Curb Appeal: We Have It (Now)

So, when last I was posting, I believe the exterior of the farmhouse looked about like this:

Already better than when we bought it.

Since then, a LOT of things have been done to the outside of the house, and I have to say, it's looking pretty darn spiffy. For one, my dad painted us a faux-window to even out the visual balance of the big window into the parlor.

Symmetry. It's a good thing.

We also got the weird bit of siding over the front porch primed and painted so it would match better with the actual siding.

We also got the lean-to painted to match, and repainted the trim. But the biggest improvement is that my dad rebuilt the porch steps, using the old stones to create new pillars. It was a huge job -- the old steps had to be broken up with a jackhammer, and there was a LOT of debris to clear away -- but the result makes an amazing difference.

So nice!

That sidewalk was an unexpected bonus -- while he was clearing out the porch debris, my dad uncovered the pad at the bottom of the steps. It looked like it kind of disappeared into the grass, and after a lot of digging, Chris discovered a sidewalk that goes all the way around to the lean-to!

Just recently, we were at work on the porch again, but this time, we were just cleaning. Cleaning the cedar siding along the back wall of the porch had probably last been done... never. So just a little elbow grease made a visible difference.

Unwashed on top. Washed on bottom. Yes, that's a backward way to clean.

This past weekend was sunny and warm, with no rain in the immediate forecast (it's been a surprisingly rainy summer this year), so we were able to get out and seal the wood -- the walls and the new steps and the porch swing -- and the masonry, which will hopefully help protect the mortar against future weathering.

It's like a real house!

We're pretty pleased with how things are looking -- and so are the neighbors. We've had a lot of comments about the snazzy new porch steps, and everyone agrees it looks a lot less like an abandoned, haunted house than when we first bought it.