I fell in love with our lot when the old house was still here. The house sat probably a few hundred feet from the country road and I loved all the open space. The exterior and landscaping was very much a priority when planning the new house. And once the new house came along we could still see more potential, but there was still work to be done.
Issue number one was deciding which direction the house should face. The old house didn't actually face the road, but rather the lane. It's really hard to explain, so hopefully pictures clear it up. It seemed to bother other people that the house didn't face the road, but it never was a big deal to me. It is perhaps my number one pet peeve when people don't use their front door. I wanted it to face the lane because then it gave no excuses for not using the front door. I didn't want any other doors exposed either. Plus, now the house faces a major road across the field so it's actually seen by more people. It was settled that the new house would face the same direction as the old one had.
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| View from the mailbox |
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| So many mismatched trees... |
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| View from the field. Also a closer view of what you see from the major road across the field. |
As far as the look of the house, we went with a neutral gray siding. Perhaps some day we will upgrade with some stone or brick accents, but I am perfectly content with the current look. I also fought hard for my front porch. I wanted the porch to stretch the length of the house and to be as deep as possible - deep enough to sit or rock comfortably in a chair without hitting the house or a railing. And I didn't want puny columns, I wanted significant ones. Now that I have it, it's perfect. Eventually we will add a railing, flower boxes, and other furniture to dress it up, but again, priorities. Hurray for having front steps! It only took 14 months after moving in to get them.. (notice the bottom piece of siding is still unfinished).
Obviously, the house needs landscaping around the perimeter (hopefully next month!). It will bring a lot of color to the house. The circle drive landscaping needs some work too - Andy already tore out the old overgrown bushes and replanted some of the random hastes that used to be in the back. There are also random bushes here and there on the property that will go, as well. Basically, we have a lot of work to do on the flower front.
The lot had several old trees around the property, protecting it from wind. However, the best trees had to be cut down to make room for the new house, and all the ones left are old and dying (seriously!). I honestly don't think there is a single tree that we won't eventually tear down. I don't love the evergreens in the front and the current trees/bushes are oddly spaced to me. Over the years we will have to replace them all one by one, but we do want to have trees surrounding the house again. My OCD self just needs coordinating tree placement and type.
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| Not sure why the right half of this tree doesn't grow.. |
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| More proof of the tree-dying phenomenon. Such a sad evergreen.. |
Originally the lot only had one shed, the smaller one in the far back corner. However, the bigger shed was put up due to necessity for more equipment storage. Now half of the lot is graveled and I'm not really a fan. Paving the lane and drive-up would make me feel a little better about losing so much green space but that's A LOT of area to pave, so I won't hold my breath waiting on that. I guess it's a necessary trade off..
As far as the backyard and an outdoor living space, we have two sliding glass doors installed- one off the dining room/kitchen area, and one off the mudroom. We are hoping to build a small deck sometime this summer off the dining room space. We've been grilling in the garage and it's such a hassle (not to mention a bit of a fire hazard). Last summer was such a bummer to not have anywhere to entertain, and I hated having to lug out a folding chair just to sit outside, so it will be nice to get some patio furniture. In the future, we plan to pave a patio off the mudroom door, as well.
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| Space for future deck |
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| Space for future patio |
Obviously there is so much yard space that we can pretty much do whatever we want with it! There is even a lot of space beyond the house in the far back of the lot.
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| The back of the lot - also more proof that this generation of trees has seen better days |
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| Random white fence that sits in the middle of nowhere |
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| The inaugural first tree planting took place last month |
We have big plans for this place! And I'm thankful for Andy who is obsessed with the outdoors. I know things will happen thanks to his motivation. He's been working so hard to get our new grass to grow! We know it will take a LOT of time and effort, but we couldn't be happier with all of the potential.
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