Over the summer we have also tried to perk up the outside of the house. We have plans of re-doing the sidewalk, driveway and stairs in the fall or spring, but in the mean time there were a few other projects we could do.
The most noticeable improvement is no more overgrown bush! It was not only overgrown, but a thorny bush! (Whose name escapes me at the moment.) Yuck! We also painted the steps, removed and replaced the house numbers, replaced missing siding corners, planted a few geraniums, painted the front door and removed those odd triangular decorations, and scraped and painted the wood trim around the porch. To see what it looked like last fall, go Here
The tree in front. I have a bit of a love/hate with this tree. I was so sure it was an Eastern Redbud and eagerly awaited the little pink buds this spring. Turns out it is a Flowering Pear Tree! It isn't so bad, but I was so disappointed! The tree is also planted perfectly lined up with the front door and sidewalk. I don't know if this was on purpose or someone's brilliant non-planning. So I go back and forth about whether I cut it down and re-plant something else. At this point it is way down on the to-do list, so it only crosses my mind every once in a while.
There is something about making small changes that really makes a house your own. The house numbers were adequate, they did the job, were visible from the road. But I thought they were rather chunky and being on the end corner of the house too far out. I love how they look on the door, rather English and there is no mistaking this house is 2219!
The geraniums in the front flower beds (kind of hard to see in the other pictures). Pink of course!
I also hung a little welcome sign on the door to the house, thought is was kind of fun with the reflection of the porch and me taking the picture.