Updates to our exterior that have added so much character to our home!
We’ve made some updates to the exterior of our modern Craftsman home over
the past couple of years that have made a BIG difference. It’s about time I
shared them with you!
Let’s start with my favorite project. I’ve wanted to have this done since
the day we moved in, and years later I finally made it happen.
This is such an easy and inexpensive garage door update!
I loved that look, and knew it would look SO GOOD over the garage doors in
this house.
This pergola accent is a great Craftsman style touch that adds some
beautiful character to garage doors and more.
too) go a little simpler with the look:
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The angled supports at the end are a bit smaller than before (I didn’t want
them to extend past the roofline), and I went with less of the wood 2x2s
that extend from the siding.
We absolutely LOVE how this turned out!:
Here’s how the doors looked when we moved in:
And here’s how they look now:
We had these built from mostly cedar — it will hold up better in the
elements and matches the textured faux wood grain of the Hardie Plank trim
around our garage doors.
I considered leaving them unpainted, but not all of the wood matched. We
don’t have any other wood accents other than our door, and the white is
classic!
I’m absolutely in love with this added charm:
I’m considering adding a trailing, flowering plant of some kind but am
hesitant to plant something that would harm the exterior of our house.
If you have suggestions on how or if I should try that, I would love your
thoughts!
For now I planted a small evergreen tree between the garages with some
petunias at the base:
Just kidding…the tree is fake! I even fooled my husband. 😂
They come with a heavy pot that I planted directly into the planter.
The addition of the real flowers at the bottom help to make these look
even more real.
We loved the look of the pergolas over the garage doors so much, we knew
they would look great on the front of our home as well.
To balance it out, I had that same trim added over another set of windows on
the other side of the house:
I had them make this one even simpler, with only two boards across the top
and smaller brackets on the sides.
Look at how much those hydrangeas have grown! This was the summer after we
moved in, six years ago:
Now you can’t even see the window box because the bushes are so big. I’m
considering moving it to another window so we can use it again.
We LOVE the added character these give the front of our house! I have one
more set of windows I’d like to do something on, but I think this same
design would be too much.
For now we’re holding off on any additional trim, but I’ll share if we
decide to add more details.
Our front door needed a pop of color, so I threw together a beautiful
spring/summer wreath:
I bought those fluffy flower stems at Old Time Pottery at least a year
ago…I had forgotten about them in the garage until recently. I think this
may be my favorite DIY wreath yet and it only took about ten minutes to put
together!
green topiary balls in the planters
are fake as well. They still look like the day I got them…highly
recommend! And that tree is the same cedar tree as between the garages. (It
came in a set of two.)
I think the green accents are so classic. But don’t worry, I’ve been adding
a ton of color to this area as well!
Next up was the area in front of our front porch. Our builder planted a tree
in that spot, which was fine for a few years:
But it soon became obvious that it was going to get way too big. I wanted to
open this area up anyway — you couldn’t see our porch (and we couldn’t see
anything from it) because of the tree. It felt very cramped.
So a couple years ago we had the tree moved to our backyard and had a much
smaller lilac tree planted instead.
I also had a few of the hydrangeas moved closer to the house, as they were
taking over our front walkway every summer. (A couple were moved out back as
well.)
Since then I’ve been planting layers of plants and flowers to this area and
I just love how it’s all growing in:
The hydrangeas aren’t taking off just yet, but are doing way better this
year than last. When they stop their tantrum from being moved, they will be a full and
beautiful backdrop to the bright colors in this garden bed.
These are the plants I’ve added so far:
These are filling in so well, and the Dianthus and sedum will continue to
spread out. The pops of color are so lovely against our dark gray
house.
I couldn’t be happier with these exterior updates. I’d love your advice on
adding a trailing plant over the pergolas. Wouldn’t that be so
charming?
