Front Yard

So it's finally happening...after talking about it for almost 2 years, our front yard remodel is in progress. We haven't really done much of anything with the front since moving in (don't worry...it tends to fit in with the rest of the street......). As much as it's always bugged me, there's only so much time and ambition provided by each day. But the day has arrived.

When we drove by the house while we were house hunting, I think I said something like "No way. Never." and kept driving. Not only was I anti-ranch house, but I was also anti-old person looking-house. 


A few days later, I was sitting in our apartment and had just opened my third or fourth beer a rich bottle of wine. I slid over to the internet and looked up the MLS listing again. I realized that the place had a lot of potential and that it was a really sweet deal. Any work it needed was purely cosmetic, and I use the term "need" quite loosely here. I think I even used the line "it's a really great family house" when I was trying to convince myself, which is funny since we haven't really felt the urge since moving in...


So anyway, with that preface, I bring you the front of the house:

Not terrible, right? No, not terrible at all. I think it's because you don't see the garage in this photo- I think the garage really pulls the "old lady" feel in and ties it all together.

First thing on the to do list was to rip out the "outdoor" carpet, which we did last fall. Since I don't have any project money right now, I thought that it was a good time to carry on with the agenda: remove bushes and remove railings. And all it cost me was 1 Ibuprofen at the end of the day.

My mom was in town and she kicks ass at all things house-to-do-related. Seriously. My parents burn us out sometimes! In a good way, though...they've always been weekend warriors. Anyway, after we spent about an hour and a half removing these stupid rocks and later realizing that they spanned the entire length of the bushes and that we were SO OVER rock removal, she convinced me that I should buy a tow strap (so i guess it cost more than 1 ibuprofen...) to yank the bushes out. The whole time I kept petting my transmission and telling it that everything would be okay. Kind of like the mom that tells her kid who just lost 2 teeth the night before picture day that he looks fine. Liar. Anyway, those bushes were pretty damn ferocious. But they finally came out and next we removed the jerry-rigged deck railings. And then we had this:

And a view from the front:

Aaahhhh, much better. I really dig the openness. Like, a lot. I'm sitting on my front porch for the third time ever right now. I no longer feel like I'm sitting on an apartment balcony. Or in a baby crib. Or in jail. Those railing spindle thingies were no fun.


So yeah, that's about it. We're going to get bigger columns, remove the shrubs in front of the brick on the right side of the house, add a step in the front, get a new bench and a new light fixture, some different house numbers and a few other things. Oh, and of course we're going to fix the yard, plant more trees and paint the porch. :) I can't wait!