Happy Friday, friends! I’ve been a little quiet this week because my husband and I have been at the lake cottage working on a few projects. Yikes! Can you believe this picture? Oh, the joys of owning a 50-year-old home! Come see a few things we’ve been working on!
This is how the front of the lake cottage looked when we arrived a few days ago. My husband, Brad, previously pulled off the old flat roof and replaced the rotted decking with Trex flooring. We had concrete poured up to the new decking. Meanwhile, the siding was looking sad.
It’s obvious from this perspective where the old roof was removed. Not even pretty white rocking chairs could make this front porch seem inviting.
Brad stuffed green foam in the holes to prevent little critters from making our attic their home. And the old wiring was sticking out of the roof. Not exactly an attractive entry way.
So, while we were here for a few days, we decided to repaint the fascia and the siding to make the house a little more attractive during the construction period. My husband plans to build a new roof over the new front deck and will cover the entire length of the house. Eventually. Here, I already painted the top and bottom of the siding.
This is an in-between photo. You can see the discolored areas on the siding from moisture and age. It was clear the entire front needed to be repainted. I trimmed out the areas around the ceiling and the doors and windows. Because the siding has vertical grooves, I had to hand brush those as well. Already an improvement! Then I was able to roll the flat parts, which only took about an hour.
The shutters and windows were in sad shape as well. They were dirty and the paint chipping. I washed the windows and shutters and gave them a fresh coat of white paint. Clearly, this is a before photo.
I painted for two days straight. There is nothing like a fresh coat of paint to make all the difference! I also cleaned the pollen and dirt off of the front porch lights. While I was at it, I replaced the light bulbs, just in case. Can you see the reflection of the azaleas in the glass door? This is the original door to the cottage, and we love it!
Brad painted the fascia and underneath the lip of the roof. It’s a temporary solution, since this will be replaced at some point. We added our vintage concrete urns, ferns and our door mat my sweet sister, Wendy, gave us. The front of the house looks so much better! Now it looks presentable until we build the new covered front porch.
This clump of gorgeous pink azaleas is what we see when we look out of the front door. Aren’t they beautiful? When we bought the place they were nearly choked out by Aucuba shrubs and ivy. But they are thriving and healthy now!
I don’t know how many varieties and colors of azaleas we have at Happy Hill, but we love them!
And because the azaleas are such short bloomers, I feel the need to bring them inside to fully appreciate them while they last! This is the little eat-in kitchen area at the lake cottage. You can see the beautiful blue water through the window. I never tire of this view!
Nope, It never gets old. The sunsets are always amazing at Happy Hill! (You can tell the railing on the deck needs painting too. Sigh.)
So, a few days of painting and repairs and the front of the house is pretty once more! I can’t wait until we add the covered front porch, then it will really have curb appeal. A quick before and after. What a difference a few days and some elbow grease can make!
And the front of the house. (The paint color looks oddly green in the after picture, when in fact it is gray.)
Whew! We are exhausted after our paint-a-thon! And we finished, just in the nick of time! It’s supposed to rain all day today. Maybe we can kick back and enjoy a little time off. Well, until I start on the other guest room at the other house! I hope you have a wonderful and blessed Easter weekend! Until next week, hugs and kisses, Dell
