Cozying-Up a Home

A little design, some serious labor, and ample landscaping can cozy-up a residence in a relatively new neighborhood as my son-in-law's and daughter's home illustrates.

When our daughter and her husband bought their home a few years ago, it was just several years old.  However, it had already been given a major face-lift from the previous owners. In its first life, the cedar-shake house looked like this:

 The owners transformed the front.  

The new front porch welcomes visitors to the home.


 More landscaping, particularly in the backyard, also improved the property. The first summer my son-in-law and daughter were in the home, they had a wrought iron fence installed around the backyard to contain their golden-doodle.

Then they placed planters around the patio.

Still not satisfied, the next spring my daughter achieved height in the planters by incorporating wrought iron pyramids.

 To cover a bare electric box, they also added leather-leaf viburnum, lime-light hydrangeas, and roses in a back corner.

This summer she painted the Adirondack chairs black.

 A market umbrella also made table settings more intimate.

 Most recently, they had three red bud trees planted. 

Finally, to fill the only empty corner of the backyard,

a series of Spartan junipers will provide privacy as they grow.

Now, the home enfolds you from front to back.