Saturday, December 19, 2009

House Transformation

I love our humble home, but its light brown color was dating it so. It felt like Brady Bunch meets bad '70s architecture. Well, the transformation into cozy, timeless cottage has begun. I felt a little (no, a lot) daunted by all the colors out there. And let's face it, a bad paint color inside the house is easy to fix, but a bad color on the outside . . . that's a neighborhood eyesore not cheaply remedied. And so when I went to my local Benjamin Moore paint store and was told that the owner, a color specialist, could come to my house and help me with the colors for $85, I figured it money extremely well spent. And it was. First I drove Becky to a house nearby that I've always loved. Granted, it's worth 3x what mine is and has the charm of the English countryside, but I wanted to give her an idea of the look I was going after. Pure cottage.

She poured over the gajillion shades of gray and landed on this one. The trim, which I would have painted white, is now a warm ivory. The front door will be red (again, a gajillion shades of red . . . I'd have pulled my hair out to decide on one if it'd be me making the choice). And I'm adding shutters. And she chose the most warm shade of black (hullo . . . yes, there are tons of shades of black out there!!!! Who knew????) for those.

The shutter story is worth telling. I went to Lowe's and got the greatest salesman. Sense of humor, knowledgeable, my age (and despite the fact that he had a wedding band on, Harleigh and I agreed I need to marry him). He worked up the price for wooden, flat panel shutters. Pricey, but the charm they'll add to the house is worth it. And then he pulled me aside and told me to get a price from a local millwork company. Which I did. Bought them, saved myself $100 per pair, had the customer service that you only get from a family-run operation, and the shutters are a piece of art! Custom made to my windows.

Here is the before, and where we stood as of yesterday. The weather has NOT been on our side. The college student boy across the street is painting the house for me (at a very good price, and he's done three other houses in the neighborhood; I'm thrilled with his commitment and attention to detail). I feel good about giving the work to him. And some of the siding needed replacing, which his Dad helped him with.

I'm falling in love with the outside of my house!!!!!!

BEFORE:

IN THE WORKS to becoming a charming country cottage:

10 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Can't wait to see it finished, sounds pretty :)

Anonymous said...

I'm loving to door color!!! I'm going to be painting mine a green color soon.

Celestial Charms said...

It is looking fresh and lovely already. Such a pretty shade of blue.
Maureen

Empty Nest Full Life said...

I know it is going to be soon transformed into that cottage look that you are going for. Could I borrow you to come to my house for a while?

Shann said...

You are sooo right! Picking paint can be very overwhelming. I have never picked paint for the outside of my home. I bet that IS a lot harder than a bathroom! It looks beautiful so far! I love the stonework on your home. Looks like a cottage in the woods to me! Can't wait to see the finished picture. Good job! :)

Robin said...

it looks wonderful! and so sweet of you to use a local student to do the job!
The color is fabulous!
Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2010!
Robin

Christine said...

Your Cottage is looking better and better. Love the punch of color with the door!
Don't you just love a good sales person! Sounds like you did everything just right.
Congratulations!

Denise said...

Ooh, Dawn, it is looking so pretty! I can't wait to see the finished cottage!

XXDenise

julie said...

I just realized I've never noticed the stonework accenting your windows before--it got lost in the brown. The gray sets it off beautifully! It's so pretty. Can't wait to see it finished.

Kb_Mal said...

Wow! What a transformation!

And of course I have to comment on how you've managed to do it so beautifully while cutting a few corners in terms of price.

Looks Great, D!

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