Romancing the Ranch - Before and After Curb Appeal

Rarely has the exterior of a house that we've done changed so much!  This 1950's ranch had a cobbled together appearance, with a garage that appeared larger than the house.  Plus with its mismatched siding, mismatched roofing and a never used front door, it was time for a change.

How did we do it?  We had big plans, but it was a lot of work.  First step was enclosing the odd alcove and making it interior space (a brand new ensuite bathroom!!).  

The front door was closed up and all new windows were installed (they were larger to meet fire safety codes and to bring more light into the house).

We created a new front door by using an old garage entrance and building a false gable above it.  

And of course we installed new siding on the entire house.  This vinyl that looks like shingles is pretty amazing, people keep touching it to see if it's really wood!

But what really made the difference was the trim work and accents.  The crisp white trim really pops against the blue gray siding.  And that bright blue door looks pretty sweet!

But the changes to the front of the house were just part of the story.  The back of the house looked pretty tired as well.  The old deck was a disaster with broken joists and failing decking.  

Rear of house - Before

We wanted more light in the house, so we enlarged some windows and added new ones as well.  And we covered the entire house with an air sealing membrane and new trim and siding.  

I guess you'd call this rear curb appeal - can you believe the difference?

That deck is such a nice spot to sit outside and relax in the private backyard.

We've had a few people come stop by and tell us they couldn't believe the difference.  Farewell boring little ranch - hello beautiful!!  

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