The Sixth House: Exterior Update

Hello. Giving an update on the outside of my house is what is on this month's blog schedule for today, so... here goes. This will be a short post because not much has changed since the last update. We are in a holding pattern because of weather and permitting issues.

This is how the house looked in the last update:

This is how the house looks today:

And this is how it looked before the snow yesterday:

What has happened in the past thirty-two days? The boxwoods in the front have been transplanted around the patio in the back and new plantings have been added to the front (a mix of hydrangeas and shrub roses). The installation of the irrigation system has started which is why there are pink flags and hoses in the yard in the first two pictures. The Jeep garage, which was the main topic in the last update is still here. We have not installed the garage door that we picked out for it or the lighting because the neighborhood association wants it to be removed (it was approved and then there was some negative feedback - all of the details are in the last post). We are trying to sell it and have had no luck as of yet. I pray every night that we are able to keep it. I know it will look awesome when painted and completed the way it is planned. Pray, pray, pray.

Here is a view of the side entrance. The contractor is awaiting the permit to construct the roof here and at the front entrance. My dog Hudson is sad about it!

This is the opposite view of the side entrance. You cannot see it very clearly, there have been steps added from the driveway to a bluestone platform between the side entrance to the house and side entrance to the Jeep garage. There are more steps down to the yard at the end of the bluestone. This is a tremendous improvement as this area used to be a muddy slope with a few pavers on it between the deck and steps to the house's side entrance. You can also see that lavender plants have been added to this space, along with grasses that will not be visible until the spring. These will be flowing plants that will overlap each other and minimize the view under the side steps and camouflage the air conditioning unit and utility boxes. The water supply for the sprinkler system has also been installed at the corner of the house (the copper piping at the left corner of the house).

This is the view to the patio with the transplanted boxwoods around it. John calls this "an experiment". We need to see if they will grow and turn into the full hedge that we are hoping for. We need to purchase a few more boxwoods to finish off the semi circle.

This is the other side of the patio that leads to and from the lower deck. There will be some bushes planted at the edge of the patio (in line with the upper deck. Beneath the snow at the edge of the patio opposite the deck stairs will be grass with a few blue stone pavers to walk out into the yard. Right now it is all mulch under there and that will need to be removed as the plan calls for grass. We are not fans of mulch!

This is a slightly longer view to the patio and deck stairs. You can see that boxwoods are needed on the far side to meet the corner of the deck and on the near side to match the spacing.

This is how the back of the house looked when painting began on the house:

And this is how it looks now:

I am very pleased with the way the back of the house is coming along. There will be a hydrangea hedge added in front of the lower deck, to the left of the patio, to "soften" the look of the deck underside. Once the grass is growing and the landscaping is blooming, the back should look fantastic. The big hope now is that the front and sides do too!

One little peek at the inside. This is the floor we are considering for throughout the house. It is hickory and the tone of it, compared to the existing dark, reddish floor you see in this picture at the edge of the rug is night and day. Love it!

Later this month I am meeting with the builder and our project's designer to look at samples of the finishes we are selecting, to review renderings, and to finalize the designs for the renovation. Next month's update should have all of that good stuff!

I will be back tomorrow with January's installment of Move In Ready. See you then!

Thank you for following along,

Kerry