When I’m standing in the back yard, my view to the West looks like this…
So you can see why I don’t often spend a lot of time gazing at the back of the house. Also, let’s be honest, with the warped siding, peeling paint, and those dark green accents, this view was something that made me want to avert my eyes…
Just. Ugh.
While a lot of it seems cosmetic, the wood siding here has just about seen the end of its days, as has the deck. And while I still make my “not amused” face every time I mention that list of repairs I have to have done in, oh, two months, in order to get my money out of escrow, I will admit that being motivated to tackle a number of projects on the back of the house in the last couple of weeks has made a huge impact.
Right? It certainly doesn’t look like a whole new house, but she’s definitely looking refreshed from the back. Um. That doesn’t sound quite right. Although I guess I did give the place the house equivalent of a butt-lift, so I’m just going to go with it.
Now, the lawn on the other hand…
Hey, you can’t win them all. Plus dead grass requires almost no mowing, which left a lot more time for stuff like this.
In the last three weeks, I’ve:
- Replaced the missing railing on the deck
- Scraped, painted, and stained the deck
- Refreshed the ugly back door
- Patched the exterior siding
- Scraped and painted the wood exterior
- Bought an inappropriate doormat
What?
So my house is a smart ass. What can you do?
I actually really love the doormat. It’s from Uncommon Goods and it makes me laugh every day, plus it reminds anyone who comes over that we don’t take ourselves too seriously at the Liberty House. It’s one of those side-effects of spending a lot of time inhaling paint fumes.
For example, the pressure washer did a great job prepping the back for that new coat of paint, so it was just minor scraping…
And then a lot of trips up the ladder with a 3″ roller.
Even though most of this was just temporary updates to appease the bank, it still feels good to have made the house a little bit more “mine”.
In the next year (or two, if I really push it) the deck and all of that wood siding needs to be replaced, but since it only took two weekends and I really powered through the work, I feel pretty good about putting the time in to make it look better in the short term.
And now, on to the front…
With a 150 year old farm house, the fun never ends.
14 Responses
And we love to watch you do it!
I’m still jumping through hoops for my money is escrow. I finished the repairs, mailed my documents and receipts, and someone came out to check – WHAT IS THE HOLD UP, KIDS?! *ahem* Me, impatient? No.
Anyway, good luck!
I love, love, love that doormat. LOL gonna go get me one. thanks
So I was looking back at your master list and you have a lot of things you can cross off now!! Congrats and keep up the good work! Small question (that you may or may not have answered before) but I have never bought a house before so I don’t know how the whole money in escrow thing goes but how long do you have to finish all the bank mandated projects??
You should paint the siding (the light grey out) to a dark graphite (pencil lead) grey and all the trim out in white…..that addition would pop out and look really slick.
Wow, Honey! The difference is astounding. Painting the door was totally the right call. Viva La Liberty!
Looking great!! So much work but it’s worth it. Namely, no more hunter green. I heart your cheeky doormat. {Pun totally intended.}
Still trying to figure out the mindset when someone said, “Hey, let’s use green paint on that little section of two boards between the vent and the door”. Great job on the repairs/butt lift!
Would like to let you know that I do a little happy dance when I see you’ve posted something new! I’ve actually tackled a few things myself when I see all that you’ve done. Thanks!
Oh, yes. I forgot to mention that I did a classic coffee-spew laugh when I got to the doormat! Awesome!
I don’t think that’s the same backside! Great call/choice on the color scheme…love that green door and the mat has me chuckling way too loud for the office!
Awesome difference! It’s amazing what a little paint and attention can do for a house.
Nice work! Lookin’ good!
Love the progress! Can you recommend a jig saw for a small handed person, mine is cheap and stinks.
Thanks!
Laughed at the doormat so hard I dropped my phone! Lucky it didn’t break.
Gotta get a mat like that, am thinking:
“Commando? Seriously?”
Looking great!! So much work but it’s worth it. Very nice post shared. Thanks
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