expert here and has transformed our front and backyards into a great look--even surviving constant trampling from our wild kids.

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  9. Great photos, you guys have been BUSY!!!

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  10. Wow, I'm impressed and I was there! Such good before and after pics!!! Will have to tackle your living room next visit!!

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  11. Wow it has to feel good with all of your work it looks fantastic! I have the roll up blinds for our patio because of the sun, when it starts to set you can't be outside because of the blindness! 10 Bucks at Home Depot or Lowes!

    Hey tell me about the bread!

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  12. Hey great job! It looks great! I love that front porch!!! Bet it is nice in the morning and in the Fall..the shades sound like a good option to make in more usable in the evening. :)

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  13. I love when people share their before and after photos. It motivates me to get off the computer and DO something!!!!

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  14. Keepin a house is a lot of work...never-ending. But very rewarding.
    I like your choices of color.

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  15. Keep up the good work.. I haven't started on my shed yet. Just taking a break I guess
    Have a great day

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  16. Finally!! I have been having trouble opening your blogs! :( Was able to today at last! The home improvements look great. Looks like a new place!

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  17. Hi baby - I've just added you to my blogroll - I love your blog - I'd give anything to get the heck outta Ohio - you lucky gal! Hugs!

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  18. Great job at getting everything spruced up!!! Then you can sit on the front porch and enjoy a margarita! :)

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  19. Looks great! You're way ahead of me. We could do some great porch sittin' out there with some margaritas!

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  20. What a difference! The house looks great and I love the new color of it.

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