Very nice house with tons and tons of potential!!! Congrats! I like the idea of painting the railing white, red door, black shutters; that's all I would do for now. I LOVE to garden and your house has sooo much potential. My suggestions are to educate yourself first, so take the next few months to read, ask questions and learn what you can do in your zone with gardening. You want a mix of perennials and evergreens so you get year round color. Hang out on some of the gardening forums, ask questions post pics, write down what you learn. Take the time to draw out your space, what you want for garden beds and then research plants for those areas - see paragraph below... Next fall, not this spring, go shopping with your ideas in hand. In the fall you will find savings of up to 70% which gives you a ton of bang for your buck. Hit local nurseries, not the big box stores because not only do you get savings and great plants, you get the expertise of what works and does not work for your area. Bring your drawings, get their recommendations. This past spring, we had a new area out back we wanted to deal with. One of our nurseries has a design center, we took pics and drawings, paid them, they gave us drawings and plant ideas with a gift certificate back with what we paid them to use on their plants. We used that GC in the fall and managed to get far more plants by being patient. If you have an idea on what plants work for you, look good together, you can use places like Bluestone Perennials to order from. Your plants will be smaller, but if you are patient, again you get more bang for your buck especially during their sales. Plants are smaller to begin with, but they grow quickly. If you opt for a flowering ornamental, be sure to get some sage advise on where to plant it. Something cute now can be threatening your home in a few years time. Take time to plan and you will be rewarded for your patience. Congrats again on your new home!!!

I have a vinyl pergola and it has vines on it all summer. When I take down the vines, I simply spray it down with 409. I let the 409 sit for a few minutes, then run a very soft brissel brush all over it. Then I hose it down. It is rare that I have to pay any special attention to a given area. I clean the outside vinyl on all of my windows the same way, about twice a year. I've been in my house for 32 years and that vinyl is looks new.

Thank you everyone :) Painting the walls AND ceiling seems to make the room look a little taller (or maybe that's just wishful thinking). The unpainted beadboard was just sucking all the light out of the room. This is now a pretty and live able room. stinky gardener, Thank you. I will check out those stores next time I'm in town. Some nice fat, fluffy towels are definitely needed. Once I have those, and make the window treatment and cushion cover, it will all be tied together. jenangelcat, the photos you posted really gave me some inspiration.Thanks gmp3, Thank you. The electrical will get hidden when we redo the entire room one day. I get a "kick" out of working with a small budget, and reusing what I can. I even trimmed out the window with old molding from a door frame (it was broken but there was plenty there for the window).

Sarah, it is actually a very very simple landscape. Pink coneflowers and base foundation plantings. Nothing fancy. I love playing with frontal elevations/curb appeal - more than my day job. LOL. If you want something more elaborate just let me know. I can also give you a list of the plants. It would help if I knew your planting zone and your level of expertise with landscape. Not a pro - just 40 years of garden experience and a master gardener.