Curb Appeal

Last year when I bought this house, it needed a tremendous amount of work. It seems like when I get one thing done, it's that much more noticeable what else is wrong! The curb appeal was (and still is) lacking so much but I just do what I can as I can and try to make the biggest impact possible. Since I'm doing everything myself and since money always seems non-existent these days (the economy seems to be steadily bad or maybe that's just in my little world), it's slow slow slow progress.

Ahhhh back to curb appeal. My little house was in the pits of despair with it's rusted and peeling wrought iron railings, falling apart trim, no landscaping, peeling painted porch (sides, steps and flooring), and a mega crack the depth of the entire porch. Some time, less than a gallon of paint (the special kind with the gritty texture to avoid slipping on it when it's wet which I learned the hard way as the old flooring resulted in slipping of not only myself but my parents and thank goodness no one fell!), 3 cans of spray paint, sanding paper, some mulch, some landscape fabric, some edging, a few little bushes and plants in need of love, and a WHOLE LOT of hard hard work....and the place looks like someone actually lives here now lol

Some before photos (these are when I first looked at the house July 2011 and before I did anything at all):

For some reason, there were wires, vines (mostly dead), and thorny things all over the porch and railings. My Dad, nephew and myself got out there and started cutting wires, vines and bushes like crazy before I moved in. So by Autumn, everything was much neater and I'd physically washed the concrete areas with a bucket of soapy water and a heavy duty sponge, but still you can tell everything was still really ugly. These were taken in late September 2011:

Fast forward through all that to today...back in October, I sanded the wrought iron and painted all of those black to their original state (this took like a week I believe it was). I filled in that large crack a few days after that. About a week or so ago, I worked a little on the landscaping with what I had here to work with. Eventually, I have big plans for that but for now at least it's not totally bare. Then, today, finally, I have it all painted. This is the after:

I ache so badly from crawling around on that rough exterior. The spots on my knees and tops of my feet (through sweatpants and shoes) plus my sunburn is a big reminder of my day....but it was so very worth it. Each little thing I did to make that front look like it does today was a wonderful feeling. Though each time I could see how badly things still needed work. And, they still do. But I do think it looks much better :)

Mailbox Change

Back when I got this house, it had a part of a mailbox here. No door and broken with holes in it, so needless to say I needed another one and fast. 


I’ve been working on my mailbox…it was one that was “free” that I found as I was working at a property next door to one that was being dozed down from the trauma it received in a storm here last April. The mailbox didn’t require digging or a post (perfect for me!) and it was just seconds before being put in a dumpster when I asked if I could have it. And sure enough a year later, it looks very different. 


Before:

After: