I realized I haven’t shared what we’ve been doing along the side of the house. It’s still in the works, but I think it’s important to share the reality of a home renovation… Sometimes progress is made in leaps, but most of the time it’s just one small step followed by another small step.
The side of the house isn’t normally very important, but in the case of our house, the “garage side” of the house functions as the front. Since it’s where we park, this is the door we use all the time. It’s also where guests enter, where packages are dropped off, and where deliveries are made. We want to spruce it up to make it more welcoming and charming, but it’s going to take some time to implement all of our ideas.
Here is how it looked when we bought the house…
When we started cleaning up the yard this spring, we removed the bushes that were under the window and next to the door. We probably could’ve trimmed those up, but I wanted a fresh start. Between the top photos and the next two, we also had a new roof installed, replaced the light fixture, and put in a new dryer vent (we moved those from right inside the door to the basement.)
Jeff also power-washed the brick, gutters, and trim to get everything looking clean, but also to get the trim ready to paint. We need to get the brick repointed in some places around the chimney, so he didn’t power-wash those sections.
We installed new windows and I painted the shutters and side door in Card Room Green while the kitchen renovation was underway.
As I was working on this post, I realized that one of the shutters on the dining room window is upside down, too! I only just noticed it today, even after having an upside-down shutter on one of the front windows and then putting one of our new shutters on upside down. They need arrows on these things or something. I just had to laugh. At least we’ve lived here a year and I’ve washed these shutters, primed them, painted them, photographed them, and walked by them almost every day and never noticed.
Anyway, we started priming and painting the trim around the garage, but we still need to prime and paint the rest of the trim around this side of the house. That’s one of the next projects on the list before temperatures drop too low. I was just dying to get some plants in the ground, though. After removing the bushes in the spring, this area has been naked and sad, not to mention weedy. After a rain a couple of weeks ago, the ground was soft and it was a good day for planting, so I put on my gardening boots and got to work. I decided to dig up some sod to make the garden bed a little bigger and create a curve that mimics the other side of the stoop. It was a lot of work, but I just put on some good music, sat on a knee pad, and got it done.
I plated a couple of Japanese holly bushes on either side of the window (I need to trim up the bush on the left) and lined the bed with liriope. I decided not to plant anything else until the spring and I didn’t put down weed-blocking fabric so I could plant annuals easily and try some different things. The window well has me stumped a bit, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out through trial and error.
I ran out of mulch, so I need to get some more to finish that last little bit. We also need to reseed the area where shingles sat over the summer for a bit too long!
Eventually, we’d like to extend the stoop to make a small porch with a covering. I think that will boost the curb appeal and it will provide a dry spot to stand when you need to unlock the door in the rain as well as a dry spot for packages. That’s several years away, but in the short term, we’re going to give the white trim a fresh coat of paint and paint the garage door and Bilco (cellar) doors in Card Room Green.
carriage lights | details on our new windows
For safety reasons, we’re also going to replace the handrail and look into getting the concrete section that sunk either repaired or replaced. The rickety handrail and the larger step created by the sunken concrete section make the step a bit more challenging for our parents, so we want to address that.
Eventually, I envision creating a kitchen garden outside the side door. There’s a perfect little area guarded by an L-shape hedge that would be perfect for a traditional four-square kitchen garden with a little white picket fence around it.
We’ll get there. Just one little step after one little step…
20 Responses
I always say the smallest things can make the biggest impact as far as curb appeal. The new kitchen window really looks sharp with the freshly painted shutters put back on. If you are going to re-seed, now is the time to do it and quickly before the cold weather sits in.
It is looking fantastic! Nothing like fresh plants and fresh mulch. We had some huge bare patches in our lawn due to Marylands drought this summer (at least in my area, I’m a little south of you) and my husband threw down some Pennington contractor blend a couple weeks ago and it’s mostly filled in already. We selected because it had rye in the mix and should germinate even in cooler temps like we’ve been having.
Nice work on the garden, it tidied up nicely! I agree the railing needs to go.
Gosh, the new kitchen window did as much for the outside as for the inside. It’s fun to watch.
I love how you add charm to everything you touch. ❤️
Looks great! For future reference, it’s not a good idea to use weed blocking fabric in your flower beds. It’s better to apply a preemergent ( like Preen ) to your beds a couple of times per year.
What is the clear plastic thing in the flower bed?
It’s a cover for the window well.
Marion, I’ll be interested in seeing what you come up with for the window well in the future. I planted perennials and they grew around the covers but I’m not sure I like it. I much prefer what you did.
You should look into the newest metal awnings out there. They are really pretty and not overly expensive.
Hi Marion! Everything you accomplish is AMAZING and I love it, but I am wondering if the Japanese holly is too close to the porch. I have learned that lesson more than once and hope to help others avoid my mistakes. The last one was a spreading boxwood that seemed to be planted far enough out, but even with a hard annual pruning, it won. In the end, it had to go! If yours were centered between the window well cover and porch, it might end up softening/hiding at least some of the plastic cover. It’s possible that it is and the picture distorts it! Blessings!
Yes, I agree about the holly too close to the step, especially for future growth and if the cement is replaced. Hard to tell from the photos but shifting in a bit to left lined up with the shutter like the other side would be a quick fix. Everything else looks great. Yes, it’s hard on the knees, but I love creating new edging and plant ‘decorating’. Would you consider also painting the storm door the green?
You may want to look into a plant to place in front of or on the side of the window well covers. It’s called Mexican Petunia. They are planted at the entry at my church and they are still blooming… I live in St. Louis. I plan to get a few in the spring. They are annuals. But they are airey and bloom and bloom and bloom…. I’m amazed at them! 🙂 Medium dark foliage with purple blooms…
Oh, I’ll take a look at those. I definitely want to put something that will flower and hide that window well a bit more.
Love the additions and updates so far. I like the suggestion of Mexican Petunias with purple blooms. I think it would compliment the card green color of shutters and cellar door. Would you consider black handrail for contrast?
Marian,
I really love your vision and the challenging work you and Jeff have already put into your new home is paying off. It looks welcoming and so pretty.
It’s so much fun following along, thank you for sharing.
Karen B.
I love seeing the progress! Others mentioned, and I agree, to plant strategically in order to camoflauge the window well cover. Over time the well cover will just become part of of the landscape. I do love the idea of a larger covered doorway and stoop. It will make a world of difference to the presence of the facade and, practically speaking, the shelter that a roof will provide will be priceless in inclement weather! I also vote w some others to paint the cellar door Card Room Green:-) What great progress you have already made – both inside and out!
What a beautiful house and i adore before and afters in general on houses 🙂 /Maria
Looking so nice! I know Japanese Holly are slow growing, but remember to give enough space between the house and your plantings. My Dad advised me to give six feet between bushes and the house! Six feet! He was right, those bushes filled in. Its best if they aren’t growing up against the house some day.
I came back to your post about the window well cover. I was puzzling over the oddness of the cover, then it dawned on me that the cover is wrong for that window. That cover is for an emergency access basement window. Our last house had a four foot access window; the window was at least three feet under grade and at least one foot of the window extended above grade. That way if you were stuck in the basement, you could open the sliding window and climb out. There was a drain at the bottom of the well to catch moisture from snow and rain and the window cover added more protection from the elements. If you look online you can find flat window covers that are slightly sloped so snow and rain slide off. We had the flat covers on our remaining basement window wells and you couldn’t see the window wells until you were very close to them. Hope this helps.