Our Front Yard: Before the Big Makeover

Unveiling Our Spring Home Transformation: Major DIY Projects & Renovation Roadmaps

The air is buzzing with the undeniable energy of spring, and honestly, it takes a moment to catch my breath just thinking about the sheer volume of projects we’re diving into over the next few months! This season isn’t just about blooming flowers; it’s about blooming home transformations. We’re on the cusp of some truly exciting DIY adventures, from tackling our most ambitious outdoor renovation yet – a complete front lawn overhaul – to making significant progress on several other ongoing endeavors. Get ready for a comprehensive look at what’s on our horizon, packed with inspiration, challenges, and plenty of hands-on effort!

Kickstarting the Season: R&R, Planning, and Community Engagement

It feels like it’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks since our last check-in, largely a blend of much-needed rest and relaxation, a dash of travel, and a whole lot of strategic planning for the busy months ahead. Before plunging headfirst into paint cans and power tools, it’s crucial to recharge and meticulously map out our next steps. This period of preparation is just as vital as the execution itself, setting the stage for smoother, more efficient project completion.

• **Celebrating Milestones:** My sister’s out-of-town bachelorette party was a fantastic opportunity to step away from the daily grind and celebrate. These moments of connection and joy are incredibly important for maintaining balance and refreshing the mind, especially before a demanding project schedule kicks in.
• **Learning and Connecting at Spring Make:** I’ve been diligently preparing for my upcoming speaking engagement at the Spring Make conference. These conferences are invaluable for any DIY enthusiast, offering a platform to share knowledge, discover new techniques, and connect with a vibrant community of fellow makers and renovators. I always return brimming with fresh ideas and renewed motivation.
• **Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Kyle’s Growing Involvement:** One of the most exciting developments is Kyle’s deeper dive into the behind-the-scenes workings of the blog. As we continue our joint efforts on significant projects like Ruby’s Revival, it only makes sense for him to gain a comprehensive understanding of the content creation process. He’ll even be joining me at Haven this year to further expand his knowledge, strengthening our collaborative spirit and enabling us to produce even more engaging content together.
• **Prioritizing Self-Care in a Busy Season:** With so many exciting initiatives underway, it’s easy to feel pulled in a million different directions. This often happens every spring, just before my birthday, serving as a gentle reminder to prioritize self-care. Taking time for mental and physical well-being ensures we approach our projects with renewed energy and focus, preventing burnout and fostering creativity.

Beyond these personal and professional commitments, I’ve also been dedicating significant time to getting our workspace and resources more organized. This crucial preparatory step ensures that when the massive summer project push officially begins, we’re not scrambling for tools or materials. And believe me, the list of summer projects is quite extensive!

The Ultimate Curb Appeal Project: A Full Front Lawn Overhaul

Without a doubt, the most significant and perhaps most daunting project on our list is the complete transformation of our front lawn. To be frank, the lawn is currently in the worst condition it has *ever* been. It’s a patchwork of stubborn weeds, bare spots, and uneven terrain, significantly detracting from our home’s curb appeal and becoming an increasing source of frustration.

This isn’t to say we haven’t tried to spruce up the front yard before. Many of you have followed along with our smaller landscaping efforts over the years. Early on, within the first year of purchasing the Ugly Duckling House, I attempted to aerate and re-seed the lawn, hoping for a quick fix. Unfortunately, that initial attempt largely failed to deliver the lasting results we desired.

Since then, we’ve explored various strategies. We’ve tried overseeding, replicating the success we’d seen in our backyard. The front yard has had its fleeting moments of progress, marked by initiatives like extensive planting around the mailbox and incorporating vibrant hanging plants. We even devised clever solutions like blocking the view of unsightly trash cans from the street and ingeniously transforming an old tree stump into a cascading planter. Yet, despite these efforts, the grass itself only achieved a baseline level of “good” *in that it was regularly mowed*. It was a functional lawn, but far from the lush, inviting expanse we envisioned.

This year, however, a pivotal moment arrived: our trusty mower finally broke down. While a minor setback, it felt like the straw that broke the camel’s back. It became glaringly clear that a superficial approach was no longer sufficient. A complete rethink of the front lawn was long overdue. Encouraged by the remarkable success of our backyard’s thriving grass, Kyle has been a relentless advocate for us to finally embark on this major front yard renovation.

We do have a new battery-powered mower on its way, which is fantastic news for future maintenance! But the underlying issue of the lawn’s overall health and aesthetic remained. Looking back, I don’t regret the previous years of prioritizing other home projects. A DIYer’s budget and time are finite, often dictating a tough choice between “things to tackle today” and “things that can be put off.” For a long time, the front lawn consistently fell into the “to be put off” category, while more pressing or functional projects like building the backyard shed or constructing our floating deck felt much more critical and immediately impactful.

But the time has finally come. Kyle’s persistent passion for a beautiful front lawn, coupled with the realization that simple overseeding is no longer sufficient to combat the entrenched weeds and pests, served as the ultimate tipping point. We’re going big this spring, embracing a truly transformative approach. This means bringing in heavier machinery, completely tearing up the existing yard, and quite literally starting from the ground up. Before any digging commences, we’ve already taken the crucial first step of calling 8-1-1 to have all our underground utilities marked. This ensures both safety and prevents costly damage to gas lines, water pipes, or electrical conduits. Our next exciting step? Heading out to pick up our new equipment and begin this monumental project!

Since we’re essentially dismantling the entire front landscape, I’m optimistic that this fresh start will also clear my mind and inspire more cohesive landscape planning for all the surrounding garden areas. It’s similar to how the extensive leveling work in the backyard provided a blank slate, sparking ideas for the shed, garden beds, and other features. Historically, I’ve managed the landscaping in the front to an ‘just okay’ standard. I don’t believe the current curb appeal is ideal, nor is it particularly balanced; everything feels a bit disjointed, lacking a singular, overarching design plan. I’ll be dedicating time to creating new sketches, considering whether to replace certain shrubs, relocate existing plants, and reimagine the entire layout. For instance, the Bowers recently showcased Katie’s parents’ house, and I immediately saw some intriguing similarities and potential inspiration. If any of you have brilliant ideas on where I can find more landscape inspiration beyond the usual Pinterest deep dives, please don’t hesitate to share!

While this ambitious front lawn project is underway, there likely won’t be extensive updates until the grand summer reveal, once everything has had ample time to grow and establish itself properly. In the meantime, be sure to keep an eye on our Instagram for smaller, more frequent progress snapshots. The final reveal will also include a comprehensive list of all the materials we used, once we’ve finalized every detail. But rest assured, you’ll still have plenty of other exciting projects to read about in the interim!

Backyard Refresh: Maintaining Our Green Oasis

As I mentioned, our old mower decided to retire, so we’re currently relying on the battery-powered trimmer I received last year for most of our yard work. Consequently, the backyard grass is definitely enjoying its freedom and overgrowing a bit, just like everything else this time of year! The silver lining, however, is that the grass is growing in incredibly well – so dense and healthy that it’s naturally choking off nascent weeds and creating a wonderfully lush, vibrant green space. This success only strengthens my hope and belief that our intensive front lawn project will yield similarly impressive and beautiful results once it’s completed.

Harnessing Nature’s Bounty: Propagating Hydrangeas

I’ve always been fascinated by plant propagation, but surprisingly, I’ve never fully embraced the clipping method for hydrangeas. In the past, my go-to technique involved simply bending a branch down, weighting it into the soil, and patiently waiting for it to root. While effective, it’s a slower process. At this moment, I don’t necessarily *need* more hydrangea shrubs for our existing landscape, but a recent extensive pruning session on my established hydrangeas left me with a wealth of healthy clippings. My curiosity was piqued: could I repurpose these beyond just adding them to our compost bin? I decided to save a few choice cuttings, prepared them carefully, planted them in suitable soil, and now the waiting game begins! I anticipate having some discernible results in about a month. If successful, I’ll be thrilled to create a detailed tutorial to share with you all, outlining the exact steps I took to propagate these beautiful plants.

Elevating Interiors: Primary Bedroom Door Makeover

Inside the house, a significant aesthetic upgrade is underway in the primary bedroom. I’ve been meticulously adding architectural molding to the doors, a detail that instantly elevates their appearance and adds a custom, high-end feel. The final stage involves finishing the paint, which, I must admit, is progressing at a rather leisurely pace. As the weather warms and the vibrant chaos of outdoor growth consumes my focus, my patience for indoor painting – especially multiple coats – becomes almost non-existent! Achieving a perfectly smooth and durable finish takes time and dedication, so this last step is being handled with care, albeit slowly. Rest assured, a comprehensive tutorial detailing the entire process, from selecting molding to achieving a flawless paint job, will be available as soon as these doors are completely ready for their grand reveal.

Cultivating Growth: Our Second Year of Garden Seedlings

This spring marks our second consecutive year of cultivating a backyard vegetable garden. Building on the foundational success of our inaugural year, this season’s setup is remarkably similar, allowing us to refine our techniques and focus on maximizing yield. This time around, I’m diligently capturing an abundance of extra pictures and video footage. My goal is to significantly enhance last year’s blog post about starting seedlings indoors, transforming it into an even more detailed and visually rich guide. If you’re eager to learn about the methods and materials we employ to kickstart our garden from tiny seeds, I encourage you to give our existing post a read – and stay tuned for the updated version!

Adventures on Wheels: The Latest on Ruby’s Revival

The saga of Ruby’s Revival continues to unfold, and I still have two more exciting episodes to share since our last update! I’m currently immersed in the final stages of video editing, eager to bring you the next chapters of this unique renovation journey. Recently, we took Ruby out to her new parking spot for a special photo session, collaborating with a fantastic brand I’m working with – a rye whiskey company! They seemed like the absolutely PERFECT fit as Ruby’s very first sponsor, and I even got to embrace my wonderfully awkward self in front of the camera for a bit. An article featuring my interview with them will soon be live on their website (with an announcement scheduled for my birthday on Instagram!), and I’ll be sure to share it as soon as it’s published. We’ve also been deep in research mode for Ruby’s next phases, so the serious polishing and finishing touches will be commencing very soon!

Crafting Comfort: Building Our Dream Outdoor Sectional

I am absolutely champing at the bit to create a luxurious new seating area on our backyard deck. My vision is to have a comfortable, inviting space where I can truly savor my morning coffee, surrounded by our blossoming garden. This custom sectional will be ingeniously built as separate, modular pieces, offering us the ultimate flexibility to rearrange the configuration whenever we desire. My ambitious goal is to begin construction on the first chair component within the next week, immediately upon my return home from the conference. Even if I only manage to complete a single section, I’ll be immensely happy with the progress. However, my ultimate aspiration is to have the entire outdoor seating arrangement finished and ready. This would allow us to host another wonderful fall party, creating cherished memories similar to last year’s successful gathering.

The Ever-Growing To-Do List: Ongoing Home Maintenance & Smaller Projects

Beyond these major undertakings, our comprehensive to-do list for blog posts and essential home repairs is, as always, robust and varied. It includes crucial tasks like thoroughly cleaning out the garage (a long-term project I’ve already begun and continue to chip away at), proactive pest control measures, routine HVAC maintenance to ensure our system runs efficiently, continued progress on our front porch makeover, and, of course, more exciting updates on the shed’s evolution. The list seems endless, but each item contributes to making our home more functional, comfortable, and beautiful.

There you have it – a robust preview of the extensive work ahead! We anticipate a whirlwind of activity, much like previous seasons, but the shift in my mindset is palpable. I believe I’ve moved past the initial “wow, we have SO MUCH to do” overwhelmed phase and am now firmly in the “I can’t wait to get started” phase. This renewed energy and enthusiasm will be key as we tackle each project with dedication and creativity. Wish us luck as we endeavor to get it all tackled, transforming our house one DIY project at a time!

Update: We finished the front lawn! We still have to add garden beds and other cleanup, but you can see the BEFORE and AFTER here: