Where are they now, Part 1: The Porch

Right.Things are happening at a rapid, yet exceedingly slow rate. Seriously… Not kidding…

We are fast approaching the one year mark. One year since we started on this renovation endeavor with the decidedly naive idea that we would could complete a gut renovation in approximately five months. That was before we (he) decided to do everything ourselves (himself).

I’m reminded of the television show Renovation Realities. A show in which, a couple of, usually inexperienced , do it yourselfers attempt a  full gut kitchen renovation (or something equally daunting) either over a weekend or sometimes one full week with a $5000 dollar budget. As anyone with any experience knows, that is JUST NOT REALISTIC. And as such, I did not see a single episode that ended with the reveal of a complete kitchen. All this is to say, sometimes, things do not go according to plan, and other times, the plan is just a pipe dream.

In our defense, we did know, ahead of time, that we were being unrealistic. We also changed our approach significantly. We were going to general contract most everything, initially, but after about the 3rd contractor took a short cut, Mr. Awesome decided that we (he) would do everything else ourselves. Needless to say, that slowed the process a bit. But he is hard at work daily, turning this place into our dream. And we’ve come a long way from where we began. To appreciate just how far, I thought I’d run a several part update in pictures.  To get everyone fully up to speed since I’ve not done the best job of keeping up.

We’ll start with the front of the farmhouse. Which you know has had the most dramatic and complete transformation. You can click the photos for easier viewing. If you want more details, please read porch renovation posts Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

before

during

now

plan

Nothing but landscaping and trim needed now. Landscaping will be easy with the southern exposure and shallow water table. I weeping something between the windows along the front, and a whole load of hydrangea with possibly some liriope and/or nandina for winter interest.  For the porch,  I’m thinking the  lighting will consists of scones flanking the door and maybe pendant in the vein of:

But, as I type this I’m wondering if a more round light would be betters since there are already so many straight lines on the house. Thoughts? Suggestions?