As the weather has continued to warm, I have started making small landscaping and other exterior improvements, as well as power washing the garage and the front porch. First, I replaced the arbor vidae on the Range Trail side of the wall, since the previous ones had died over the winter:
After that, I planted eight clematis vines along a section of the wall, and attached them to the wall with gardening twine. I am going to see how well and how dense they grow before planting more.
Finally, I installed string lighting on the front porch, which really improved the look of the house in the evening. I also added solar lighting on the walkway from the driveway to the front door. For the strong lighting, I plugged it into a GE Avi-On outdoor Bluetooth switch. The Avi-On platform comes with a slick iOS app that allows you to schedule, automate, and manually control the lights connected to the outlet.
Here is the final result of the lighting, shown at dusk:
I plan on making more improvements to the front porch, including updated seating, which will be covered in a future post.
Budget is a very important factor upon remodeling your one part in your house. You have to set your budget before you go on planning for this project. Budget and planning will come together and it will be your guide for you to have a successful project.