First, a cage of burglar bars originally covered a large portion of the front porch. Not only was it unsightly, it screamed paranoia and had to go. In fact, the inspection report listed it as a hazard, so we stipulated that it be removed before we took possession of the house.
 |
| Burglar bars...gone before we got here |
Also, our mailbox originally was positioned in the flowerbed beside the driveway and looked like this:
 |
| Old mailbox |
Besides needing a paint job, it was inconveniently located, so we offered it free on Craigslist. Someone came out almost immediately and removed it, which involved a good bit of digging and ultimately pulling out of the ground with a large pickup truck. (Giving things away on Craigslist is the fastest, cheapest method of getting things cleaned out or torn down. People will take absolutely anything if it's free, no matter how much work they have to do to get it.)
The new mailbox is on the front porch, which is more attractive and makes much more sense.
 |
| New mailbox Kingso Locking Stainless Steel Letterbox - amazon.com |
The old porch lights were brass carriage house style, which were completely wrong for the house. Here they are in ignominy, sitting in the free CL pile.
 |
| Old porch lights |
We happily replaced them with something far more in keeping with a 1950s ranch style house. They look great with our door hardware and coordinate nicely with the mailbox.
 |
| New porch lights George Kovacs Outdoor Sconce - allmodern.com |
The previous hardwired doorbell had been pulled out of the wall and left on the front windowsill months or perhaps even years before. We replaced it with a Ring Video Doorbell. It works with your smartphone, allowing you see and talk to anyone at your door, even if you're not at home. It also has a motion detector, which alerts you of any movement on your front porch or in your yard.
 |
| New doorbell Ring video doorbell - lowes.com |
Finally, we bought a 5-foot doormat to put in front of the double doors. Of all the purchases we made, it is probably my least favorite. I thought it was a plain rubber mat, but it turned out to be the felted type and has to be hosed off more often than a rubber mat would. That aside, I like the pattern, so I'll still chalk it up as a win.
 |
| New doormat Aqua-Shield Elipse Doormat - allmodern.com |
All in all, we're making good progress. Next on the list...the terrazzo floors.
