Then & Now: Outside

(For the next two weeks we're celebrating our 3 year blog anniversary with a long overdue, fully updated house tour)

Front Yard
When we first bought the house, the landscaping out front was spotty and overgrown. The porch needed many improvements. Here’s the front yard before:

Since then we’ve redone the landscaping, which is finally really starting to fill in nicely. We repainted the porch and steps (twice!) and oil the mahogany floor annually. We’ve also replaced the porch light, added a house number, repainted the front door a dark gray, added a door knocker and a doorbell, and added flower pots. Here’s the front yard after:

Backyard
When we moved into the house, the backyard was mostly grass without garden beds and a lot of overgrown weeds hiding the few remaining plants. The fencing was incomplete and all chain link. We had no access to the backyard except through the side doors. Here’s the backyard before:

We planted trees, pulled up weeds and sod, put bushes and flowers into new garden beds. We completed the fencing around the backyard to keep Georgia in and our neighbors replaced portions of the chain link with wooden privacy fence. We had a deck and doors put in off the back of the dining room, providing us with backyard access. We built a spacious patio around the deck to enjoy. We also put together large raised bed garden behind the garage and created pathways. There’s a lot more we want to do, but this space has come such a long way to an outdoor room. Here’s the backyard currently: