WINDOW REDO

With the nice days we've been having lately my attention has turned outdoors. I've been cleaning out my flower beds and it seems like I have to cut my grass every time I turn around. My new favorite passtime is pulling out the dandelions from the lawn with a weeder. It is strangely satisfying. Last weekend, I cleaned the windows outside and it made me think about how far they have come.
Here is the before shot:

Last summer, Stephane and I spent a long time fixing up the trim around the windows of the house. Over the winter he had installed 23 new insert windows in the house. What a difference it made! The downfall was that the outside of the house looked well.. kinda terrible.
There were storm windows covering the original windows. Which meant if there was a window that wasn't painted shut you still couldn't get any air in. The storm windows had been siliconed to the frames and did some damage when we tore them off. The original frames had been capped with a white metal and those got bend and torn as well.
Basically, there were 2 choices. #1 : Have someone come in and recap the metal around each window. A somewhat expensive option and only available in white. #2 Tear off the metal (sharp!), repair the original wood, fill the holes with wood filler and car body filler, trim, prime and paint.
In the end, though time consuming #2 was the best option.

what a mess..

Here is Steph.. apparently sanding car body filler is not good for you..?

sanded and ready to prime

primed

Here it is now:

can you find Beaufort?

I'll admit that the task was daunting and I had my doubts throughout the process but in the end I think it looks pretty good! I love that painting the trim grey (PARA paints, weathervane) brought some color to the house.

I painted my door a bright green which is sort of out of character for me. I had some mixed reviews but I think the color has mellowed and I have grown to really like it.
For now I just need a top up of black mulch in the gardens, and some plants for my hanging baskets.
The porch and steps need some work and I definitely need a light fixture. I REALLY don't like the black and white stripes on the face of the house but I'm not quite sure what to do yet. Any suggestions?