This house was lacking curb appeal. It was really well built and only need a few changes to make it really stand out. This is the before photo, you can see that it almost disappears in the trees.

We encased the brick columns with wood and also added wood trim around the door sidelites as well as the garage door. We then put a coat of masonry primer on the house, tinted the same color as the topcoat. Tinting the primer is a game changer, it only took one coat of paint by doing this. The primer wasn't exactly the same as the topcoat because the primer base is different, but it was very close. We then painted the brick around the windows and all the wood with a light cream color. We replaced the front door with a half glass door to allow more natural light into the home. I painted it dark gray. We replaced all the lights with more modern fixtures. I stained the brick on the ground in front of the house, added some chairs and plants, and there you go!

What a difference these few changes made! We had around $600 in the entire project and some good sweat equity. It now really stands out and is the cutest house on the block.

I hope this inspires you to take a look at your home's exterior and see if you too can add curb appeal with just a few changes. If you need help just send me a picture of your home and we'll talk about it.

- till next time

​Do you love the look of black windows? I do but the price for them is outrageous so I have a great hack for you and it's really quite easy! Just trim your white windows with wide black trim, and there you go. You get the look of black windows without the added cost. 

I used 5" all weather boards and painted them jet black with a semi gloss exterior paint. We used a brad nail gun to attach them to the siding. This is a great, inexpensive way to add curb appeal to your home.

I also added the black trim around the front door and garage door. This created a cohesive look to the entire exterior of our home. 

I have a client who purchased black windows for his new house build. Before the house was even completed, the paint started peeling off his new windows. It was a nightmare. This can also happen if you decide to paint your existing white windows with black paint. So, be aware that could be a problem for you.

I now actually prefer this trim method over real black windows. If you decide to give this hack a try, send me pictures of your finished project!

I've had a lot of people ask for links to the boards. Click here for a link to the boards at Lowes.

​Below is an extra little video with a bit more explanation of how I attached the trim.

I have a new YouTube channel, click the image below to check it. Be sure to subscribe and hit that notification bell if you want to see more!

Till next time!

Here's the outhouse I told you about in an earlier post. We built this by our fire pit area so that our guests don't have to trek to the house when they need "to go". This was built with lots of scraps and leftover materials from our house build. The utilized scraps were:

• 2 x 4's for the frame
• 2 x 6's for the floor & roof frames
• metal from our out-building for the roof
  
• wallpaper left over from our laundry room
• shelf from the old stair treads
• unused decor

Everyone loves the little outhouse and it's very practical.

I made a hand washing station by putting clean water in a beverage dispenser and them I put a cute "bucket" below to catch the dirty water.

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We purchased a little portable potty that is easy to empty and clean in order to avoid unwanted smells. Click on the button below to see one similar.

Here is a link to the wallpaper that I used. It is removable so it's very easy to work with.

I'd love to hear what you think about this little outhouse! I have a little video of the outhouse on my Pinterest Page. Here is a link, be sure to follow me here and/or on Pinterest to see more design fun in the future!

Till next time!