Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Curb Uh... Peel

It is no secret (to my neighborhood at least) that the front of my house has definitely seen better days.  While the main exterior of the house is a solid tan, the front steps have been painted brown, seemingly to match the... dirt?  Maybe so as not to clash with the yellowish brick that is the sidewalk.  Or... something.  The entry to the front porch is painted burgundy (really, that's all the paint can says:  "burgundy") but it is definitely a bright, purple/magenta version of burgundy.  Perhaps "faded wine stain burgundy" would've been a more accurate name, but I don't name these things.  When you get into the front porch, you're accosted by the sea green hue of the wainscoting.  Here's what we're dealing with:

The door to the entry lost some screws, and the metal has rubbed at the front door

This door has seen better days.  It looks so sad.

The hardware has been changed too many times, and not replaced in some spots.
Paint chips anyone?

Ick.

Magenta!  I love the door handle here, but it's just decorative at this point

Interior porch.  The rain hits this side of the porch all the time, and the paint has peeled away

bottom of the windows where the caulk has flaked off


None of it looks good.  I've hated it all since I purchased the house, but so many other things needed to be done that this item of business has been lingering at the bottom of the list for a few years.  Until now: The serious lack of curb appeal is highlighted by peeling paint, cracked and missing caulk around the windows, and just plain hideousness.  It looks about as bad as it can possibly be, in my opinion.

This summer's project is to bring sexy back to the front of my house.  I present the following to-do list:

  • Paint!  (and of course, the prep that goes along with painting)  I can't currently afford to paint the entire exterior (so, the solid tan stays, even though that is peeling slightly) but I can get rid of the burgundy/sea green/brown tragedy that is the color scheme of the front porch.
  • Caulk the windows and repair screens where needed.
  • Remove the dead foliage growth from last year, and apply organic weed control, barrier, and mulching.  Sadly, this means all flowers and flowering plants will have to go until the very invasive moonflower and bishop's weed dies off completely... which will likely take a couple of years.  
  • Repair or replace door hardware.  While they're old, they're temperamental.  One slight depression of a button means that the front door locks... and I don't have a skeleton key to open it.  I'm not going to mention just how I open it, but it takes at least 15 minutes to MacGyver.
  • Remove and replace the rotting wood retaining wall and replace with landscaping bricks. 
  • Remove tile house numbers and replace with something modern.
  • If I can swing it financially, replace the exterior lights on either side of the front door.
  • Transform front porch into proper sleeping porch.

I still have a week and a half of classes, but as soon as that is over, it's time to start scraping, sanding, and priming.

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