A Little TLC--Home Exterior Before & After

Over the years the homes we have purchased have changed not only in location but in architectural style. Our Northern and Midwest homes always had some sort of brick exterior, some full, some partial.  We love the warmth that brick exudes.

When relocating back to the Northeast from Texas we found many home exteriors that brought back those memories for us. We settled on a red brick front home, with siding encompassing each side and rear.

The first day we took possession of our home all of the existing landscaping was removed. It was all overgrown and the beds were in great need of some TLC.



The Master Bathroom window is hidden behind these overgrown shrubs.



It's never wise to have trees growing over your home!!The beautiful Holly tree in the foreground was the only tree we saved. It was trimmed in a pyramidal shape and still stands beautifully.

The guys deserved a break after all of that work!

Time for the painting crew to work their magic. We had all of the trim, shutters and doors painted.



When Jose started sanding the RED front door, he found this surprise from owner #3 underneath.
 

Now we are getting somewhere close to my vision!!

Finally finished.......but not without our landscaper giving us the Rutgers "Do Not Plant" list. It appears that the "14" deer that call the wooded area in back of our home, "their home," left us with a selection of one thing..... Boxwood. We happen to LOVE Boxwood hedges (they remind me of Versailles).......so when these little guys get bigger and grow together we will have a deer resistant hedge! Until then, Scott's Lawn Service to the rescue with a continuous diet of fertilizer speeding  up the growth.

The inset of Belgium block on our driveway at the front door contained some black tar pieces that  my husband wanted removed. To remedy this he found an Eco Friendly company that sand blasts with tiny glass beads. It was quite an interesting process to watch.  As you can see  the black tar came off in small pieces and the final product (below photo) makes the block look brand new.

This concludes our exterior front and sides renovation. I hope you have enjoyed the transformation from our ugly duckling to "the place we call home." Nothing we did was difficult, just time consuming...........I even stayed within budget!

From our home to yours.........happy planting and painting!