Let's sit outside and and chat and decide what to put on the grill ;)

Well, if my home is welcoming, and I hope that it is, my dog deletes that message at the door.

LOL Barnhart Gallery!! Beautiful Margo!

I think my house in the country looks inviting, but the fact that it's 100% fenced and there's a locked gate at the bottom of the driveway probably suggests otherwise.

In actuality, it's just there to keep my motley four-legged crew safe when they're outside; bonus it also keeps anyone not invited out too :-))

If that is your house Margo really peaceful.

Ours is saying "there's a reason the shutters are closed: we are trying to sleep (or fool around). Whoever you are, just go away! Highly unsociable misanthropes live here." I don't think they are getting that message, though...

Love it, rredpenn. I agree there. Hubby complained mightily that I bought a couple cases of cookies; but. I stuck them in freezer and I notice there's a few boxes missing already (and it wasn't me doing that one)... if the scout comes to my door I will buy; so many of them now set up at the grocery store or mall with a cardtable and that's NOT selling scout cookies!

Anyways, right now mine says 'yes still occupied' and 'we are a wayward home for orphan tumbleweeds'. (it's the season, they're EVERYWHERE. AGAIN)

It has moved on from 'condemned-construction zone' at least.

rredpenn, me too!

My house says, "Why the heck did that family that lived there before you think that a fish pond in the FRONT would look cool? And why did they jackhammer up the only patio space in the front to do so?"

It also says, "Why did the owner before them decide to only plant pink roses? Why not peach or coral?"

And, "Why doesn't the current family do something about this?"

For us, the back of our house faces the road. When you drive by you see our decks, the meadow and the apple orchard. Quite country looking and appealing. However, if you turn into our driveway to access the "front", you are greeted with a landscape disaster! We put down black plastic and cardboard in an effort to kill the grass (it didn't work). We actually had a professional landscape designer draw up a plan for us (which starts with killing the existing grass), but that's as far as we got. So I think our house says "you can tell when they ran out of steam and money!"

I have always felt it is important for a home to identify, in some way, where the entry is to a first time visitor. Not necessarily that the door is in view, but at least a path is clear as to which direction the first time visitor should go to get there.

Our front yard says to all who pass, they must hate bushes amd shrubs! Look, they've pulled half of the huge, overmature shrubs and bushes out of the ground by their roots! The neighbors are surely saying, OMG look what the new neighbors are doing now. But, we promise - new junipers and Old garden roses and moonflower vines, vincas and marigolds are coming soon. :)

I'm tired of fighting my way to my front door too, Mark. Thus the shrub and bush massacre going on in our front yard presently. lol.

Hanna1984, Would you like some pink roses?

Barnhart--Got a photo of your gargoyle w/out the snow? :) (I know, a tall order this year...sigh...) I like his feet, I think!

I hope that our house says that with a lot of love and hard work dreams can come true.

The stove on the porch says mid renovation.

Defever, try old carpet laid out on the grass where you need to kill it.

rredpenn, I don't. In fact, I don't know where he is these days. I think he may have made his way off into the woods. I did print that photo up as a Christmas card one year when we were inundated with snow. Inside, it simply said, "Joy."

This lion may have eaten him, as he seems to have taken his place.

LOL what a great idea for the Christmas card! We have a dorky girl statue that the previous owners had posted by the front door (cast concrete, holding a basket, wearing a bonnet, and looking really dumb to us...) so my husband carted her off into the back woods. He named her Gretel (which cracks me up!) Now, we call that path "Gretel's Path" :) (We have many named spots in our yard... does anyone else do that?) :)

Work in Progress is our ongoing motif. Right now, from the curb the message is more subtle (2 vinyl windows awaiting replacement). Walking up the driveway, it's less subtle. BTW- love rredpenn's gargoyle. DW's reaction to yours- "I want a gargoyle".

What a gorgeous place summilux! Looks like you have many potential gargoyle stations!

Summilux, your construction zone is a lot neater than my construction zone ever was; though most of it is now carted off.

I did manage to have the front door have a accident so I could get rid of that disaster and get a decent inner and outer set finally, but I wasn't able to run over those hideous fugly huge junipers on the one edge of the property. My hubby loves them, but he never trims them-I get that nasty job (and they are so old they are mostly a big gnarly stump in there now, they need to be pulled) and grow spiders all summer long. I detest the sticker-spine things. I am trying to figure out how to get the neighbor with the truly full sized industrial backhoe to come make a pass through there (that thing is about the size of a bus I swear and might be able to run the things over). I think end of next month I am going to borrow a chainsaw and trim them to ground 'because of the huge stumps, they need to start over' then figure out something to pour on them like a gallon of tri-ox and hope they never come back.

Mine says, knock twice if you're looking to buy some crack. But it keeps the burglars away.

Donald, That would make for a great Houzz dilemma - How Do I Go From "Knock Twice For Crack" To "Dave's Not Here, Man"? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

I wish my house said "No solicitors"!

Donald you need a Pit Bull Terrier.

Hyde Evans Design....
I used to live in big urban, and had a friend in a split level built into sloping lot, garage on the half... And they rarely used their front door, and the combo glass/screen sliding bit of the front storm door broke and otherwise was open. And the paper nesting wasps built a big nest up between inner and outer door. She decided to just post a huge sign with arrow saying HORNETS and they continued to use the side door.

That town was rampant with door to door selling everything you can think of or this or that cause; and she didn't have ONE solicitor all summer. Funny that.

Maybe that's what I should make and sell, fake hornet nests.

I'd buy a fake hornets' nest, okdokegal! Hilarious! (except, how do you convince the real hornets from trying to nest there?)

The "no solicitors" sign we have is totally ineffective, btw. I see people coming up my long drive, and first thing I ask them is "Where are the cookies?" They seem confused. :)

Right now my house says "the person who lives here cares about me, and cares about you too, because she planted pretty things for you to see and smell."

Next year, I hope it says "buy me."

rredpenn, you just soak it in 'diehornetdie' before putting it up. If they go try to nest, it kills them. Hm, maybe I will need to cast little rubber or plastic hornets too....

St Patricks day party


https://www.houzz.com/discussions/cake-tins-and-cake-cookie-jars-2-dsvw-vd~875979

It's nice to know I'm not the only gargoyle fan out there! Here's a pic of my trusty protector, Silas, and the sign on the gate to my backyard. Silas doesn't normally wear xmas lights around his neck.

Love the gargoyles. Mine lives in the backyard vines. Angels and leprechauns in the front. All gifts from friends and family. My house says when are they ever going to finish painting. The bench in the entry way says sit and smell the herbs and flowers.

ours lives ontop a bookcase in the library…..looks a lot like rredpenn's

a friend sent me this just the other day when she drove past my old place ….. it's the apartment building i lived in 20 yrs ago in Presidio Heights,San Francisco. (thieves have stole the brass banister and the brass mailboxes..it used to be so beautiful)

oops, this is the better pic of the two:

Still is a gorgeous entryway.... indeed welcoming! That is a beautiful place to have lived...lucky you, 8pond! (Speaking of stolen, how many stolen kisses goodnight happened in that space over the years, I wonder?)

Mine is being built right now but when it's done i hope it will say come check out the view! However I saw this great welcome matt that says "Be nice or leave"

Love your house summilux. I've seen photos of it on house before. Think
I may have even put a photo in my ideabook :)

Uh, that was supposed to be "Houzz," not just "house."

@rosebud3- we know what you mean. Posts featuring our little ranch house are examples of my devotion to the Church of the Perpetual Remodel.

Right now, our home says "Do NOT visit"...when we bought this home 6 yrs. ago, I could not figure out WHY there was no front walkway!! The front door to the home is at the far opposite end of the driveway...meaning you have to walk across the grass to get to it...not fun if grass is wet after a rain storm!! Of course front lawn is totally snow in Winter, so we always use snowblower to make a path to front door in case of emergency, and for oil man since delivery spout is about 6 feet to right of front door! This is a ranch home, with 2 garages and in-law suite ( used as a guest suite for visitors ) on the ground floor...so we live on the top floor...if someone doesn't use the front door, we have to go down stairs to carport/sunroom entry to let them in that way.....thank God our close friends know how to find us!! LOL...stops a lot of solicitors, though....wanted to do brick walk to front door to match chimney, but not in budget at this time...still haven't figured out what will look and work the best for a walk...suggestions anyone???