The Big Summer Plan

Our summer months are often a bit quieter for our business, so we usually use this downtime to brainstorm fresh product ideas or catch up around the home front. This year, we decided to tackle a major eyesore that had been bugging us for ages: the exterior.

A Journey Toward Simplicity

Seven years ago, we significantly downsized our lifestyle. The goal was simple: spend more time doing the things we love instead of maintaining square footage we didn't need.

To say the whole effort has been an adjustment is an understatement. I’m not sure we’ve entirely accomplished our end goal yet, but we keep trying! "Minimizing" has been a much bigger task than we expected—not to mention, we both occasionally have different visions of what our ideal life looks like.

We worked tirelessly to turn the interior into a space that optimized every single nook and cranny (someday I’ll share that story!). But this post is about how we transformed the entire exterior of our home while simultaneously running our business and spending time with the grandkids—all in about six weeks.

Necessity Meets Opportunity: The Backstory

The truth is, we’ve had to do a few things to the exterior of our home over the past few years out of pure necessity. When I look back on it, it was quite a bit of work just getting to this final phase:

• The Retaining Wall: The wall adjacent to our front entry literally fell over, so we were pretty much obligated to fix that. We weren't beginners at replacing a retaining wall but it didn't make it any less challenging.

• The Front Door: We replaced it to let more natural light into our dimly lit living space. I love what it did for the room!

• The Back Deck: This previously existed as a blistering hot oven designed to bake and fry our company. We finally added some shade so we could actually enjoy the backyard and control the light in our dining area.

• The Garage Door: This replacement was on the list since we bought the house and was financed as part of the original deal.

• The Crab Apple Tree: We removed a diseased tree in the front that was pretty ugly anyway. It mostly just blocked the light into our living area. I don't really understand the point of a crab apple tree (I am not much of a gardener), though the neighborhood deer thought it was great.

Our home is modest, and that will never change. It always looked okay right after a good power-washing, but living on a dirt road means it didn't take long for the dust to return and turn it into a dinghy blue/gray color with zero curb appeal. A few necessary warm up projects we've completed over the last few years.

Thankfully, all those prior projects seemed to come together and flow with the current one like a seamless plan. Let’s just pretend I planned it that way all along!

THE BIG SUMMER PLAN

We officially started our main summer project in June and naively thought we’d be done weeks sooner. We always think we will be faster than we actually are—it never changes from project to project. Luckily, we don't take ourselves too seriously when we have to come to terms with our actual capabilities and limitations!

Our checklist was ambitious:

1. Paint the exterior a color that doesn't show the dirt road dust.

2. Stain the deck to finally give it a finished, cohesive look.

3. Seal the fence to preserve the wood and make it last.

4. Add new plants to the front and back chosen specifically to deter bugs (and maybe use in a recipe or two!).

Phase 1: The Prep Work

No one ever thinks about all the little things that go into painting a house. This isn't even our first time painting an exterior, but we still thought, “Our house is small, this shouldn’t take that long.”

Spoiler alert: It's all in the prep work.

Once we finally got to the painting part, it went pretty fast, but there were a few bumps in the road during prep. We forgot to order the paint ahead of time! We love our local Ace Hardware, but the amount of paint we needed was more than they had on hand. Because we needed to take immediate advantage of a clear weather forecast, we had to drive 45 minutes away to source the rest, though we still managed to get quite a bit through Ace.

The Dirt Road Verdict: Mission accomplished! From the road, our home looks pristine now—whether it is dirty or clean, the new color hides the dust perfectly. I love pulling into our drive and seeing the charm and personality that radiates from its new look. 

Phase 2: Decks, Fences, and Uninvited Pests

Once the house was finished, we moved on to the fence and deck. We had power-washed the deck and the fencing near the house at the exact same time as the siding to avoid getting cleaning solution on our freshly painted siding.

Staining the deck brought the whole space together, and we couldn't be happier with the look. The fencing, however, was a long, grueling process because it had to be done on both sides.

Ron bore the brunt of the fence project while I finished up the deck and planted perennials. It became a bit of a battle against nature: Ron ended up with a nasty case of poison ivy, and I got bit by a tick. We are both totally fine now, but I would definitely say Ron suffered the most for his craft!

We live on a one-acre lot, and about 3/4s of it is fenced in. It took some serious muscle and quite a few drums of sealer to get through it. I am always amazed at what power-washing and sealer can do for aging wood.

I am incredibly glad we did it, but I am even more glad it is officially over!

Bonus: Our Bug-Repelling Plant List

As promised, here are the plants we added to the yard to help deter mosquitoes, wasps, and other uninvited summer guests (some of these are amazing to keep on hand for cooking, too!):

• Lemon grass-An annual grass that grows like crazy.

• Catmint-A perennial that looks similar to lavender when it matures. 

• Basil, Mint, Cilantro, Oregano-Perfect pest control and handy for cooking. 

• Spider Reed plant, Mexican Feather plant-Perennials that do not attract insects and make great low maintenance landscaping.