Curb Appeal updates!

...even though you can't really see the front of the house from the curb ;)

So!  It's been really quiet over here lately, but it's not because we've stopped work on the house - it's because 1) I owe you a biiiiig post on the kitchen, but that's overwhelming.  And there's one more thing I want to fix before it's ready..... and 2) there have been a couple of smaller, fun projects, but the majority of our focus right now is going to some larger [and therefore expensive and not as fun to talk about] projects like new carpet [!] and paving our driveway.
BUT!  It's Spring, and as usual, I spruced up a few things with some plants!
I've been dreaming up some rectangular metal planters for the front, to make more of a defined edge to the top bit of the porch [a few people have fallen off of the step because they don't see it, so I think maybe some definition may call more attention to it.....maybe?  Side note: the house has been here since 1968.  If I know 4 people that have fallen off of it, how many over the life of the house have fallen?!  Or is it just the circle of people I know?]  I even sketched up something for Brandon [my metalsmith] to make for me so I wouldn't have to spend $400.  On metal boxes that will get filled with dirt. 
However, on a recent trip to Chicago [and therefore IKEA] we ran across these great black planters!  Not as square as I had wanted, but dang if they weren't cheap - $35 each.  So they came home with us!  And I filled them up with dirt. 

From the left we have: calibrachoa, something called lantana, rosemary, verbena [in a gorgeous purple!], and something called bacoba.  Should fill out nicely and be all drapey and flowery :)

With mom's help [and her kick in the pants] I also added some mulch around the naked boxwood I planted last fall, and edged it out with some stones we got for $1.25 each for another project [you'll see that next week!]

And we got a door mat!  It took me a while to find one that's wide enough for the double doors, wasn't ugly, and cost less that $1,000.  I love the look of coir mats, but just couldn't find a wide one that didn't have a frilly pattern on it.  And getting two at IKEA and putting them side by side would be cheap, but also look messy.  So I got this one, and it fits the bill nicely!  No more random dirt and mud should sully my foyer floor.

Last spring when I spruced up the flower bed, it looked like this [hello, weird pink & yellow house!]

And last fall I cut back the roses all the way, because they were pretty disobedient last summer.  Just a mess of branches all sticking into each other. But I think I should have maybe not done that....  Because now they just want to spider out.  They look really healthy - loaded with buds - but just.....low.  Does anyone know what kind of rose this is and what I should do with it?

Anyhoo.  Back to what the entry looked like in January of 2014, when we bought the house:

[yikes] [...see what I mean about needing an extra long mat for the double doors?!  that puny thing looks sad. and off-center.]

And now, this!  Painting the house and the doors reeeeally make the big difference.  But also, flowers!

Looks good, but now all I can see is the other things i was to upgrade [or "buy"]:

Brass knobs to really pop against the doors [but I want REAL brass. Not brass-plated or brass-colored steel. Apparently I have expensive taste in door knobs.  Who knew that was a thing?]  And a new, super cool, modern light fixture.  But the nice, big, two-bulb [one up, one down] kinds are a couple hundred dollars.  And I need three.  Some day.... [or maybe I'll get my metalsmith on that.]

ONE YEAR!

That's right, we've been in the house for ONE WHOLE YEAR, as of yesterday, March 8. We've technically owned it for one year and a month, but that first month was busy with painting, kitchen demo, new fence and gutters, and other various preps. But we moved in on March 8, 2014, so we've officially lived here one year!
Having this blog is super helpful in reminding us of how much we've done.  I tend to get bogged down in lists of stuff I want to do, and all I see are things that need to be fixed/changed/upgraded, but holy crap, we've done so much!  And without the blog as an excuse, I wouldn't have ever really taken before, progress, and after photos, so this kind of milestone wouldn't be near as rewarding.
So!  Let's take a tour of the house, shall we?
First up: the kitchen:

Above is how the kitchen looked when we bought the house [and the pretty Wegner chair in the desk area was a housewarming gift from my parents], below is how it looked one week after moving in [because the bulk of the kitchen redo happened in the month between closing and moving]

And now: [one of my absolute favorite transformations in the whole house!]

Looking from the kitchen into the Magnitude room [named for the Community character, because we're dorks], one week in:

And now:

 

Here's another view of the magnitude room, from when we bought the house, nabbed from the intro post:

and today:

[I adore those vintage couches I scored last summer, but still haven't gotten around to covering the ugly back side...]
Here's a view of the built ins, in their beige-y pink state when be bought the house:

And today:

The view from the other side of the kitchen to the dining room, which when we bought the house was just a showcase of some of the most ....unfortunate... light fixtures in the house:

And now [SERIOUSLY improved by prettier lights]:

Living room fireplace one week in:

Now:

Living room one week in:

Now:

Super fun iPhone pano taken from the first time we saw the house, also nabbed from the intro post:

Copycat pano taken today:

[this corner view shows how much better the eaves look white as opposed to creamy yellow]

Dining room:

[another runner up for 'most improved' mainly due to light fixture awesomeness]

[Sadie likes to tuck in her feet when she lays down.  Because she's a weirdo.]

Down the hall to the hall bathroom, here it is one week in:

And today, a tiny bit less beige:

The plants then:

And now, sadly, they look a little unhappy....  When it warms up I'll replant them and attempt to make them perkier.  And look!  I hung some art on the back wall!

My office one week in:

And, sadly, today.  This is definitely the winner for 'worst attitude', which I will rectify in the near future.

Brandon's office then:

And today: [not much changed, which I'm sure he's pretty happy about.  Though I would like to get rid of the boob light...]

Master bedroom before:

And now [the biggest changes are the actual grown-up bed, new-to-us lamps, a bit of art, curtains and NO ELLIPTICAL :) :)]

[I didn't do a great job of making the bed, but honestly, I really don't care.]

Here's a nice little vignette I enjoy; it has all my favorite stuff: vintage lamp, faux cow, jewelry, vintage glass vessels, pen & ink drawing, and of course Rocky :)]

Master bath one week in:

And now: [it seems a little set in its ways.... which I'm forming ideas on how to make it cooler]

Closet before, and one week in:

One week in and now [I did a teeny bit of organizing; not pretty, but it works! I sore of arranged all of my shirts/dresses by color, because that's how my brain works.]

Foyer from last spring [apparently I never took 'before' pics of it.... oops]

And now: [the palm bit the dust a couple months ago, so I got a new snake plant to match the other that I've had for a bit, and it's too big for the planter.  Soooo I need to rectify that somehow. When it's warmer outside.]

Laundry room one week in:

And now [also on the short list of cleaning up]

Other hall bath, lovingly known as the Dog Bathroom:

Exterior when we moved in:

And now: [technically this was from November, but it looks pretty much the same.  Just picture fewer leaves on the trees, and some snow on the ground]

THE END!   I hope you enjoyed the tour of our little house! 
Coming up soon are a few kitchen posts!  Which obviously we've done a lot of work on, but failed to share [shocked? me either.]