I promised a tour of the home....so lets start with the exterior! I decided to go with painted brick...there weren't a ton of choices within my brick budget that I liked so I decided to go with mis-matched cheap brick and then paint it. I'm very happy with the way it turned out! I've always loved painted brick and the maintainance isn't nearly as bad as it used to be (or so I've been told). The shutters are a dark stain (jacobean) and the front doors are mahogony with the same dark stain. The grass has enjoyed all this rain we have had the last few days...take a look.
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| Welcome to My Home! |
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| This is the view as you drive up to the house... |
After moving the fern to a few different places...I finally found the perfect spot. It's doing wonderful here under the covered entry!
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| Stained front doors with a Pottery Barn "Welcome Home" mat to welcome guests into my home! You can also catch a glimpse of my custom made dragon door-knocker in this picture..I love it! |
The screened in porch has been great so far...it keeps the bugs off me and it feels like your eating dinner in a tree house! Since it's a basement lot with a pretty steep back yard, the deck and porch are up high and provide a great view of the woods and there's always a good breeze out back.  |
| This is the screened-in porch. You can see my craigslist find...the teak table and chairs (previous post) with some PB cushions I bought on clearance last year. |
I chose a light blue color for the porch ceiling. It's gotten mixed reviews, but I love it and it's something different. LOTS of homes in Charleston, SC have painted blue porch ceilings. It's supposed to keep the "spooks" out and I happen to love the color blue! I also have ceiling mounted speakers outside so I can listen to music while I relax on the porch!
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| This shows a good view of the baby blue ceiling... |
Here's the view from the back...and YES, the yard is a bear to mow! The grass is just beginning to fill in and it will be a lot of work to get it looking good. I've got a landscape company drawing some plans for the back yard now. I asked for a 5 year plan...something I can work on for the next few years...hopefully with a little help from my friends and family and my boyfriend, Eric (future post!). I also hung two swings from the deck - one baby swing for my littliest nephew and one regular swing for the bigger kids.
I hope you like the exterior...next up in the "tour" is the entry and dining room so check back soon!
I'll be posting some pictures from a baby shower next - I hosted it this weekend for my very bestest friend in the world who is due in August with her first baby.
Katy
