Monday, August 18, 2014

The painted house

Two Fridays ago our painters started working on the house.  And I was so nervous that I made the wrong choice picking SW Muddled Basil right up until they were putting it on.  
And then I was so happy, because it was exactly what I wanted.  Gray, not too green...and moody, but neutral.  I don't know, I'm just making this crap up.  I just wanted it to look awesome and it does!
Oh, I'm so happy to see the burgundy go.  We still have some trim and windows to paint, but at least it looks pretty finished at this point.  Like our grass, that looks pretty finished, too. 
The chunky trim around the top windows looks so much better painted the body color.  I like a monochromatic look, and huge cream trim and cream boards on all the corners was not working for me.  The lower window trim will look skinnier once I get the screens back on there. 
I spent a lot of time painting the aluminum exterior of this window last week, and even though I was very careful, they still got stuck.  I hate painting windows!  The difference between the old cream and the new Clarksville Gray isn't huge, but it is noticeable. 
I still have to paint the garage door.  You can really see how much darker the new trim color is around the door. 
The back is still a hot mess, but if you notice we got rid of the lava rock!  It was quite a debacle, too.  We still have the little row of river rock, though.  Apparently the previous owners had a fountain there.  More on that another day...for now, let's admire the new paint!  I'm definitely picking a different orange for the doors.  I think I know what it will be, but I'm still hemming and hawing as usual. 
You really sharp people might also notice I only got half the French door painted the new trim color.  I've still got a lot to do.  Here's the list:
Put a second coat on all trim in the front and patio area
Paint kitchen window - two coats
Paint downstairs walkout window - two coats
Paint master bedroom window - 1.5 coats (because one poorly-applied coat was already done by our painter)
Replace or spray paint icky storm door on basement walkout door.  I've never photographed it because it's so damn ugly and rusty.  But, I don't really want to buy a new one since we hardly ever use that door.
Remove this wretched hunter green storm door and buy a normal colored one that actually has a screen, probably 'sandstone' or some other appropriately named tan.  It still blows my mind that the previous owners painted the house red and kept this green door. 
I also have to purchase and install new exterior lights, house numbers, and clean up some old red paint left on our stoop.  So, that might be done before we get snow.  I'm not sure.  What do you think?

19 comments:

  1. Never underestimate the power of paint...Wow what a difference. Love your choice of color!

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  2. great color choice - i love dark exterior paint colors on houses! what color are you thinking for the door?

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  3. Splendid! What a difference paint makes.

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  4. OMG ... what a huge difference. Definitely the right colour pick.

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  5. WOW- it's amazing! love the dark color!

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  6. Looking great!I'm digging the orange door, glad you are keeping the concept, but going with another shade!

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  7. Love your color choice- well done!

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  8. The new color looks great! Totally loathe lava rock, why in the heck do people use that stuff ?That must have been a beast to remove!

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  9. Wow!! What a smashing success. It is fabulous...like a completely different house!

    Am so loving it!!!

    Yea, Sara!!! Told you it would be fabulous!!!!

    Finish it before winter or you will stress all winter. Finish it so you can forget about it and just enjoy it. If I lived closer I would come help you paint! I love to paint.

    The color is PERFECT!

    Barb

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  10. i think it looks fantastic! Totally updated and fresh.

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  11. It makes it look more modern and sleek. The upper windows look so much better.
    I'd try to get the paint knocked out and done.

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  12. Wow! It looks amazing! Love this color so much.

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  13. OK, I ABSOLUTELY love this. And I'm pinning it because this grey really is perfect and I've been searching for-ev-er for the perfect dark grey exterior. And I kind of love the orange just the way it is. Maybe it reads different in photos, but it seems to be that perfect shade, not too yellowy and not too bright, but also not too muddy.

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  14. Before you drop a load of cash on a new storm door! There should be a screen door to go with the glass. I used to work at Home Depot in the doors and windows department and I sold a lot of those doors! They call them "full view" because they don't have two panes. Maybe if you contact the manufacturer you can get a full screen for much less than replacing the door - those things cost like $400+!!!
    And then just paint the green away!

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  15. It's like night and day! I used to swear that I would never live in a ranch house but some of you fine folks of the blogosphere are making me rethink that.

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  16. How about a house update?!!!
    No matter how small...we want to see the house projects!
    B.

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  17. The new color choices look great and I can't wait to see it when it's done.

    I know you still have to paint the other windows, but I was thinking that on those lower windows that if you painted the "frame" the body color and only the "sashes" the trim color that they would fit in better and not draw your attention to them like they do now.

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  18. The wonders of paint! Great choice. Looking real good and more modern.

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Thanks so much for reading....your comments mean a lot to me!
Sara