Whew...Alive and Back!

Wow.  Whew.  Whoa. What?

I'm not really sure which of those words best describes the last 4 months.  Probably they all do.

Best news...we are in our new house, we made our deadline of August 1st (with one toilet and a shower), barely livable but we did it.  As of now, we are just about done.  There are random mirrors and light fixtures missing, but school is underway and life is back on track.

Original
Some of the curb appeal issues include the overgrown landscaping, dated dual-color  scheme, the orange brick, misplaced and proportioned shutters, very worn windows, a hidden entry, and the dimensionless east wall.

I will slowly but surely show you the transformation of our home.  For now, when all is said and done, I feel like I am living in my dream home.  I love how everything turned out.  All my hundreds of hours spent designing, redesigning, drawing, and combing the internet paid off.

Midway through: the brick is painted, the carpet has been removed, the hedge trimmed, bushes removed.  The windows are not yet replaced, columns, windows and front door are not yet replaced and trimmed.  

Lights replaced, new windows and trim.  New pergola, flower boxes, shutters and borders.  We added significant visual weight to the smaller windows on the garage side of the house on the bonus room.  The pergola and flower boxes ground the house and give the long flat surface dimension and interest.  The trim serves to further break up the monotonous space.  We painted the garage door the same color as the brick and siding to blend it into the house.  Replacing the door was not in the budget at this time.

We did not stay in budget (about 20% off), but we did stay on schedule which was a phenomenal accomplishment.  I tried to get all our subs to salute me and call me "General."  Some of them got into it, others didn't think it was that cute.   General contracting is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Front Door Then
 It was very awkward inside the front entry.  The door was built too close to the stairway, so the door would not open completely.  To solve the problem we replaced it with full-light double doors. They added light and beauty to the entire house and solved the inoperable front door issue. 

Front Door Now
  We beefed up the columns, and reduced the number, to proportionally match the house and open up interior views.  We removed the carpet from the porch and coated it with a concrete restorer.  The long term plan is to cover it in slate.   We added crown molding and trim to the door to add interest and visual weight.  I would eventually like to add some trim to our bay windows, but I am not certain of the right way to do it yet, considering the brick ledge on the bottom.

However, we made it.  There were no trips to the pool this summer, but somehow we all survived and are not worse for the adventure.