We’ve been in our house almost three months, now. We absolutely love our place, but it’s been a lot of work getting it to feel like “home” and we’re still not done. However, we had our first guests over, my in-laws, and they gushed over how much they loved our house. They kept saying, “We love your house. It’s perfect for the two of you.” And even mentioned that it was perfect for them, too!
Our open living area nicely accommodates guests and it feels “homey” and comfortable. I included an image of the dining area in the image above. All rooms look better with fresh flowers!
We’re also making progress on our landscaping. The grass seed is finally sprouting thanks to all the rain we’ve been getting. We’ve been focusing on the right side of the yard, first, making sure the grass is going to work out. So far, so good. It’s actually looking like my photoshop mockup. We’ll begin on the left side over the next couple of weeks.

As for landscaping budget, we’ve already gone over budget, but not by too much. For example, we ended up spending $350 on the cement walkway pictured in this photo. That ate a chunk out of my initial $600 budget. We also started working on the backyard landscaping, which wasn’t included in my draft budget.
As the house shapes up, I’ll continue to post more photos. Once the landscaping is finished in the front, I’ll break down the costs.
Update: We just found out the empty lot to our east is going to become a temporary road for construction. We now realize we have to put up a wall to our east, which we didn’t in plan on. $$$!
2 Comments
Whoever is responsible for putting up and eventually taking out the temporary road should be responsible for putting up temporary fencing or something that would create a barrier and eliminate runoff. Have you contacted the builder or developer to inquire as to their plans and express concern for your landscaping?
@Money Beagle – The contractor who was working on the road told us he would put up some kind of chainlink fencing and mesh covering to help eliminate the dust. He did tell us it was going to be uncomfortable for a while. I’m really hoping they don’t use the road much or take a while before they begin using it (they work slowly, anyway). That will give us time to put up a white vinyl fence in a few months or so.