Hi colorcrazy, thankfully, it's quite warm. We lost power a few weeks back for 14 hours, and the inside temperature dipped down to 7 celcius. When the power came back on, we were up to 15 celcius in less than two hours. All the walls have blown cellulose that was put in at some point. The kitchen is noticably the coldest room, probably because only one of it's three windows has a storm on it. I have some new pictures to share since I've last been around. Front window with it's fancy-ness: One of our upstairs originals: Our windows are double hung, but they do not have a weight and pulley system. They are simply held open by propping up the sash. The top sashes don't move right now because someone tacked in a block of wood preventing it. I'm not sure if that's how they were originally or not! I'm in the process of finishing up one of the spare bedrooms. The window you see above is in that room, and it is terribly, terribly rotten. I was vaccuuming out dead flies from between the window and the DIY permanent storm (insert eye roll here), and the vaccuum nozzle went right through the sill. Blech. All that's left to do in the room is the floor. And the window, but I'm ignoring it for now.

I love your Mondrian inspiration. First, figure out which software you have access to that you can use to experiment with exterior ideas. If you can use Photoshop, you are ahead of the game. I can’t justify the investment, so I limp along with Microsoft PowerPoint and the free Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap. Even if you do 20 or more experiments with color and color placement on the photographic images, it doesn’t cost much money and doesn’t take much time. Keep going until you come up with the right combination. Since the house has shingle siding, I am assuming that you cannot just paint it to get the Mondrian look. Are you going to change out the windows to get the heavy black frames? Are you going to reside the whole house, or just the front? To get the look of rectangular panels, you will need to find out what products are commonly available in your area. For instance, James Hardie panels are in common use. Example: Drive around to construction sites. Find out what products they are using. Get the names of the contractors. You are going to need to hire someone knowledgeable for the installation.

Widen the walkway to the main entry. If there is the time and energy or cash, move the wall back about a foot or two since it currently makes the walk feel narrower. Regardless, redo the main walkway so it is 4’ wide. Make the steps the same width and and move the pillar by the opening onto the porch to accommodate the needed opening width. The porch, pillars, and bright colored forward facing door make the main entry visible as such. If you do a patio for the apartment, fence it along with the lower entry with a gate so it is clearly not the main entry. Whoever lives in the apartment can tell guests how to get there. If there is space, can you add a low fence with a remove able front opening to hide the ?gas meter? No suggestions on landscaping other than blocks of ground cover with a few feature plants to keep the “modern” look you want. Wait a year to see what is already there and whether you like it. I would not remove the large tree, regardless as it provides shade and therefore lower AC bills as well as giving nice character to the property. For more specific suggestions, tell us your USDA growing zone and nearest large city.

I would plant some shrubs in the beds in the retaining wall. Aronia lowscape mound, some mountain or sheep laurel, Azaleas. Itea little henry. Dwarf Fothergilla. Obviously, you need ro paint the wall and fence. The fence looks to be in bad shape, which suggests it may need replacing. I'd consider replacing with a hedge, if you want to demarcate the end of the flat part of the lawn. Aronia hedger, inkberry, bayberry, blueberry are some options. Itea. Of course, I have a lot of shade and maybe suggesting plants that need more shade than you have. Check. I'd also reconmmend painting your trim --- or at least the window frames and door blue. Navy is a crisp look. A softer blue would give you some definition, but be easier to paint over if you later want a house with colored siding and white trim. Paint the bare wood white and the railings in your trim color.