Several weeks ago, we went to the Seattle Home Show, which featured merchants offering everything from resurfacing bathtubs and counters to landscaping materials, roofing, replacement windows, hot tubs, and garage doors.

Oh, garage doors!

Our stunning 1970’s house in Kirkland came with hunks of warped plywood, inset with amber glass windows, that swung up when opened, clobbering anything in their path. To say that I hated these garage doors would be an understatement. Although, in the grand scheme of necessary home improvements, replacing the garage doors wasn’t high on the list.

One vendor at the Seattle Home Show must have said "something" that compelled Rich to explore the garage doors that he was touting. His prices were very reasonable and the NEXT week, Rich called for a quote. A few weeks later, our hateful garage doors were sawed in half and replaced with fabulous, almond-colored doors with elegant windows.

Check out the before and after pictures. Note, the barfy brown shutters were removed from the front windows when they were replaced last year with double-pane windows. This summer we’re having our house painted in a pale almond with moss green trim. And the shutters, they’re history!

Plus, we’ll be axing the front door and replacing it with a pretty wooden door with inset panels of rectangular glass. I’ve scoped out the door several times at Home Depot several times!