Remodel Mondays – Outside ambiance

So I’m not quite ready to post before and after photos, but I will, I promise. We’ve had a few people over to see the new house, and they don’t recognize it at all!

Moving in has been a bit crazy… There are still a few odds and ends of things that need to get finished, and we’re living in the middle of it.

One of the things I really didn’t like about the old house is that there was no good outdoor space to hang out. We live on the top of a hill, and we have great views, but we had nowhere to sit and enjoy them. One of the major changes with this remodel were two giant porches.

Our front porch used to just be a concrete stoop. Now it’s a bit more elaborate.

We used to have a lamp in the front yard. It did not survive the construction. The yellow roses did survive, and are doing great!

The yard still needs a bit of work, but the porches are beautiful. We’re planning on plowing up the entire front and back yards so we can re-do the grading and plant new grass.

Hubby Doc built the porches himself. It’s been a long project, and we didn’t have steps for about 6 weeks. The steps just got finished this weekend. (Yay steps!)

I love the back porch. The door in the photo below goes directly into the master bedroom. I love that I can come outside first thing in the morning. (Although I think we’ll be using that door a lot less once the weather gets cold again!)

Yes, there is a couch on the porch. No, it is not staying there. It needs a good vacuuming, and then it will go inside. I’ll get to that today. I promise.

The back porch wraps around the side of the house, and this door goes into the mudroom which is just off the kitchen. It’s the perfect place for Hubby Doc to take off his muddy boots so we can keep my new house clean!

We have steps on the back porch now, too! The concrete steps on the right used to be the front porch. Now they’re “portable.” As long as you have a tractor to move them with. These are the steps we used to move the furniture and the first round of stuff back into the house. They’re not exactly level, and it was interesting. But it was better than the 3-foot jump.

Now we have official, permanent, wooden steps. And they’re even level!

I’m loving the porches. There’s just something about being able to sit outside and enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning. We always have a nice breeze (or sometimes a gale-force wind), and the cows are in the pasture behind the house right now. It makes for a very relaxing start to the day!

Are you working on any remodel projects now that the weather is nice, or are you playing outside in the gardens?