Before and After: House

So we just got our siding replaced.  Here is a before and after picture.

Silly me took the before picture with the garage door open so you can't get the full effect of the maroon-i-ness.  For some reason the garage now looks more brown than red.  And the new siding has an almost gray look to it in the front.  It is more of a sand color.  I wonder if the red from the door is making the siding look a different color.

We still have to do something about the front door.  We'll probably just get a new storm door.  I can't see painting the front door.  It's wood and has these stylized pineapple carvings that I think would look weird painted.  Although the color of the door seems out of place.  I guess it does sort of match the color of our fence though, so there is that.

My issue is that I can't decide if we should paint the garage door or not.  If so, what color?

The most drastic change from redoing the siding is in the back.  We tore down the walls of the 3 season room.  The windows had been hung up side down so whenever it rained the weep holes allowed rain to drain into the room.  I could never be in this room because of the must and mold.  So far the new patio has gotten more use than the 3 season room ever did in the 7 years we've lived here.

Turns out we had some freeloaders living in our 3 season room...A Whole Colony of carpenter ants!!!!  I was not sad to see them go.  Apparently they were eating away the wet wood in the walls.  Who knows how long the walls would have stayed up before they ate them away to the point of being structurally unsound.  The new wood posts are made from treated wood, which apparently is unappetizing to carpenter ants.  YAY!

The back yard seems huge now that the patio is open.  I'm so happy with it.  I actually want to spend time in the backyard.  Now I suppose we have to work on getting the grass to look semi decent.  I know you can't tell in the photo, but it's very patchy and weedy.  I think that is a project for the fall though.