House Pictures Before and After: the front of the House

One more before and after post before we move on to the upstairs of our house.  The FRONT of the house.  I will save the back of the house for last. :)

Some of these pictures were taken by my dad, who walked around taking THOUSANDS of pictures that he then taped together to make panoramic views (ah..the good ole days). 

Ah, the beautiful house with my parent's cars in the driveway.  They are so awesome.  They helped me SO MUCH during the first few months (and years) of being in that house on my own.  That's my dad's ladder too -- he did all the "manly" stuff that I didn't know how (or want) to do.  He rocks.

Pay particular attention to that large juniper bush by the mailboxes (gone now) and the barberry bushes by the front door...

Here you can see more of right along the front of the house.

Same with here (and you can also see the pictures taped together LOL). 

The entrance to the house was the bane of my existence for so long.  See the horrible steps with the black gunk from outdoor carpeting still on it?  I can't tell you how many times I tried to get that stuff off.  See how the house juts out just at the top of the steps?  If you weren't careful, you'd bang your head on the house.  SO many people did it (myself included).  It SUCKED.  Gotta love the 60's wrought iron posts too.

 

AFTER!  Juniper bush is GONE and new landscaping is in its place...

Wrought iron posts are gone and new posts and a rail are there.  Entrance to the house was relocated to be straight out rather than up along the side of the house.  Landscaping along the entire front of the house was completed.  I love gardening.  I get it from my mom.  But seriously, we paid for a landscaping plan, and then we did all the work ourselves.  It is so wonderful to see the fruits of your labors bloom right before your eyes (corny, I know)!

Another view of the new front porch and landscaping.  We also got a new fiberglass front door and an AWESOME storm door that has a retracting screen.  I love this door.  I think it will be the first thing we will purchase at our new house (unless it has one already).  Oh yeah, we also got a new 3-dimensional roof put on (a complete tear off project) and new gutters and facia.  (Let me tell you, that is NOT cheap)  :)

 

Looking at it like this, you'd never even have guessed where the old steps were located.  But wow, does it look better or what?  My neighbor popped over tonight to drop off a Tupperware we had left at their house from a previous visit and she was telling me how every time she drives by our house, she is struck by how 'welcoming' the front of our house feels now.  What a complement!  XOXO