Bling

Every woman knows that at certain times in life, a little pampering and "bling" is necessary.  Poor old Gladys has undergone a tremendous amount of stress, strain, and battering in the past three years, all in the name of improvement. With much of the internal and unseen work completed, we are finally to the point where we can make more visible changes. As a woman's appearance is not complete until she adds complementary earrings (which compliment her total look), so Gladys is finally ready for her own first set of "earrings" to add a little style to her life. Her "bling" is not diamonds but rather shutters that have been absent from her face for many years.

We know that when she was originally built, she had some type of shutters.  Guessing from the old anchors and screws that we found in her, we think that when she was built, the contractor put up ornate iron-work shutters.  Some of the other homes on the block still display these 1960s-era wrought-iron scrolls as shutters.  Perhaps at one point they were exchanged for something more contemporary; by the time we purchased her in June 2011, the shutters were long gone.

Rick painted the final coat on the soffits and fascia of the bedroom wing this morning, so after a little drying time, we were ready to add the shutters.  After almost three weeks of drying, the shutters are still "tacky," so we are reserving judgement on how well this paint will actually adhere to the plastic shutters.  The manufacturer guaranteed that they were "ready to paint" with a good exterior latex paint. We will see...

At any rate, we think that a little bling is just what Gladys needed to up her curb appeal.  The before and after pictures say more than I ever could.

The finished front still looked bare...

until green shutters that match the front door add a little curb appeal.

We still need to finish the front of the house and to add shutters on the bedroom window by the front porch and on the kitchen windows.  Then the total look will be complete.  When we add a beautiful white fence next year and a few flowers and bushes, Gladys will just keep getting better.