our outside rehab: the window world experience

Once upon a time, we found a house, and fell in love.

If you’ve been following along in our money pit series, then you know that this has been an absolute process for us. The hardest and most rewarding personal project we’ve ever taken on when it came to getting our family settled, and waiting for all things permission with codes in a year long process {that has now evolved into a year and a half} to begin on our basement.

So when Window World came to our house last week, we knew the time had finally arrived. The entire experience was kind of unbelievable, to say the least.

Pssst: see it finished, in the spring here!

We knew we were beginning, and the outside would finally match our transformations on the inside.

For what it’s worth, don’t let this white in the before, fool you: Yes, it had some charm.

But the posts were rotting on the front, the gutters were literally falling off, and the siding had seen better days to say the least… about forty one years ago. It started out as UPS brown, and had been painted at one time by the previous owner. But it was dingy, rotted and, well, just sad.

It was time to give it a lot of love.

We’d already had the delightful experience of replacing our windows with Window World the summer before when we took on our main floor and upper rehab. But we didn’t know that they offer so much more than “just” windows, until we worked with them.

So our house was in desperate need of some more outside rehab love.

Like, the pizza delivery person always thought it was abandoned whenever they drove up to the house, neighbors stared and wondered if we would ever fix it, love.

So when we were able to get permission to begin on the basement {cue overly excited selfie where you can totes see my permanent retainer -ew} we knew it would be the perfect time to change the outside.

Before the crew showed up, we mulled over our choices.

There’s something that can be a little intimidating about choosing the finishes for the outside of the house. We played with options, and wanted to pick things that embraced the entire split level feel, while adding to its character. We didn’t want to fight with it, but bring it back to life.

So here’s what the house looked like when we began.

Side view, included.

Again, these photos just don’t do it justice. It even had a creepy smell. And spiders. And weird sounds. And clowns in the crawlspace.

Kidding. I think.

The day the Window World crew showed up, we were more than thrilled.

They even brought in a fun camera crew {who were absolutely fabulous} to document it all, and we can’t wait to share the final product with all of you!

Our home was turned into a temporary studio to document the process. The neighbors even stopped by to ask what on earth we were up to, and so many of them told us how glad they were to see this home changed for the better.

It sat abandoned and sad for a very long time.

So everything started to come down.

And we were so thrilled.

We replaced the old grody garage doors with more new Window World windows {the inside and outside are now absolutely amazing – and we’re not even finished yet!}

And the new started to go up.

We still have paint and new columns and lighting and landscaping and gutters… but it’s already beautiful.

Like, catch my breath, finally see the vision come to life after waiting for so long…

Cry when the old front door came down that never would fully open, and the new one went up, beautiful.

I ceremoniously saved that hardware. I always loved the odd, maybe-from-anthropologie-tribute-to-the-70’s hardware.

And let me tell you, there’s something cathartic about putting a wreath on that door this Christmas.

We even changed the underside of our porches to a beautiful, calming, haint blue.

No more mold. No more falling pieces.

No more dilapidated ends. Or hazardous rotting edges.

Just a beautiful, clean, sharp looking house. {Especially when it’s completely done.}

We are so glad to see this transformation finally take place.

The neighbors are, too. And y’all. Can we just take a moment and love the blue on these shutters?

Even the free range, {escaped} neighborhood chickens stepped up to appreciate.

It still needs paint, and landscaping and all the things, but this huge change has us in awe.

Can we just take a moment?

Can you believe there were once two grody old spider eggsack-covered metal garage doors here?

Is this not the cutest little side you’ve ever seen come from gross old doors?

No worries, it’s all being painted {this week!}.

Window World did it again, y’all. Their team was fabulous and it all went down without a hitch. I can’t tell you how much admiration I have for everyone, from the rep to the incredible crew to the amazing corporate office who were more than kind enough to work with us and bring this project to life. They were fantastic.

They brought this tired old sad crusty house back to life. And gave it some beautiful new character of its own. Who knew they offered so much?

Here’s what we chose:

• Siding – Platinum Gray
• Shakes – 826 Moon Rock
• Soffit + Fascia – White with Hidden Vent {So we didn’t have to look at those anymore}
• Porch Ceiling -Mystic Blue {Solid}
• Shutters – 3 Raised Panel in 95 Dark Navy
• Gutters and Downspouts in White – to come
• Door – Classic-Craft {Their American Style Collection} in Cherry

There’s nothing quite like driving up on it with the sun in the background after staring at the sad delpidated state for so long. In this season of thankfulness, we are so grateful for a fresh start.

That night, after the final transformation was finished, we went out to dinner with the team to celebrate a job well done.

My dad kept the kiddos for us, and the pizza delivery person showed back up at our door again. She told him that she drives by this house nearly every day, and has done so all of her life. She was thrilled to see someone bring it back to life again. She thought it looked beautiful and had never seen someone put so much care and time into a house.

This, to say the least, brought a smile to our faces.

We couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of it.

We can not WAIT so show you the end product.

So stay tuned, and we hope you enjoyed this sweet little sneak peek.

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