Farmhouse Exterior Makeover

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Hello, DIYShowOff friends! If you’ve been a DIYShowOff follower, you’ll remember our farmhouse from back in the day. Ready for a farmhouse before & after exterior update and makeover? It’s undergone the biggest before and after exterior makeover to date. It’s hard to believe it’s the same farmhouse. Of course there are still projects on the list (porch railing, landscaping, etc.) but our property has never looked better! The exterior is so pretty and the yard is now an oasis, our personal retreat.

diyshowoff exterior farmhouse makeover

Farmhouse Before

Before…old windows, faded siding, back doors with awnings, sidewalks and a lack of landscaping. An old dilapidated grape arbor.

BEFORE:

farmhouse before

We definitely got the side eye when purchasing this fixer upper but my Mr. DIY and I saw the potential.

After: French doors, new windows, new siding, a new metal roof, concrete patio, concrete stairs and a stamped stained concrete pool deck and walkways were added, grape arbor rebuild. Years in the making!

AFTER:

farmhouse exterior makeover

Early Makeover Projects

One of the first projects was installing French doors where the single back doors were and removing the awning. Then came a patio and some landscaping.

back exterior farmhouse before

And a grape arbor gazebo makeover. Here’s the before:

grape arbor before

Pool Party

Then last year…a major update starting with an in-ground pool installation, stained & stamped concrete pool deck and patio. Check out our complete in-ground pool installation!

in-ground fiberglass pool patio

Welcome guests!

We have a new front door and porch! Our home didn’t have a front door (original was enclosed to create a ‘sun porch’) which we opened up into a home office when we got new windows. Original front door is in the wood sided addition shown below…

farmhouse addition

Here it is inside…

DIY fall autumn dreamcatcher door decor wreath @diyshowoff

Other side of the front yard…

farmhouse before makeover

BEFORE:

exterior door install

So we added a new front entry door and front porch leading into our family room. It’s still a work in progress with the need for railing and extending the sidewalk from bottom of stairs to the driveway but looking good!

dark home exterior front door

New Siding

Then new board and batten, cedar shake and ledge-stone (vinyl) siding for an amazing transformation for the biggest “wow”.

BEFORE:

exterior siding makeover before

AFTER:

board and batten siding

Siding is from CVS. Board and Batten color: Carbon Designer. Trim: Linen. Ledge stone siding is Arizona Sandstone and cedar shakes: Rustic Cedar Designer.

BEFORE AND AFTER different view:

carbon color board and batten siding before and after

Metal Roof

And a new metal roof on additions (keeping the original slate which is still in good condition in a copper color.

After (the transformation)

So, it’s been a minute. Okay, it’s been way longer. But I’m back! I’ve missed our connection. It’s so easy to get lost in the everyday, especially with how blogging has changed over the years and with losing my Facebook page to a hacker leaving me feeling defeated with the disappearance of years of hard work. Time to get back on the horse, ya know?! Time to catch up! I have so much more to share!

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Roeshel (@diyshowoff)

What do you think? Big change, right?

DIY Window Shelves for Plants

I recently shared my craft room tour. And as a little reward for cleaning up that chaos and getting organized, I treated myself to a little DIY project. I love one of the windows in this room. Here’s how it looked in the past:

vintage craft room

The window shown above nearly reaches from floor to ceiling and with the two different sized windows in the room (one tall window with trim original to the house/one high small window with no trim), window treatments always felt tricky or lopsided. 

So why cover that beautiful trimmed tall window at all? It faces the back of the house, it’s a second story window and it’s not a room for dressing or a need for privacy. I’ve always wanted to put shelves on a window for plants. Plenty of sunshine should assist in changing my luck with plants, right? 

Here’s what I did…

Materials:

  • (3) 1 x 4″ pine boards for shelves
  • (6) shelf brackets
  • Minwax Polyshades (Ebony)

I decided where I would attach the brackets to the window trim to calculate the measurement of my shelves.

measure

Then cut my shelves. 

window shelving tutorial

Sanded the rough edges and wiped them clean. 

window shelving tutorial

Then brushed on the Polyshades using a foam brush. I let it sit for a few minutes then wiped the stain away and let dry. I did all sides. (I may apply a wax finish to the wood shelves for further water-proofing but I was on a bit of a deadline.)

window shelving tutorial

Next I marked the holes for the brackets and drilled a pilot hole.

window shelving tutorial

Then I just screwed the brackets into the window trim/pilot hole (can always be patched with wood filler in the future). *Use a level to be sure they’re ‘level’. 

window shelving tutorial

Attach the wood shelves to the brackets with screws (be sure these screws are smaller than the shelf thickness so the screw doesn’t poke up from the bottom).  

It adds a bit of privacy without a long drapy curtain panel but still lets natural light into the room.  

window plant shelves at diyshowoff.com

It’ll take some maneuvering/removing plants to open the window but the shelves don’t interfere with the function. 

window shelves at diyshowoff.comwindow succulents

 

before

vintage craft room

after

Craft Room at diyshowoff.com

 

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DIY: Removable Decorative Window Frame

DIY MAGIC WINDOW ART TUTORIAL

As a member of the Lowe’s Creative Ideas network, I’m participating in the September “window treatment” challenge. I was provided with a Lowe’s gift card to complete my project…addressing this bathroom window:

DIY Removable Decorative Window Frame Tutorial

Our main floor bathroom has a window that sits high up (no one can see in and the view out is of the treetops). The window is not framed. I’ve tried a curtain on this window, but with it sitting so high above the toilet tank, it just doesn’t look right.

bathroom window

This project would be great for window privacy too!

Materials I used:

  • 1×3 pine boards to create a frame
  • Flat corner brackets
  • Gorilla Wood Glue
  • Wood filler
  • White paint (leftover Valspar Signature in satin finish)
  • Picture frame hanging hardware
  • Screen (36″ wide)
  • FrogTape
  • Staples
  • Stencil
  • Craft paint
  • White vinyl table cloth
  • Vinyl decals

Removable decorative window frame: 

I started with creating a frame for my window using the 1×3 boards, corner brackets, Gorilla Glue, wood filler and paint. It’s best to miter the joints, add glue to the joints and brackets (be sure that screws are not longer than depth of frame). Fill joint lines with wood filler and lightly sand once dry. Prime/paint frame.

DIY removable wood window frame

Cut screen to fit inside the wooden frame with enough room to fold under borders and to staple to the back side of the frame.

 Removable window frame DIY

Stencil a design on the screen and let dry. I used Cutting Edge Stencil’s Allium Gladiator Flower Stencil (it sort of looks like dandelions and butterflies). FrogTape was essential in working with the screen by holding it flat and in place. Once paint is dry, staple screen to back of frame. 

removable decorative DIY window frame tutorial

You may think to stop here but when I hung the frame (in the daylight), the stenciled design wasn’t visible. It simply looked as if I only framed the window.

So I cut a piece of white vinyl table cloth to size (a bit bigger than the inner space of my frame with an extra inch around the borders to staple it into place) then I added vinyl decals to the white tablecloth. (I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out a bike and quote.) You could also try a light colored/patterned fabric or paint your own design on canvas…just remember that your stenciled screen will show when it’s dark outside.

removable decorative DIY window frame tutorial

I stapled the white tablecloth into place. 

Simply hang on nails using the sawtooth picture hangers. Easily removable – as simple as taking a picture off the wall.

Before…

bathroom window

During the day, the bike and quote show up…

bathroom window covering

and at night, the stenciled screen shows up as well…

DIY window frame

It’s easily removable for when I want to open/access the window and lets in a lot of light during the day. Yay! Love the result…window dressing, window frame and art. What do you think?

See more fun DIY ideas at Lowe’s Creative Ideas, follow Lowe’s on InstagramPinterest and sign up for the Creative Ideas magazine and app!

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*Disclaimer: As a member of the Lowe’s Creative Ideas Creators and Influencers network, I received a Lowe’s gift card to complete this project for a mini outdoor makeover challenge, however the tutorial images, instructions and opinions are my own.