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We have finally done some work on the outside of our home. We put in lattice (Look Sweetie - squares, not cheap plastic diamonds!!) under our front porch to keep out our furry friends! I stained the lattice, the front porch and the chairs we have there. I used the same can of stain (natural colour) but because of the different woods, they all look a little different. (I'm OK with that! ) (I wasn't sure if the lattice should be stained or the same as our trim - navy blue/black. DH promised if the stain didn't look good, I could paint over with the trim colour, but I like the stain - and also dread re-painting it!!! )

The Before Picture :
   

The "In the middle" Picture (only because I just realized I don't have a finished picture - I will take one tomorrow ) :
   

I hope you can see a little of the porch. The chairs are done as well (they match the lattice).

Now to the side of the porch and the big question - did I do the right thing?! My right side neighbour (you'll see the ferns in a picture coming up) gave me some hedges she didn't want. I planted 6, then thought - you can hardly see the lattice I worked so hard on!!

    So I took one out and decided I like it better!    

Next thought (I haven't posted for a bit because I was saving it all up for one posting! ) When I do the edging for this piece of garden, I think I want to continue with the stones. As you can see below with what my neighbour has done with the ferns, she used landscape ties so everything matches in between our homes (she has no retaining wall of stones around her front garden like I do).

       

On the side with the hedges, I don't have any basement windows, and my left side neighbour's window is hidden by his air conditioning unit. I think the landscape ties will be out of place here.

       

Final thought for tonight, It took me a bit to get the planter on the railing up. By the time I realized I need at least one more, they were sold out. Someone mentioned there has to be odd numbers for the planters, so when I go back for more next spring, would 3 total be too much for that railing or just right? When I bought the one planter I think I planned for 2 hanging baskets where the lights are currently hanging. I changed my mind because I wanted to be different (in the land of cookie cutter homes!) and was very excited when I found the lights! I think the lights are a little small for where they are, but I just figured I could try to get taller plants in the planters next year.

Any thoughts?

Wow, you really DID save up all your questions for one post!!!

My brain is still asleep, so I don't know how much help I'll be. But here are a few thoughts that I had as I looked at your pictures....

First, love the little pergola in front of your house And love your hydrangea -- my favourite flower

I hate to suggest that you do more painting.... but I will I'm thinking your railing and posts would look nice painted the trim colour on your house. And also, what about painting your front door a colour that stands out better against your house colour?? Maybe a really dark brown or charcoal.

Removing a plant from in front of your lattice was a good idea. You might actually want to pull out one or two more -- as they grow, they'll fill in the spaces between them, and might eventually be too crowded. In the meantime, you could fill in the empty spaces between the plants with impatiens in the summer. And/or maybe a couple of decorative rocks.

I don't think you should use landscape ties -- you'll have too many different materials going on. Use the same stones that you already have in your retaining wall if you want to create any other little gardens.

I think the lattice looks good as it is. It would probably look good painted the trim colour as well, but I don't blame you for not wanting to paint it!!

The decorating "rule" is to group accessories in odd numbers -- it's supposed to be more pleasing to the eye than an even number. If you can get two more hanging planters, I think three will be perfect on your railing

The lights look good

Hmmmmm. Maybe my brain is more awake than I thought -- that's a lot of stuff I typed!! I don't know how useful it all is, but I hope there's something in there that helps!!

Your house is lovely, and you're definitely on the right track with your exterior decorating plans Looking forward to seeing your "after" picture

Hey Barefoot,
Will you be adding lattice to the lower-front of your porch?
If I can make the suggestion... I think you should
Just finish off this great look all the way around!!

Okay, it is nap time, so I got outside and took a picture. Voila!

We walked around our neighbourhood and the few homes that used squares instead of diamonds had a problem with the seam (two vertical pieces always lined up together). I am proud to say - can you find our seam?!

       


It is a little to the left of the plant in the very centre (tall one - someone told me the name, but I'm not that good at remembering things).

I think when things have to be re-painted/stained in a few years, I hope to change DH's mind and go with the trim colour. I just like how it blends in more with the house. I hope you can see my neighbour's blending lattice from the pictures below.

       

I must say, I felt very weird taking these pictures from my front porch. I used the zoom so I didn't have to walk right over there and feel even creepier!

Love the lattice below your deck! Great job.

I guess your new photos answer my question
The lattice looks great! I like the look of the stain because you've pulled it up onto your deck (chairs, deck colour, grass-lined basket). It would definitely receed more if it were the colour of your trim... but like you said, maybe when it's time to re-stain you can paint instead.
Great job!