Disclaimer – This post is sponsored by Ryobi. All opinions are 100% my own.
Who is ready for one big beefy makeover?
And where is my girl-raising-hand emoji?
Because this post would be a total girl-raising-hand, dancing-girl, touch-down-hands, fist-bump emoji post right here. It’s gonna be amazing. Hold onto your hats.
SOooo it all began when Ryobi outdoor tools came to us to ask if we would be willing to review their new 40V outdoor lineup. It’s impressive. We have seen it basically every day. The boys go ‘ride’ the lawnmowers on display at Home Depot and we ogle the chainsaw, the cultivator, the blower and the trimmer.
Being the self-proclaimed tool junkies that we are, of course we jumped at the chance to get some new equipment. But we also felt like it was the perfect time to pay it forward. We could use the tools to give someone a needed curb appeal makeover and foot the bill so that we could pass along the love! Plus – you guys would get to follow along and see some fun ways to spruce up your exterior. It literally would be a win-win-win-win! Hence the touch-down-hands emoji!
So the absolute best feature of these tools is that they all run off of a rechargeable battery and they haven’t lost power. The battery is about size of a small loaf of banana bread. And you know that’s not big…especially when sharing.
Did you hear that? Each 40V tool can run off the same battery. No tools. No gas cans. No cords. No problem.
Even the lawnmower. Yup. The 40V lawnmower runs off the same battery as the 40V blower, 40V string trimmer, etc.
We did a little Facebook blast to our friends and family to see if they knew anyone who needed an outdoor sprucing and when our friends Chris and Dave submitted their exterior, we knew it would be the perfect house to get some much needed curb appeal!
Overall – the house is really cute and it just lacked in the maintenance department. Chris told me that she absolutely did not care what I did to the exterior but I knew that she is the kinda gal that likes a lot of classic with just a splash of the unexpected.
Currently their yard was overgrown and struggled in other areas of landscaping. The big rocks surrounding the beds were from their lot and they liked the native stones but felt like they weren’t acting as a edge or working visually.
The beds themselves were also lacking in bushes.
And this tree on this side of the bed was poorly pruned….so much so that if we limbed it up, it would have three branches and completely all on one side. The suckers at the bottom kept sprouting and the placement was smack dab in the center of the house….plus it inhibited grass to grow around that bed….most of that green is just moss.
Their lot is more wide than deep so we knew we would all get to try out the 40Volt lawnmower! Yes. You heard me right….a battery operated lawnmower. And one that I can lift with one hand. It’s nuts.
Near the house we needed to establish the overgrown beds and cut back those shrubs.
The rocks from the big bed were huge….
But even the smaller beds had rocks surrounding them. Those needed to go!
The stepping stones that they had were leading out into grass but they kept getting overgrown in the yard so we came up with an alternate plan for those babies.
Chris told me that she loves the bay window – she calls it her “Christmas Tree Window” and their huge blended family (between the two of them they have like 7 kids….maybe 8….I kinda lost track) they all set up the tree early in that window and are able to enjoy it whenever they come see this side of the fam!
The only bushes that were well established were these ones….the giant beauties that desperately needed trimming. Chris told me that her husband attempted to take care of them but had an injury and so these were always the back-burner-bushes.
He did manage to cut back some crepe myrtles but sadly the main stalks didn’t resprout in the last couple years so the suckers were the only thing left. These are a really popular plant here in the south and we love them but most people don’t know how to prune them correctly….so this happens frequently. I recently just learned how to prune mine and it’s sad how easily they are mutilated. Thankfully – these ones still have hope so we left them as is and told Dave that if he wanted help pruning them in the future to give us a call 🙂
It seriously is like Edward Scissorhands dream bushes up in there.
Okay – so besides the landscaping, we also decided that the house would benefit from some simple and inexpensive updates. The shutters needed a coat of paint, and the door needed some color and we would need to find a proper front door handle and a little door mat to welcome the family home. My goal for that was $100….and I did accomplish that 🙂
The first step was chopping down the tree. It was amazing how removing that one opened up the front of the house and immediately made the house feel more balanced.
Don’t worry tree-lovers, we made sure to plant three trees this year already and this yard received a lot more plants!
Once the tree was cleared out, we started on the beds. I would mark them and dig the edge trench and then Jeremy used the 40V Ryobi cultivator to mix up that soil. We tend to have two types of dirt here – red clay and rock. Not rocky dirt. Just rock. So I was super excited to see this tool work it’s magic and till up the beds.
We also needed to bring in some shrubs and we scored some azaleas for inexpensive that would help round out the big beds.
We also put in plenty of annuals. I went with purple and pink since purple is Chris’ favorite color.
The front door needed a little pop of color and I went with a very saturated navy blue color.
As you can see – the front door hardware definitely needed a little sprucing….
Isn’t that just so pretty!
And since the hardware was already off – putting new one on was simple!
We also needed to paint the shutters since they were badly faded.
The screws were stripped on a couple of them so we painted them in place and it turned out great!
The color is Espresso Beans by Behr.
Doesn’t the new hardware look good?!
You may be wondering where we put the stepping stones….they were placed to be a little walkway through the island next to the door. It made the most amount of sense to me – this way they wouldn’t get overgrown in the grass.
Adding some smaller shrubs and flowers really helps fill out empty beds but nothing makes them look as nice as a fresh cut and a layer of dark mulch.
Doesn’t it look just so much better?
We were able to clearly delineate the islands and reuse one of the flower barrels (that was painted to match the shutters) and the largest rocks to create formations that felt intentional yet casual.
And just look how open and classic it looks now!
I think the biggest change is those bushes. The hedge trimmer is so lightweight that I can do it and I have less than stellar upper body strength 🙂
And both homeowners were super happy with the way it turned out. Aren’t they so cute together!? It took us about the same amount of time you could squeeze into a two day weekend (we would come for a couple hours at night over a week) and overall…the curb appeal increased SO much.
Overall….everyone’s favorite is the blower. Even Dave said that he wanted to go buy one after using this. It has tons of power and is well balanced so it doesn’t feel like a CrossFit workout to use. I have since used it EVERY SINGLE DAY. We use it for the garage, sawdust, cheerios, leaves….basically everything.
The second runner up is the hedge trimmer. It isn’t heavy like a gas powered version and it’s cordless so it’s less stressful than the corded counterpart.
Overall – we are super impressed with the tools and loved being able to give this deserving family a curb appeal boost. And because we can’t just tell you anything anymore….we made a video. And it’s cheesy and hilarious and has the cutest ninja ever. I hope you like it….
And because today is all about the love – sharing the love, giving the love, loving the 40V, loving ninjas and loving curb appeal – we wanted to share some of the Ryobi love with you guys. That’s right – it’s giveaway time! Today we are giving away a 40V String Trimmer from Ryobi outdoor tools and you can enter to win! Good luck y’all!
Katie, I LOVE everything about this post! From the way you used the sponsorship to help out a neighbor, to the detail shots and amaaazing outcome! My only request is a side-by-side before and after shot! I had to scroll from the bottom to the top of the post to try to grasp the amazing transformation … would love to ogle it more easily 🙂
Lilburn is such a small world! Chris’ mom was my children’s church teacher back in the day and Charity went to the same school as me (was in my older brother’s class I think!) I wonder what mutual friend you’ll do a makeover for next?!
Amazing! I love the idea of paying it forward, I have a few yards in mind I would love to makeover 🙂
We really are trying hard to pay it forward this year…it makes these posts a little more tricky logistically but it’s so worth it in the end!
xo – kb
Such a small world! She knows everyone it seems!
xo – kb
Oh – I will definitely do a follow up post on this with more before/after side by sides and a budget breakdown 🙂
xo – kb
Such a great job! I’m just curious what y’all did with the tree stump and and the tree. I’ve always had a service come when I need trees taken down because they grind the stump and put the tree through the wood chipper. It’s expensive so I’d love a good DIY solution if there is one.
What! We love our Roybi Drills (my dad got us them for xmas)! I cannot believe they make yard stuff battery powered too! My DH did not believe me! I can’t wait to tell my Dad!
The house looks amazing – what a good deed!
Their house turned out so cute! And it was awesome that you and Jeremy paid it forward 🙂
I really enjoyed reading and seeing your transformation magic. It’s amazing what you can do with a tidy up and some paint. Great job.
The curb appeal makeover turned out great! I think it’s such a nice idea to pay it forward when it comes to sponsorship opportunities.
We have the Ryobi blower and Love it too! No more smelly gas blowers! I need to get that hedge trimmer next.
Awesome – great job!
Ryobi actually has a couple different lines of yard tools. The 18V version runs off the batteries that you already own…the same ones that are used for the drills! And then the 40V are new and that line of tools has a different – more powerful battery. Does that make sense?
xo – kb
We cut the stump back and used it as a platform for the pot with the flowers! The rocks surround it pretty perfectly so we got to actually use it and save money!
xo – kb
Great job! Your flowers are beautiful ♥
summerdaisy.net
Looks lovely, what a difference!
What are the purple plants? I struggle with putting color in my yard with existing bushes but think those would be cute! I wish plants weren’t so expensive. Love the blower- maybe a Christmas present for the hubs.
What a great transformation! I’m curious about how you did the shutters – what type of paint did you use and what type of shutters do they have – metal, plastic or wood? Ours are super faded and are badly in need painting but we’ve been nervous to tackle it. We’ve seen a few houses where the paint ran – and houses now have big streaks under the shutters. Our shutters are plastic and completely replacing them is WAY out of budget.
Serious question: why did you cut down the tree? Maybe its personal preference, but I love the shade and especially love the privacy a tree in front provides. Just curious what your thinking was.
Looks amazing. Everything’s you guys did is awesome. Sure wish I could get you guys in NC!
Also – I would LOVE to know your take on trimming and maintaining crepe myrtles. We have a ton of them and they are enormous. They really need to be tamed but I’m scared to touch them because people keep telling me I’ll end up murdering them.
Looks great! Just curious if a company was used to remove the tree stump or did you use one of the Ryobi tools to remove it?
Good job! I bet their neighbors were ecstatic about the makeover!
There were lots of reasons but bottom line, the homeowner wanted to and it definitely increased curb appeal 🙂 I love the fact that changing landscaping can increase property value and you can add MORE plants in the long run that are better suited for their location.
xo – kb
So I actually read up on it because we have a dozen! It’s important to not remove the longer top portions but not the thicker part of the upright stems. Here is a good link to help explain!
xo – kb
No we didn’t remove it completely. We cut it all the way down and put the potted flowers on it.
xo – kb
They are annuals!
xo – kb
The shutters were plastic and we got an exterior acrylic latex paint for them. You might want to consider removing them first if you want to be sure there won’t be any drips from application. The houses that you see might actually have streaks from DIRT or mildew or mold. It’s common for house shutters with a failing gutter system to have water accumulate behind shutters and eventually it will become dirty and leave large streaks under the shutters. The key for painting the shutters though is all the prep work. Make sure they are super clean and adhesion is possible (no flaking paint or whatever) and then apply the paint and let cure.
xo – kb
I am totally intrigued by the cultivator. I am not brave enough to handle the rototiller but I think I could use the cultivator.
Also, I want to know who painted the shutters by the second floor windows!
My husband and I just bought our house 11 months ago, and I’m definitely somewhat interested in the battery powered outdoor tools. We live on a 2+ acre lot with tons of huge oak, maple, and other various trees, so we are looking at getting a leaf blower that can handle the job. We currently have a little electric, cable version that works well enough for areas close to the house, but we have a large backyard and long driveway. How long do the 40V batteries last for blowing leaves? How comfortable would it be to use for 1-2 hours several days of the week? We currently borrow my mom’s backpack/gas blower, which does the job well and isn’t too straining to carry for long periods. I have had good luck using many of the products you recommend, but I will need more detail to convince my hubby it will work as well as gas powered.
Hmm….it’s hard to make a comparison to the gas with power….I wonder if there is an experiment I could do with blowing heavy things. We also have a backpack blower from Ryobi that Jeremy uses so maybe we could do a side by side video or something. Let me see with Jer. And as far as length of time…that is a good question depending on your battery and usage. I can ask Ryobi what their specs are.
xo – kb
It’s like a brand new house! Haha but seriously though it looks awesome, and it’s also awesome of you to use this opportunity to do something nice for your neighbors. With all the negativity going on in the world that we have to hear about nowadays it’s always nice to hear about someone doing something nice for a change.
Can you link to the new door hardware? We really need a new door handle but they’re so hard to shop for (and expensive)!
Here you go! They are expensive but I always say buying hardware is like buying a pillow…a bad version you will notice every single day 🙂
xo – kb
It looks great! What color did you use for the front door? It’s really lovely.