The Garage Beautification Project

We had a dirty little secret.  While our house might look fine from the street, if you saw the rear facade you'd realize we didn't finish the renovation (I feel so badly for our neighbors that had to look at it from their kitchen window!).  This was the side of the garage and it was a mess!

Spring 2025

The garage was in sorry shape when we bought the house.  It had long been neglected and was in desperate need of some TLC.  We needed it to be functional during the renovation (we stored a LOT of stuff in there), so that because a priority.  One of the first things we did was fix the broken concrete floor and install a new roof.

Front of garage - Before

Garage with new roof and new floor getting installed

With the boring stuff done, we added a new garage door, lighting and updated the shingles.  So much better!

But somehow, in our quest to get the house finished so we could move in, this back section got ignored. 

When we bought the house, we really didn't know how bad this section was.  It was completely covered in grapevines, so you couldn't see anything on the exterior.  The interior had lots of stuff stacked in front of it, so it wasn't clearly visible either.

When my husband cut back the grapevines, we had one of those 'ah ha' moments!  But for the time being, he just boarded up the broken windows and we waited to get it done.  And waited...and waited...

2022

At last, 3 years later,  the time had come and the guys got to work replacing the old windows and cedar shingle siding.  We were able to re-use a door from a previous project, which helped the budget a bit.  And as soon as they got started, it immediately started to look better!  

In front of the wall, my husband created some raised beds for a small kitchen garden. 

But I had been wanting to do a mini arbor on a house project for a long time.  In fact, I'd bought the brackets for it several years ago and they were just gathering dust in the storage facility.  At last I can finally use them!  The arbor let us keep the ancient grapevine and give it a new home.

Kyle and I came up with the design for the arbor and I got it painted up.  Now we're working with the grapevine, to train it up the wall.  

I still have to paint the door and finish a few more odds and ends.  But isn't it a huge improvement?  No more 'dirty little secret'!!   

Garage and sun porch - Before

Garage and sunporch - Now

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