Our house was lookin' pretty ragged from the street so I've done a few things to perk it up a bit. First, my handy dandy hubby took down all of the shudders. For those of you who don't remember, they matched the color of the gutters and down spouts but they were severely faded. I doubt they had been painted since the early 90's at best. I sanded them down, cleaned them up, and slapped a couple of coats of black paint (Behr's Black Suede) on them. Oddly, they don't look black at all...more like a navy color. Jay and I are okay with the color and are embracing our patriotic sides!
Next, I tackled the front flower bed. When we first moved in we had eight bushes in this bed. The back four were some kind of boxwood and the front four were....something. Whatever they were, they looked dead 11 months out of the year. About a year ago, I decided they needed to go. Jay took care of the removal and I smoothed out the bed afterwards. Then it sat...until now. While I couldn't completely commit to planting perenials, we decided to go with a few planters. We picked out these from Lowe's and I'm pretty happy with them. I wasn't quite prepared for how pricey these things were but they were the cheaper of the options. This past weekend I woke up early, put on my oldest set of clothes and broke open the potting soil. It was quite the workout since Jay wasn't around to help me.
I planted a few annuals that will go along with our patriotic theme! I also bought a hydrangea bush but haven't had the chance to plant it yet. I've never owned a plant of any kind before (except a cactus I had in the first grade), so I hope this goes well. If it does, I may venture out to tackle the backyard someday : ) For now, this will have to do. I think our next outdoor project will be trying to find a grass that will grow in our yard, no simple feat there. The front is clearly not finished but I think it's a great start!
Moving on, I worked on our guest bedroom a few weeks ago. Again, when we first moved in the entire house was painted Easter egg colors. This particular bedroom was a bright blue. Not only did the previous owners paint the walls, but they felt the need to include all of the trim and doors in this magnificent color. My initial paint fix in this room was to go with something to tone down this bright, almost blinding color. I choose a green color that looked more like it belonged in a hunting lodge. Fail.
It sat like that for nearly three years until the other week when I had a little bit of free time. Here's the result. I wasn't sure what Jay would think but he loves it. I was so relieved. (Color= Behr's Silver Sage, but it almost looks like an ice blue at times) I have yet to find time to fill the picture frames with family photos but its on the list! Also on the list, refinishing or repairing this furniture. It was the first set of furniture (post crib) that my parents bought me as a little girl! Chips, scratches, and all, I still think its beautiful.
I've done a few other things around the place, but I'm not feeling so hot due to the insane amount of pollen, so I think I'll end this post here. I will hopefully get a chance this coming week to add another post and let y'all see the rest of the improvements!
