{"id":272,"date":"2017-04-09T16:54:34","date_gmt":"2017-04-09T16:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/?p=272"},"modified":"2020-10-02T18:02:58","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T18:02:58","slug":"curb-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/curb-appeal\/","title":{"rendered":"Curb Appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you don\u2019t have the money to do major renovations inside your home, turn your attention to the outside. \u00a0During our time at Hickory street, we only had the money to do a few exterior upgrades, but I think they made a huge difference.<br \/>\nThe most drastic change was adding a driveway. \u00a0This was a major expense for us, but the saving paid off. \u00a0It was $2800 (I know some people may laugh that this was a major expense!) and I think it made a huge difference.<br \/>\nAfter:<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-275\" src=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/106-hickory-2.jpg\" alt=\"106 Hickory (2)\" width=\"1051\" height=\"700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/106-hickory-2.jpg 1051w, https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/106-hickory-2-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/106-hickory-2-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1051px, 100vw\" \/><br \/>\nBefore:<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-273\" src=\"http:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img_0852.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_0852\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img_0852.jpg 640w, https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img_0852-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img_0852-510x382.jpg 510w, https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img_0852-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><br \/>\nThe least expensive way to change your exterior is by adding plants. \u00a0My work was giving away 2 planters that fit perfectly on our front stoop. \u00a0We change the flowers out with the seasons and they make the front of our home far more inviting.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-272 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/img_6873\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img_6873-scaled-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/img_6875\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img_6875-scaled-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/106-hickory-3\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/106-hickory-3-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<br \/>\nThe last thing we did was add a fence and replanted the plants in the backyard. \u00a0Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of our backyard prior to replacing the fence. \u00a0Good looking HUH?! \u00a0That car, that belly THAT FENCE! \u00a0My how times have changed!<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-268\" src=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/dscn0543.jpg\" alt=\"DSCN0543\" width=\"2046\" height=\"1534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/dscn0543.jpg 2046w, https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/dscn0543-1280x960.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/dscn0543-980x735.jpg 980w, https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/dscn0543-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 2046px, 100vw\" \/><br \/>\nWe removed the chain link and the old azaleas that had been taken over by vines. \u00a0I took the advice of a local plant company and instead of painting or staining the entire fence, we planted barrier plants that will grow to be 8\u2019 tall. \u00a0Over time, they will soften and even disguise the fence.<br \/>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-272 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/img_6881\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img_6881-scaled-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/img_6880\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img_6880-scaled-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<br \/>\nI used to be a DIYer, but I just can\u2019t do it any more. \u00a0After getting about 4 different quotes, we gladly hired\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.leadenwahlandscapes.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Leadenwah Landscapes<\/a>. \u00a0They used low maintenance plants including Ligustrum, Viburnum, Lorepetalum, Arizona Cypress and Dwarf Miscanthus (yes I just copied those from the invoice). \u00a0I cannot say enough great things about them! \u00a0They came in and were gone in a day. \u00a0I felt like I was on an HGTV show!<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-297\" src=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img_6878.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6878\" width=\"5472\" height=\"3648\" \/><br \/>\nNot everything is about looks. \u00a0This backyard feels so good now. \u00a0We have privacy and I am not constantly making a \u201cto do\u201d list when I am spending time in the yard with my family. \u00a0If knocking down walls or redoing a kitchen is not in your budget,\u00a0turn your attention outside!<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-265\" src=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/106-hickory-36.jpg\" alt=\"106 Hickory (36)\" width=\"1051\" height=\"700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/106-hickory-36.jpg 1051w, https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/106-hickory-36-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/106-hickory-36-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1051px, 100vw\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you don\u2019t have the money to do major renovations inside your home, turn your attention to the outside. \u00a0During our time at Hickory street, we only had the money to do a few exterior upgrades, but I think they made a huge difference. The most drastic change was adding a driveway. \u00a0This was a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehickorypost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}