Projects Projects Projects

Switching gears a little here from all things baby and kid related.

Hubby and I bought our home back in 2009, and have done quite a bit of revamping since. We definitely bought a fixer-upper but the hard work has paid off big time so far. The house is small but it is ours and we love it. As I'm sure is the case with most home owners, we have many projects that we would like to get done in the next year or two before we sell the house and move on up to something bigger. I have been inspiring myself with lots of different DIY and design blogs here and there these last few weeks. My absolute favorite has been Young House Love. It comes from such a real world perspective and I love their sense of style. I am a daily follower!

Of course all this inspiration along with the nicer weather has gotten me into project mode. Later this year we will be tackling our biggest project that is the basement. It is completely unfinished currently and we would like to change that. However, this coming weekend will be about a couple of smaller projects.

The first will be tearing down the awnings on our house. Here is the front of our home:

There are several details we are looking to change about the exterior of our home including the ugly bushes to the sides of the steps, and the 1950s storm door. Undoubtedly however, the very first thing we want to take care of are the awnings. They are unwanted for so many reasons.

I remember the first time we came to check the house out when we were house hunting two years ago, my first impression about the place was how terrible the awnings were. I am so glad the time has come to pitch them. They are so ugly! Here is a closer look at one that really shows how beat up they are:

Gross right?

Here is a view of the side of our house:

Little did I know back in 2009 that my dislike for the awnings would be way more than skin deep. Other than the ugly factor, the awnings are starting to fall apart. The awnings in the front of the house have come a little loose in the last year so whenever we get windy stormy weather they bang loudly against the house. It is extremely annoying. They also make a very strange whistling sound at times when the wind hits them just so. He isn't scared of thunderstorms but that whistling noise freaks him out. Who am I kidding, it freaks me out too.

Additionally, and probably my biggest gripe against the awnings is that they come so low on our windows that they obstruct the view and sunlight. Here are a couple of pictures taken from the kitchen windows looking out:

Please excuse the horrible quality of the photos,

I didn't have my regular camera around so I used

 my cell phone's camera for all of these shots.

As you can see, almost half of the view is cut off thanks to the shutters as is the vast majority of sunlight. I'm sure from the hub's vantage point (he is 6'4"), it is a good 3/4s of the view. I don't like staring at the insides of shutters when I look out. Here is what our house faces:

Across the street we have a nice park with 4 baseball fields. Even on this horribly dreary day I love to look outside but really don't have that opportunity from the inside. This is what I get instead:

Depressing!

All I can see are the ugly leaves I haven't bothered to rake since last fall. The blocking of sunlight makes the rooms darker, the house colder in the winter, and makes it hard to grow herbs on the kitchen window sill. For all these reasons and probably more, we need to ditch these awnings.

How about a gratuitous recap of why the awnings should go:

• They are ugly
• They are old and are falling apart
• They make obnoxious noises in windy weather
• They scare my kid
• They block sunlight which is depressing and colder in the winter
• They kill my views
• Hubby hits his head on some of them as do some of our taller friends
• They are U.G.L.Y!!!

This project will be relatively simple and very inexpensive for now. Basically the awnings will get torn off and the holes will be filled with sealant. Later this summer we plan to put a new coat of paint on the house since the light creamy yellow color has faded considerably. We also will eventually put in maroon decorative shutters on the front windows to add to the curb appeal.

I can't wait to update this blog come Monday! In the meantime I have my fingers crossed that we are getting all the rain out of the way now so that the weekend is free and clear of the wet stuff.