I saw this one coming. Ha!
After a long wait, all of our home projects are landing at the same time. What a whirlwind!
Technically, the stair carpet runner got going last week and is still a work in progress. So something I struggled with for months is *almost* finished! The rest is well underway.
The Exterior Paint Project
The exterior trim, shutters and doors are getting painted as I type. The project I've dreamed about since we moved into this house is finally happening! I laid out all my plans for the first four months of projects in 2021 in my Home Goals, Part 1 post back in January.
We had to save up money after moving in, then track down a painter. We went with the same team that painted our kitchen, hallways and main living areas Edgecomb Gray last year. Then we had to fit into their schedule and wait for good weather. All told, the process has taken about 15 months.
I'll share more details in the reveal post, but they started yesterday, and I snapped a few photos showing the difference between the yellow (old color) and Simple White (new color).
I was afraid the white might look too stark, but I LOVE it!! I've never been a fan of yellow, and the white feels so much more like me! It feels like the outside of the house will finally match the inside. Yay!
At first I picked Graphite by Benjamin Moore for the front door and shutters. But once I got a sample, it was far too light (or the wrong shade, not sure which). I expected it to be much darker. So I tried a few more colors and settled on Onyx by Benjamin Moore.
I can't wait until it's all finished! I'll share the reveal as soon as the crew wraps up and I can take some good photos!
The Lawn Project
Then there's the yard saga. Long story short, TruGreen killed the beautiful grass in our front yard last summer. We hired them to help keep the weeds under control, and instead they killed the grass. Womp. Womp.
It took us so long to realize they weren't going to make things right that it was too late to fix it last year. Eventually we concluded that sod was our only real option.
Because the yard is steep (water runs off fast) and gets direct sun most of the day, it's hard to get grass to look good here. But both of our neighbors have had great luck with Zoysia. It grows slowly, so we had to join a waiting list and wait for it to be cut. Now it's finally time for the cut, and it will arrive this coming weekend.
My husband has spent the past 3 days scalping the yard and clearing out the dead grass to get it ready for the sod.
It's going to be such an exciting time when my home is painted in the right colors and has beautiful grass again. I might even get excited about the landscaping once everything is finished.
Before, it felt silly to work on the flower beds when the house didn't look the way we wanted. It seemed like we should save for the big projects before tackling the small things. But now that everything is happening at once, I'm itching to work on the shrubs, bushes and flowers!
Our Go-To Pressure Washer
While it's been fun to watch the transformation this week, we've put a lot of work into getting ready for it! I'll share all of my prep in the full paint reveal post, but for now I wanted to show you our pressure washer.
If you're tackling spring cleaning right now, this is a great tool to have in your arsenal!
I wanted to pressure wash as much of the exterior as I could before the painters arrived. It was obvious that much of the house hadn't been cleaned in a long time.
This inexpensive pressure washer has been such a great tool for cleaning the house! I plan to use it on our outdoor patio furniture and outdoor rugs, too! (Once the painting is done, I'll have time to tackle that.)
In the meantime, I pressure washed our front steps. I've wanted to do this since we moved in. The before photo below isn't great quality, but do you see how dark they look?
Now they're fresh and clean!
I've also been working on our back patio and pad. It's amazing how much caked-on dirt had built up out there!
But it feels so good to be working on the outside of the house: getting it cleaned, painted and covered in beautiful grass. I can't wait to show you the "after"!
What are you working on this spring for the outside of your home? Share your projects in the comments below!
