Hardscaping

As nice as the house is on the inside, the surrounding area was pretty craptacular. It was all gravel in the driveway. The fence was dilapidated. The outside space itself seemed wasted. What I also disliked was that my basement door was easily accessible to passers-by. And why would I want people to see my trash bins?

Here is the before:

Note that the house next door is completely exposed. That window is the main resident's bedroom, so he can hear the gravel's crunching when I pull up in my truck. So the first major expenditure is in the hardscaping and fencing.

I felt so bad for my neighbors. The cement truck came in at 5:30 on a Saturday morning and they began mixing at 6am. It was super loud. Thankfully, they understood. They know I'm new to the neighborhood, and when there's a new owner, there will be some work to be done.

The cement now brings a new driveway that extends all the way to just before the deck. The area feels so much cleaner, and my backyard feels far more expansive.

The fence has been brought up to the front just before the porch with an added step towards the house.

The best part, my nosy next-door neighbor (and he is a busybody) is fenced off.