Front Yard Archives - home is where my story begins...

Front Yard Benches

Becca — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 03:38:23 +0000

Just as you walk up to my house, I have always had a bench, two chairs, and a small table. I’ve had these for about 16 years. I got them when I earned my Master’s Degree in 2000. They have always been perfect in the front of the house for sitting and enjoying the neighborhood or watching my family play basketball in the driveway.

Every year I would pressure wash the benches, sand the wood, and restain them. You can tell that they need a little TLC by the end of the Summer.

One of the wood slats finally broke this past Summer and I decided that it was time to replace the 16 year old chairs and bench.

I’m thinking about white Adirondack chairs in the front of my house and some pretty white hydrangeas. I saved all of my birthday money from last year so I could fund this little front yard adventure.

Let the shopping begin!

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Christmas Front Porch

Becca — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 21:00:00 +0000

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at my house! I’m still not lifting or moving too much since my back surgery, but my pointer finger works just fine. My kids and my hubby really like it when I ask them to do something and then just sit and point at what I’d like done. (Can you hear the sarcasm?) So, I can’t take credit for the loveliness of the front door. My hubby did the work and I just pointed.

I have used the same garland and wreaths for many years. I’d like to bulk it up, but it’s hard to splurge on decorations when I could use that money to buy gifts for people.

This is my favorite sign of all time. If you live in my neighborhood, you know how true this is.

Ok, maybe this is my favorite sign.

Ok, I guess I have a problem deciding which sign is my favorite. I love this one too.

I cute sign, a bucket of holly, and some birch logs from the deck are all it takes to make my chair kind of cute!

This is the sled I grew up using. It’s missing the middle wood piece, but I still love it. That sled has seen many miles of happy hills!

I’m having a hard time believing that MY sled could possibly be an antique!

Happy decorating!

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Decorating the Front of the House for Fall

Becca — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 02:09:00 +0000

It’s here! It’s here! The time of year has finally arrived for the front door Fall-ification. Sometimes I jump the gun on this and my neighbor, Tammy, comes outside shaking her head at me. This year I waited. Ok, I didn’t really mean to wait. I was just forced to wait because my brother-in-law had our ladder and my fall boxes were up high in the garage.

I didn’t do anything different this year. I keep thinking I’d like to add something “Better Homes and Gardens-ish” but every year I put up the same decor. I still love it though.

My Boo and Eek pillows are back. They have held up pretty well for the past 3 or 4 years. I painted this burlap with fabric paint and embroidered the boo and eek fabric scraps. Just a few weeks ago I noticed that they actually sell burlap fabric that looks exactly like this now! I guess I was ahead of my time.

My front benches have seen better days. They have been refinished more times than I can count and the seats are finally starting to break. It kind of makes me sad to see them go. I bought these in 2000, when I finished my Masters program. I think part or all of the set was given to me as a gift when I graduated. I still feel a sense of accomplishment when I look at them, but they really are looking pretty shabby. The chairs I have always pictured in the front of my house are white Adirondacks. They just look so cottage-like and cute. I can’t decide if I need two chairs, a table, and a two seater bench, or if I should just get 3 or 4 chairs. I would love opinions!!! Either way, the hydrangeas need to be cut back a bit.

I’m kind of thinking I would prefer the same set up with the two chairs and a bench, but maybe it’s just because I’m stuck in my ways.

My hubby bought me a few mums for my birthday and I always love the way they add a fall-feel to the front of the house.

One thing that is missing from the front porch this year is our built-in bench. Unfortunately, it has rotted out and looks like it was starting to take the support beam with it. Rather than replacing it with another bench, which we never actually sit on, I’m thinking we’ll just continue with the railing. It will still have a finished look and be much less expensive.

The rails were not there when we bought the house. We added those on because the great-grandmas on both sides needed a little help getting up the stairs.

Ultimately, I think it would be cool to put a deck off of that side. It would be so fun to put my Adirondack chairs there, surrounded by pots of flowers. I don’t think there is any way of convincing my hubby that a deck would be a good idea. I guess I’ll just have to stick with spindles.

Happy fall decorating!

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Front Porch Fall-ification

Becca — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 01:58:00 +0000

Before I tell you about my front porch fall-ification, I’d like to say thank you for all of your nice comments and emails about my grandma. She has had a very difficult few days. My mom slept on her couch, sitting up, fully dressed, because she was sure the hospital would call in the middle of the night and she wanted to be ready to go. Today, we packed up Nanie’s room in Assisted Living. In the best case scenario, she would go back to Nursing, but we know she is well past that. We were happily surprised today when we visited. She was the most alert we’ve seen her in a week. It was nice to see her try to eat and be able to speak a few words. Thank you so much for your kind words. It really makes a difference.

On a lighter note, I needed a little pick-me-up after one of our days at the hospital. I asked my hubby to get my fall boxes down so I could do a little decorating. The front door was my first stop. I’m trying to add a bit more yellow to the front of my house. I love black-eyed-susans and mums, so those were the obvious pick. I wasn’t quite ready to change to my burlap pillows, but summery stripes just didn’t cut it anymore.

My hanging baskets are still all about summer, but I’ll be changing out a few plants to yellow or orange mums as the petunias start to die.

The leaves are even starting to blow onto the driveway. I love fall, but I’m always sad to see summer slipping away.

I wasn’t feeling very creative this year, so I just went with basic wreaths, garland, and mums. My old milk crate gets to stay, just because I love it.

Fall-ification done.

How about you? Have you started breaking out the fall decor?

Happy Fall-ification!

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Front Door Springification

Becca — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I usually don’t do much for my front door during spring and summer. In fall and winter my doors get beautiful wreaths and garlands, but the rest of the year I just put a pot of flowers by the door. This year I was inspired to do a little more.

I didn’t want to spend any money, though. So, I grabbed these two wreaths that I had in the house. Of course, they were two different colors and that wouldn’t work. So I did a little switcheroo. I pulled a few red berries out of one wreath and a few white berries out of the other. When I put the wreaths back together, I had two red and white wreaths instead of one red and one white.

There. Instant color, without spending anything.

Ok, I did buy a few flowers for the chair, but it had to be done.

Happy Spring!

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Porch Envy

Becca — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0000

You know that feeling you get when you go to someone’s house and it’s beautiful? You look around their house, just wishing your home was as neat, organized, sophisticated, or whatever the case may be. Then, you go home to your own house and look around. You start thinking your house is pathetic, filthy, and cluttered. In actuality, your house is probably great, but now you’re looking at your home through dust-bunny-filled glasses.

This was my experience on Saturday morning. I went to pick my niece up from a sleepover. As I walked up to the front door, I fell in love with the pale blue steps and porch floor. There were rustic chairs and a cute, chippy, old bench as a coffee table. When the lady answered the door, I was just about to ask her if I could just have a cup of cocoa and stay for a while. I didn’t know her, but I really wished I did so we could just sit for a spell on the front porch. (Doesn’t “sit for a spell” just sound like something you’d do on a front porch?)

I had porch envy. I came home, and of course, I was looking at my front porch through cob web and yard debris colored glasses. I immediately started cleaning. First I got out the Oxy Clean and a scrub brush. The benches and rails all got a good scrubbin’. I swept off the porch and stairs, cleaned the pillows, weeded, and dead-headed all of the flowers. I even pulled the American flag down from the rafters in the garage and put that up on the house.

I still have porch envy, but at least I was inspired to clean up a little bit.

Happy cleaning, friends!

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