This 1960s Home Gets a Functional Facelift

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First-time homeowner, Aaron Caldwell, bought his 1960s home about 3 years ago. He is the second owner of the 55-year-old house and decided he wanted to make it his own and update it, but he needs our help with curb appeal ideas!

He started on the inside with improvements such as updating the kitchen, repainting walls, and more. Then, he moved onto the outside, including repaving his driveway and replacing his front windows, but it wasn’t enough. Now that the inside fits his liking, he wants to fully tackle the outside, so we’re going to give him the curb appeal his home deserves!


The Projects

One curb appeal idea is to replace outdated parts of the home, such as wrought iron, and replace it with something new and modern. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Replacing Wrought Iron

With the new look that Aaron is wanting for the front of his house, the wrought iron does not match. But because the wrought iron is load-bearing, we must put something in its place to hold the weight. So, we decide to use 6 x 6 wood columns to replace it.

To begin, we used a jack and wood columns to raise the soffit. Once we did that, we removed the wrought iron and sawed the leftover screw heads down.

This image shows a wood column being installed using a galvanized saddle, screws, and a drill.
It is important to use a galvanized saddle for extra support when installing new columns. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Next, John installed the columns with a galvanized saddle and screwed it into each side. After the columns were secured, we used more wood to create a trim around them to make them look even better.

This image shows the new columns with the added trim.
The trim and the new paint color make the house look more cohesive than before. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Originally, Aaron wanted to stain the wood columns, but after further consideration, we decided to paint the columns a neutral color. This way, the columns match the trim that was already there, and the paint would be less maintenance than a stain.

The best part about these columns is that Aaron found the original plans for the house, and sure enough, the columns that we added are almost identical to the ones on the original house.


This image shows the original garage doors. They are brown and the two doors do not match.
The old garage doors were dull and took away from the overall curb appeal. They didn’t even match. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Replace Garage Doors

Aaron’s garage doors are at the front of the house and are the first thing you see when you approach his house. Because of that, Aaron wants those doors to be updated and fixed. The double doors that were originally installed are not the same door, and the one on the left fails to work.

First, the Wayne Dalton garage door installers removed the existing doors and enhanced the framing around the openings, so the new doors can withstand greater wind loads.

This image shows the garage doors being installed by Wayne Dalton.
In order to tackle the main eye sore, installing the garage doors was necessary. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Next, they installed the new doors. The new doors not only updated the look of the outside but also increased the functionality too!

This image shows the importance of curb appeal. The new garage doors add new life to the home. They are now a neutral color and look more modern.
Aaron’s curb appeal is enhanced now that he has new and improved garage doors. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

The new doors that Aaron chose were the perfect complement to the house’s existing exterior. The doors are identical to one another, and the light beige color makes it appealing to the eye. Now, Aaron is proud of his house when people come to visit!


This image shows the landscape before the revamp. The plants are dead and dry.
This landscaping was pitiful and desperately needed to be revamped. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Adding New Landscaping

Aaron was not shy about the fact that he could not keep a plant alive. His mom helped him add landscaping to his front lawn, but because of Aaron’s neglect to water them, they died shortly after.

To update the drab and dead landscaping, we cleaned out the old landscaping and prepared it for new plant life.

This image shows the new landscaping with pink flowers, bushes, and mulch.
With this new landscaping, Aaron’s curb appeal is better than ever! (3 Echoes Content Studio)

To help Aaron keep his plants alive, we chose drought-friendly plants, but they still need some water. We added a soaker hose that will water the plants on a timer so that this new landscaping will hopefully last longer than the previous. The new plants enhanced the overall look of his house!


This image shows a paint roller applying the new concrete coating.
Other projects, such as painting the front door, adding shutters, and matching the concretes, are all great curb appeal ideas to make your front porch look better! (3 Echoes Content Studio)

We Also

  • Added shutters two shades darker than the siding
  • Coated the porch in a terrazzo coating
  • Re-stained the existing concrete to match the new driveway
  • Repainted the front door a blue color

Post-Production Thoughts

This image shows the after of the makeover. The house has curb appeal and looks nicer and more modern.
With the new garage doors, updated landscaping, new columns, shutters, door paint, and matched concrete made Aaron’s home have the best curb appeal! (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Aaron’s house was suffering from an identity crisis. The clean, modern lines in the stricter were confused by the rod iron columns. The new driveway and windows were offset by the old concrete and ancient garage doors. Nothing seemed to fit together, least of all the parts, landscaping.

But now, the house has found itself. The new garage door adds character, making them a focal point on the house rather than something to overlook. The new columns and shutters work with the home’s clean lines instead of against them. And the terrazzo coating on the porch defines it and separates it from the driveway. Plus, the new front door color and the lush landscaping create the perfect welcome for Aaron’s guests.


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CSM debuts US unit of Hi-Food

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LUXEMBOURG — CSM Ingredients is expanding its presence in the United States with the debut of its Hi-Food unit. Headquartered in Parma, Italy, Hi-Food specializes in the research, development and production of natural value-added ingredients for the food industry.

Hi-Food’s product portfolio includes: fibers and new generation vegetable proteins; extruded textured vegetable proteins; substitutes for sugars, salt, eggs, palm oil and animal fats; natural shelf-life extenders; and systems for vegan sauces and dressings.

“At CSM, our commitment to be a net-positive ingredient tech platform continues, and we are working tirelessly to identify new opportunities to contribute to a new sustainable and nutritionally balanced food industry evolution,” said Aldo Uva, chief executive officer of CSM Ingredients. “I am proud of our group’s continued expansion within the United States by building on 2022’s entry in our platform of the US-based Parker Food Group. Hi-Food USA marks another significant step for us as we create an integrated presence in a dynamic and stimulating ingredients market.”

Massimo Ambanelli will lead Hi-Food USA as chief commercial officer. Mr. Ambanelli will lead a local development team focused on developing a tailored assortment of ingredients specifically for the US market. CSM said the US team’s primary areas of focus will be savory ingredients and bakery/sweet ingredients.

Founded in 2012 by Giampaolo Cagnin, Mr. Ambanelli and Emanuele Pizzigalli — in close collaboration with the University of Parma — Hi-Food has since grown by developing innovative solutions in the world of functional ingredients for the plant-based and clean label food industry. CSM acquired Hi-Food in February 2022.

In October 2022, Hi-Food opened its new headquarters and production plant in Parma. The complex of about 64,500 square feet features spaces dedicated to producing and developing ingredients for the food and beverage sectors. The investment came close to €20 million ($19.6 million).

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OPEC+ sticks to 2023 production target, Saudi Arabia sets further cuts

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Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud arrives for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna on June 3, 2023.

Joe Klamar | Afp | Getty Images

The influential Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, on Sunday made no changes to its planned oil production cuts for this year, as coalition chair Saudi Arabia announced further voluntary declines.

OPEC+ also announced in a statement that it will limit combined oil production to 40.463 million barrels per day over January-December 2024.

Previously, the alliance agreed to a 2 million barrels-per-day decline in October. Some OPEC+ members also announced some voluntary drops of just over 1.6 million barrels per day in April. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Sunday that all voluntary cuts, which were initially set to expire after 2023, will now be extended until the end of 2024, in comments reported by Reuters.

Asked whether Russia, hit by Western sanctions, will carry out its pledge to cut output, UAE oil minister Suhail al-Mazrouei on Sunday acknowledged there were discrepancies between figures supplied by Moscow and the independent Russian production estimates of analysts and trade publications.

“Some of the things that we have seen from Russia on a technical basis just … [don’t] add up from some of the independent sources, and we will be reaching out to those independent sources,” he said during a press briefing after the OPEC+ meeting.

Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said Riyadh will implement an additional voluntary one-month 1 million-barrel-per-day cut starting this July, which can be extended. This will bring the kingdom’s total voluntary declines to 1.5 million barrels per day over the period, reining in its production to 9 million barrels.

The Saudi energy minister described the kingdom’s additional 1 million barrel-per-day voluntary reduction as a “Saudi lollipop” and stressed it will implemented.

“We have always honored our commitments,” he said during the Sunday press briefing. He left unanswered whether the kingdom will extend its voluntary reduction beyond July.

The move by the 23-country alliance follows contentious talks that dragged well into the night on Saturday, as well as a more-than four-hour Sunday meeting of the alliance’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which recommends, but does not implement, policy.

At stake for OPEC+ is a battle to reconcile an outlook of tighter supply in the second half of the year, current macro-economic and inflationary concerns, and intergroup diplomacy.

Ahead of the meeting, Saudi oil minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman in late May warned oil market speculators to “watch out,” in a comment widely read as heralding another supply cut.

It remains to be seen if the 2024 reduction in output will offer long-term support to current oil futures prices when markets open on Monday, following months of pressure from global financial turmoil since the start of the year.

Brent futures most recently settled at $76.13 per barrel on Friday, with several OPEC+ delegates noting the deepening divide between prices and supply-demand fundamentals.

Back to bases

The producers’ alliance also agreed to review baselines — the starting level from which producers cut their output during OPEC+ agreements, usually by a similar percentage — for 2025, following a study of countries’ output capacities by oil analysts IHS, Wood Mackenzie and Rystad Energy.

A higher baseline translates into a higher output ceiling. Critically, baselines are often reused in new iterations of OPEC+ agreements and their review and later adjustment are often contentious, meaning they could bind producers longer term.

OPEC heavyweight UAE has been long vying for an upward revision to its baseline, receiving part of such a concession in July 2021.

Other producers of the alliance, such as Angola and Nigeria, have meanwhile long fallen short of lifting their output to their assigned OPEC+ quotas amid sabotage, depleting capacity and underinvestment — but potential changes to their baselines to reflect these realities were not formally broached before because of the sensitivity of these discussions, delegates told CNBC.

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