inspiration from Better Homes and Gardens
Greetings! I meant to post yesterday, but time slipped away. Projects are moving quickly around here, and I have plenty to share — I want to keep you updated so you don’t miss anything.
If you’re new here (I discover many readers are catching up for the first time), I’ve already shared several vision posts for the interior rooms of our new house, along with inspiration for new gates in the side yard just outside the kitchen. While I’m excited about the interior work, the exterior of our house is getting a bit of a facelift too. In fact, a few projects are already underway.
This humble exterior is a snapshot of our 1950s ranch-style house taken shortly before we moved in. It’s a one-story brick home with a basement — a common style in our neighborhood, which features a mix of eras and remodels. This type of house might not be my usual pick, but it’s solid, sits on a generous lot for Seattle, and offers a lovely view. For those reasons, we knew we could turn this house into our home.
My goal for the exterior is to boost curb appeal. The house at the top of this post inspired how ours could look. We had to begin with exterior repairs because our 1950s sewer line had holes and needed replacement — a necessary project that triggered a chain of improvements.
Many renovation stories start with an unexpected problem, and ours was no exception.
It all started with the sewer …
The sewer line runs beneath our driveway, so the concrete had to be removed to access it. Our driveway was already cracked, so repaving made sense. In addition, the previous drain setup forced the garage door to remain slightly open to allow runoff, which invited pests into the garage. That arrangement was far from ideal.
Sure enough, we did find a rodent in the garage recently. My reaction was as you’d expect — not pleased — and after the rodent was taken care of, we moved forward with installing a new drain and repaving the driveway. The new setup allows the garage door to close fully and reduced the driveway’s steepness, which improved both function and curb appeal.
Driveway before
If you look closely at the “before” photo, you can spot our temporary attempt to block the garage door — bubble wrap was not an effective solution.
Here are photos of the driveway during the work. It’s not flashy, but the new concrete provides a dependable base from which we can move on to more decorative updates.
Hearing the sounds of construction is oddly satisfying when you love home projects. With a contractor and equipment on site, it was also the perfect time to remove unstable cement blocks in the side yard that posed a hazard. I’ll share the full plan for that space and recent progress soon.
Beyond catching you up on the driveway, I want to outline our curb appeal plans. For now, most of the exterior updates will be straightforward cosmetic improvements, in addition to the functional work we’ve completed.
One of the most significant changes we’re considering is painting or limewashing the brick exterior. I know this can be a divisive choice—some brick homes are beautiful without paint, and others benefit from a fresh coat. We’ve weighed the options and think a painted or limewashed finish will suit the house and the vision we have for it.
I’ll be collecting inspiration photos of painted brick houses and cottages to share soon. For now, imagine what our home could look like with a lighter finish.
In my mind, the exterior will include paint, shutters, window boxes, a trellis above the garage, a new porch, refreshed landscaping, updated lighting, and other welcoming details.
These mockups are just playful experiments with ideas and character — the landscaping in these images is unchanged, and a thoughtful planting plan will definitely be part of the final result.
You can transform the feel of a house in big or small ways with some imagination. We may not implement every detail shown, but dreaming helps shape direction. I’ll share many more exterior inspiration posts in the coming weeks.
We can’t wait to evolve our home into a modern cottage on the outside with a touch of farmhouse charm inside. She’ll remain the same 1950s girl at heart, just with a little more spunk.