Exterior Paint: Before!

Our house hasn't been painted since it was originally done over 30 years ago- according to our neighbor who meticulously keeps up with her garden. She would have seen someone painting the house! So far we've worked on projects that speak to me based on how much I hate each area. The only exception was our master bed and bath- that was just a treat for ourselves. So far I've harbored intense hatred for the yellow hallways, the front and back lawns (along with the massive pergola and rotting deck), and now the exterior paint job. Bad paint makes the wood rot and it's not worth it!

 

The front view. Please just notice our disgusting, poorly cared for fence also! It's already on the list but it is expensive and will take some saving before we can get to it. I can't stand the boring brown and yellowed beige paint colors. It makes the house look so dingy and faded. Like a big, sagging eyesore.

Here's the left side. This other area of nasty rotting deck is on my list, but it's a ton of work. We are having our foundation checked out and we are both hoping they will have to do some work that requires tearing out some of the deck and bushes for us!

The front entry that I painted. Notice the ceiling though, that is changing! I may paint the trim around the door itself if the mood strikes.

Here are the paint color samples. Painting the exterior is anxiety producing, especially on colors. If you make a mistake, you live with it! I want to feel proud of our house and I want our neighbors to be proud that we are taking care of it as well. Ugly colors look like you are not taking care. Which colors do you think we should do? (Tip: we already decided and they are painting it now, but I wonder what others think... the options are the white or the gray for the background color and the green, dark gray or dark brown for trim color)

This skylight on our back patio needs some serious drywall repair work. There were about 500 hooks in the ceiling, I presume for hanging plants, that Bean had to pull down.

Here's the overall of our patio. I can't wait to see it after. It has the most detail of the whole house! By the way, the pebble patio is also on my hatred list, mainly because it hurts to walk on it without shoes on. And it's ugly. And there are obvious patches from when we had foundation work done.

Another noticeable area in the backyard. I spend a lot of time staring up at these mismatched in size windows. One of them is in a hallway, and the other is in a game room and needs to match the other game room windows.

Check out our wild weed landscaping- it's one of a kind!

The yard is still doing well; there are patches where it is not growing in, but that was to be expected. We will eventually expand the patio to deal with that.

Two different garage doors: one original and non functioning; the other newer and a different color. Not for long!

I can't stand the route of the gutters either. That is something we will look into in the future. Also, more of the lovely caulk work along the edge of the garage from the previous owners. Seriously, if you are a first time reader of this blog, please take my advice: if you are not good at caulking, PAY SOMEONE to do it! I'm only good at it if it will be painted over, so I know my limitations. You won't catch me caulking around a tub anytime soon!

Bean has always loved the Tudor style houses. They are not my favorite, but I grew up in one. We are discussing possible future projects like a metal or faux wood shingle roof. I love the idea of metal to really modernize it. We will see! I'll post after pictures in a few days!