Farmhouse Exterior Makeover

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Posted on September 27, 2023 by Roeshel

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.

Farmhouse Before

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

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:

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.

And a grape arbor gazebo makeover. Here’s the 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!

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…

Here it is inside…

Other side of the front yard…

BEFORE:

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!

New Siding

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

BEFORE:

AFTER:

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:

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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What do you think? Big change, right?

Decorating Outdoor Living Spaces

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Roeshel

Summer is my favorite season of all – warm weather, long days and relaxing outdoors. We enjoy our patio, gazebo/grape arbor and barn patio area more than being indoors this time of the year. And I love decorating our outdoor living spaces just as much as I love decorating indoors.

Pops of color: Because I love to change things up every year, I find that keeping larger furniture pieces neutral works best since we tend to use them for 10 years or more at a time and to decorate with colorful accents.

Planting flowers breathes life and color into outdoor living areas. This year it’s shades of yellows, oranges, pinks and reds.

Colorful accent pillows are an invitation to get comfy and kick back with a frosty glass of lemonade. I like lots of pillows to soften things up.

Decorative accents:

Fun planters add a whimsical touch. (pallet, chandelier, tire)…

I recently spray painted a colander to add balance to the planters displayed in our magnolia tree …

Repurposed items add interest. (bird feeder, bundt pan, birdie garland)…

Furniture placement:

I love creating different cozy conversational areas like under the grape arbor for catching up with friends on this little bistro set…

swinging with the baby…

or positioning our canopied porch swing into a daybed position for curling up with a good book or a sweet pup…

al fresco dining near the kitchen door and grill…

areas to encourage conversation…

The flowers in my pallet garden have sprouted but aren’t visible yet.

For entertaining, we set up a buffet on the harvest table at our barn area with outdoor games in the yard near by. We add rental tables and chairs in the shade for large gatherings, a smaller comfortable area for more intimate parties. I haven’t tackled de-winterizing yet, but here’s now it usually looks all cleaned up…

To celebrate the start of summer we have an AWESOME Sensational Summer Outdoor Spaces Cash Giveaway for you! Enter to win $300 PayPal CASH!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit more outdoor spaces/outdoor living inspiration from these talented blog friends:

Setting for Four

Sand and Sisal

Domestically Speaking

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Cupcakes and Crinoline

Town and Country Living

And a link party too! Share your summer related blog posts, browse the links for more inspiration!
OH! And you’re going to need this for your outdoor living areas too! Chemical-free DIY outdoor spray. I just whipped up a batch for my mosquito-magnet hubby and love that I can use it on the dog too!

Grape Arbor Gazebo Makeover

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Roeshel

The grape arbor gazebo has been a work in progress for years. DIY takes patience sometimes, my friends. Especially when you’re working as time and money allow. I can’t tell you how GOOD it feels to have it complete!

Let’s start at the beginning. When we purchased our home, we loved the grape arbor’s size and maturity.

See those poles? Very, very rustic and home to some critters even…hello!

As much as I love rustic and as cute as it looks in the picture below, it felt like a tetanus shot just waiting to happen not to mention, 6’2″ Mr. DIY had to duck to walk beneath it.

So the rebuilding process took place. Most of the roots to the vines are on the one side. We sort of ‘peeled’ those back one section at a time while a gazebo was installed in the center and more study wooden frame was built on each side.

Mr. DIY and family {thanks, Butch!} built up the new wood structure around the old rusty iron skeleton, lifting and shifting the grapes in the process before removing the old iron poles.

Rebuilding can be stressful but the grapes survived! Maybe they were even a little grapeful (haha!) for the home makeover.

Beautiful! But then all that gorgeous-ness didn’t go with the overgrown messy underneath.

And that’s where this summer’s DIY project of installing a recycled brick patio and path came into play.

See the recycled brick patio and walkway tutorial for more details about the transformation and steps Mr. DIY took to install it with his own two hands. Great job, honey! xoxo

Once he finished the brick patio and walkways, it was time for some landscaping. I didn’t know where to start. I was so overwhelmed with the size, the work that it would involve. Plants intimidate me. So, the decision was made to hire professionals for weed clean up, planting, edging and mulching.

The view from our kitchen French doors:

Worth every penny.

Wow! It was a treat to watch what a team of 5-6 landscaping professionals with the right tools can accomplish in 3 hours. Yes. I said ‘three hours’. This would have taken me months of backbreaking labor. My back hurts just thinking about it.

Now I feel like I can maintain this area, plant more, decorate. And just enjoy every square inch.

Isn’t it pretty? So romantic. So quiet and peaceful.

I’ve been window-shopping for furniture and ideas but will likely wait until spring. I’ve had the sheer drapes for years but this year, they look the best they ever have.

And scary… {ghost tutorial}

haha!

The back yard before…

The back yard now…

Grape arbor now.

I can’t wait for the plants to fill in. I’ll be adding a few here and there this week too. Maybe something that will come up in the spring.

Now when you visit, we have a place to talk and catch up. Weather permitting.

Do you have a special outdoor area at your home?

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Category Archives: grape arbor

Farmhouse Exterior Makeover

Featured

Farmhouse Before

Early Makeover Projects

Pool Party

Welcome guests!

New Siding

Metal Roof

After (the transformation)

Decorating Outdoor Living Spaces

Grape Arbor Gazebo Makeover