περιπλάνηση: July 2023

We just passed the two month mark from the big move to Loveland and in those two months, most of the boxes have been emptied (and broken down and laid all over the weed filled back yard -- more on that mess later.)

Thought it would be fun to take some current photos and put them beside the ones from when it was listed as a then/now comparison.

First off, I should point out a LOT of work was done before we ever saw the place. Peeking at the Google View street cam from

From the first time the car came by in 2007 that decapitated tree on the street side at the back of the house has been there. No idea if it was diseased or what caused it to be chopped but I've named the one in the front Catherine and that one Anne Boleyn.

Also since 2007, that dented bumper truck sits in the same spot. Due to the amount of stuff on the front patio, I get the feeling the garage was never used for cars but for more stuff.

The juniper that was taking over the middle and street side was cleared away between when the car came by in 2012 and 2015.

At that point, weeds took over.

You can also see the circular brick thing around the front light post.

By the time the house was listed, those bricks had been removed.

The trim over the garage windows was also gone, as was all the "stuff" and the doors had been painted a dark gray.

I replaced the frilly lamp post that had zero mid century modern vibe and replaced it with the larger space looking globe.

all of the planters and most of the yard was filled with detritus of all kinds. It almost felt like an archeological dig with the weird things found among the weeds in the yard. I've attempted several potted plants here so far and nothing is doing very well so after Prime Day sales, I have put some topiary faux plants which will also lend some winter interest.

flowers and a small patio set are the only things out on the front now

The front yard will probably just have to be mowed weeds for another season. By next spring I hope to have the weeds suppressed and then a rock garden in place by summer 2024.

the mailbox was falling apart as well so it's been replaced and the stand repainted. Another to-do list project will be to build a more modern stand, down the road.

(I have these plans waiting in the wings)

(as of mid July)

The patio from listing

and now

since hanging that sign, our postal carrier leaves all our packages here with three milk bones on top!

One of the best features of this little neighborhood is that all the homes in this three block section were built in with breeze blocks and those rock features. None of the homes are the same, but all of them have this. At some point, I want to get over to the Loveland library and pull up the old microfiche and see if I can dig out the advertisements for when these homes were for sale so I can find the builder name and maybe even the original 1973 price.

these big windows are wonderful, but don't do a lot for privacy, especially at night if you have a light on, so I've covered these with a film that lends itself to the MCM aesthetic. I also used this on the garage door windows.

there are some wild lupine that have sprung up this summer I hope will spread

Stepping in the front door in March compared to July

Long term goal is to replace the front door with something like these, but that's out of the budget for the time being

The shoe organizer is a top buy from Amazon and the first of the mod cat prints greets you as you enter (in addition to some sweet pups)

moving in to the right is the pantry, utility room leading to the garage, and then the kitchen/dining/den area that was set up first when the rest of the place was nothing but a sea of boxes for weeks on end.

Instead of cluttering up my beautiful new fridge, I put the magnet collection in here on a magnetic peel and stick sheet, with a few that didn't fit on the washer and dryer. There's actually another little basket of them put away with more magnets for Colbie to play with when she comes.

I'm quite excited about having a pantry, finally, after every house I've lived in since college has not had one!

as well as a proper utility room

Out the door you see above is the garage, also still a work in progress for now, but one of the first things we did was get new garage door motors, springs, the works installed on what our garage guy said looked like they were original (50 years old).

not much to compare in the way of "then" photos here since none of these areas were staged and just big blank slates.

The kitchen then:

and now, in living COLOR! that every single staged home lacks almost entirely. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it is most definitely MINE. I was reading a piece last week (that I now cannot seem to locate, arg) about how so many people are dumping tons of money in chasing the trends of bland, entirely neutral, often all white and dissatisfaction with their homes just grows as they keep making their home as inoffensive as possible for buyers even when they have zero intention of ever selling!

a little more wide angle, as you can see how the kitchen is basically the only thing that breaks up the open space throughout, front door to the left, sunroom leading to backyard far right.

the adjacent dining area then/now

We had sold the large and heavy dining table with its two leaves and 10 chairs before moving and used the table Sammi and Jason had left behind in the basement when they moved.

Den, in its staging / don't dare use anything but neutral color

I replaced the fireplace doors with a brighter and geometric gold screen. I tried hanging my MCM vintage brass birds multiple times but those bricks are just not cooperating. So they went over the television. I'd like to eventually replace that with one of the Samsung Frame TVs but, again, not in the budget for a good while.

and yes, that is an original 1963 Life magazine that was Nell's.

Mine would probably look a lot brighter if I hadn't been taking photos in the evening with all the blinds drawn to keep the house cool.

I used the same window film on the coffin shower and brought in the wicker shelves for some storage in this tiny space that had exactly one cabinet filled with the sink.

Two medicine cabinets later, there is a place to store things you actually use when real people live here.

Since there is no hosting of large numbers of people, I used the large dining space as the library, Disney room, play space, and crafting corner instead. It's a LOT, admittedly.

On the other end of the house are the two other bedrooms and full bath

Bob had to cull his collections quite a bit thanks to the smaller space

Looking at the front room from the guest end of the house

Before/After

And from the front door angle

And now, for the backyard. I didn't take a lot of photos because it drove me nuts, but here is the space not long before the tons of pea gravel was delivered a week ago. Every moving box unpacked was broken down and laid out on the weeds, held down by rocks and firewood. Every time the wind came through I was out there putting more weight down and chasing rogue cardboard that was swept to the fences.

The cardboard will compost naturally under the gravel and smother out the weeds. My main problem is I need to do this to the entire side and front yards and I'm all out of boxes!

I will have to be on the lookout for some bigger rocks and interesting tree trunks to add. Dad said he was able to find some up at the cabin for me already!