Before and After

Before the trees were trimmed (and before the rotten porch was removed):



And after I trimmed the trees:



Much better! The Prairie style influence really shows through now that you can see the house. I've been working on the glass porch (I call it my conservatory, because that is what I use it as, and I like that it sounds sort of pretentious) so that the inside is done before winter. When I first got the keys, there was a type of indoor/outdoor carpet (filthy, and teal) that I tore out the first week. I had to scrape up a lot of old glue with a square nosed shovel (worked great) and I am now JUST getting around to finishing the room.

I found a great product that is a stain AND a polyurethane (Polyshades by Minwax) to re-do the walls and ceiling of the room which I finished today. It looks great - I put on two coats for extra protection after sanding the entire room down with a sanding block. The wood had really taken a beating from the sun, and it was really bleached out. Now it matches the woodwork in the dining room.

Minwax Polyshades are available at the Home Depot in a lot of assorted shades and in two sheens - satin and gloss.

Here is a picture of the floor as it is now and you can also see the tile I will be putting down this week (laid on the diagonal).



Here are the walls and ceiling (one coat of stain) - with two coats, they are darker and glossier now. These were basically white from being so bleached out from the sun over the past 30+ years.



I can't wait until it's finished so I can start bringing in my more tender plants before it starts to get too cold. It's already getting down into the lower 50s at night - a little too low for some of my plants.

Also, a few more photos of the exterior of the conservatory, for reference:





More later!