The house updating is still a work in progress but it has been painted and gutters have been installed. Here are some before/after photos.
Fifteen year old blue paint, peeling blue gutters and a white door.
👇 Sherwin Willams Alabaster paint with black gutters. 👇
The back of the house in progress.....you can see both colors as it transforms. They needed to bring in a lift to get the upper level as the metal roof is too hot and slippery for anyone to stand on. The only negative was the lift was heavy and made huge ruts in yard.
Here is the job done with black gutters installed.
Next project is putting plants in under the windows. We meandered around Esposito garden center where Loki saw three cats roaming the store. We walked outside to see the plants and trees for sale, made notes on the sort of plants we want to purchase.
The other flower beds are doing well, These all need full sun and when we pick something for the front of the house it will need to be full sun as well.
That's it - the project continues and I hope to have new photos in a week or so. The lawn guys will be here Friday to cut the field and around the house so that will be nice. I had to tell them to stay away from the house two weeks ago because of all the paint cans, ladders etc.
Any suggestions on plants/shrubs which do not require a lot of maintenance AND can handle high temperatures is appreciated. More later..........
Maybe you talked about this and I missed it, but I wonder if you are feeling sadness about doing all this work on your home knowing you are going to leave it, or if the joy in moving overcomes that??
ReplyDeleteNan, I think it would be bittersweet as we've been in the house over 30 years. Sometimes when things happen such as soaring interest rates and an offer of contingency is rejected, I feel like it's just meant for us to stay. That sounds crazy, I know, but we do love the house so currently there aren't big plans to steam ahead and sell after putting money/time into upgrades.
DeleteTo be honest, what we'd like is for all the people who bought the 2 acre parcels across from us to disappear! It was rural and quiet here before they built and put up big lights, ruining the dark night sky, bringing more traffic, etc. We flet if we had to now live in a "neighborhood" it may as well be one of our choosing with some amenities. I absolutely love your homestead!
Geez, that is awful. This business of lights is terrible. Even in little rural towns up here. And even out my bedroom window, where there are millionaire (more?) people with night lights in and outside when they aren't even there. Who knows how much time they are actually in the houses, but that damn light! And we can see the sky lighter from all the businesses in the next town. It just makes me sick. And boy, now I don't blame you for wanting to leave. Why are there no laws about outside lights???
DeleteNan, you understand Completely! We had a good location but people move in and immediatley install big street lights above their driveway. My husband does astronomy and he has asked the utility company to at least put a shield up so the light doesn't trespass on our property. Nope, no can do.
DeleteThe new people put up flood lights on the corners of their house and just leave them on! Day and night! Thanks for letting me vent.
Love the look of the house and the flowers. I still haven't planted any in the front of my house, really should get busy on that. I'm interested in seeing any comments about plants and shrubs. I looked at the USDA Plant Zone site for 9B which is where I live but there were so many to choose from I gave up. I'm not a good decision maker when there's so many choices.
ReplyDeleteVicki, if you have a nursery in your area with flower displays, rather than tables and tables of loose plants for sale, that could give you some good ideas. We have looked at very low maintenance plants. Will let you know what we find as we have high temps like you.
DeleteThe house is looking great, you must be pleased. We have a very hot balcony and geraniums love it. Red would look great.
ReplyDeleteJust thought of a UK series you would like The Bodyguard.
Jackie, we are going to get geraniums after we get the day lily plants in. Great idea, thanks! I checked on The Bodyguard but our library dosn't have it. It;s now on my list and I will ask for interlibrary loan.
DeleteJackie, I think red would be a great contrast. We are going to the nursery to check plants later today or tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion! The library doesn't have The Bodyguard but I will look at Amazon for a DVD. I am loving the suggestions for crime shows! Have you seen Line of Duty? We watched season one so far.
ReplyDeleteOh wow that looks great!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jinjer!! Once the plants are in it will look better. not so plain in front.
DeleteSpring! Time to freshen things up, paint peeling surfaces, plant optimistic flowers, and then what? We know we won’t be here forever, but like you, we have loved it and hope to stay a while. Since our neighborhood was built out in the 1920s we don’t have to worry about new development, though. Good luck with whichever path you take.
ReplyDeletebest, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae, Thank you. I like the looks of your neighborhood, reminds me of the neighborhoods in the area where I grew up. It's probably less expensive to stay here than downsize and while the upstairs isn't an issue yet...we will bide our time.
DeleteCongrats! The house looks fabulous. Nothing like a fresh coat of paint and new gutters to spruce things up. I read your comment to Nan about the lights in your neighborhood. What a shame. We live in a small-ish gated community and while some may complain about the HOA's rules, we are lucky to live in a place that observes the Dark Skies movement. It's almost completely pitch black here by 10 or 11 at night. The stars are amazing (when there isn't any cloud cover, of course!).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Les! I wish it were like that here, consideration of the night skies. So much has moved out our way in the last 30 years. Not just the new homes near us but businesses on the highway close by. They put up so much light at night for no reason!
DeleteThe house looks fantastic! I love the white with the black trim with the metal roof. I'm looking forward to seeing what flowers you choose. My grandmother always had banks of azaleas when they were in south Mississippi (and I'm guessing a similar region) and they seemed to do well in the hot temps and sandy soil. They were huge! Daylilies did pretty well but other than that I'm not sure. She always struggled with finding flowers that would just get fried. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteKatherine, we love the new look too! We have started planting daylillies and just picked up something called Arizona sun blanket. It looks like a daisy and without planning it, it's in a garnet and gold as the FSU colors :-) We aren't football fans so that wasn't the reason we picked the color scheme.
DeleteYour house looks lovely! I know how it feels to have new neighbors who seem to be focused on their own needs are who are oblivious to the needs of others. We recently got neighbors who work on cars, and (who knows why?) they rev up the engines over and over in the evenings. The police were finally called out, and they have agreed to stop this practice.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Deb. We had a neighbor just like the ones you mentioned and he worked on his car around 10:00 P.M. We worked early and didn;t need the noise near our bedroom so that became a problem. It's a shame people can't be considerate and use common sense.
DeleteWow your house looks very snappy now with the new colors and paint! It makes it look more up to date. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! We are planting loads of flowers/plants and will update soon.
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