EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER FRONT YARD

A Good Home Minus A Few Trees

We bought this home 5 years ago. It needed updating, but had fantastic bones. I created a long To-Do list and we got to work (You can click HERE to watch Part 1 of our Makeover). The first thing we needed to tackle was the HUGE double white pine tree that was leaning on the right corner of the roof. Thankfully we had a friend come out who gave us a great deal. It was really neat watching him take it down safely and Mr. Sonboul and the boys enjoyed learning something new. It took all day but it was worth the work.

A Simple Paint Job for A New Look

The second thing I wanted to desperately tackle was the brick on the front of the house. I knew that a simple 2 coats of white paint would completely change the feel and look of this home.

If I can recommend anything, DON’T do this on a hot day and avoid the rain. We hand painted it because we wanted to stay on budget. I do think it is worth it though in the long run to buy a Spray paint machine if you can afford it. Hand painting take much longer because of all the small crevices you have to get into. This is a job that can look really cheap if done wrong and you don’t take your time. However, depending on your house, it can be one of the easiest parts of a house makeover.

Some Garden Beds To Add Character

Once the house brick was all painted white (doesn’t it look so much better??) we moved on to the garden beds. I really wanted to add in a retaining wall to the right and to beef up the garden bed to the left around the tree.

After doing a lot of research we decided to hire this job out. Cutting the bricks was way out of our comfort zone and you can waste a lot of money when it’s done wrong. We priced it out and created a budget for $2,500. This covered the material and labor.

On the right side of our home I wanted 2 walls. One that was rounded and one that was a square. They added so much character to this side of our home and now I have a beautiful place to plant flowers. It took the workers a little over 1 week to complete the job.

Creating A Bigger Patio

When the bricks were placed and finished around the Dogwood Tree to the left of our home I knew I wanted to step up our makeover game and create a patio space by extending the porch out under the tree (You can click HERE to watch Part 2 of our Makeover). We matched the bricks to the stones and picked up the supplies needed.

I’ve got to tell you Mr. Sonboul was a rock star on this project. He place every paver with perfection . The finished look was exactly what I had in my head. Adding this extra square footage to the porch makes it feel so relaxing and we as a family spend many nights out here playing in the yard.

Some Flowers & Finishing Touches

When all the brick work was completed I was able to come in with new plants, mulch, and lighting. I personally think this finished the look.

What did we learn? When you can do the work yourself… definitely do. You will save so much money! IF it’s a job you don’t understand or that is too labor intensive… HIRE IT OUT. Just like we did with the retaining walls. I 100% know that was not a job for us and watching the workers just confirmed that it was the right choice. They did an amazing job while we would have caused a major Pinterest fail.

Yes, I still have more plans for this part of our home. The makeover is not complete yet. However it was a GREAT start and we stayed on budget. All together we spent just under $4,000 and we love the space. I feel that the front of your home really does say something about who lives there and I wanted it to be a happy place full of life and able to be loved. I adore our nights out on this patio and watching our kids play in the yard. Something I saw 5 years ago when we drove up to the open house. I knew right away… she just needed some love and attention.