Before & After {exterior makeover}

Our house got a new paint job in May...so I thought I'd finally blog some before & afters!

It was a stressful process for me! Picking out colors for interior walls isn't that big of a deal for me. I like earth tones, and I tend to like darker, cozier colors. AND it's just a wall...if you don't like it, you can easily re-paint it. Well, that's NOT the case when painting a 2-story house! I was super nervous to finalize a color, and have my painter buy all the 5 gallon buckets of it! Yikes!

I knew I wanted either a dark gray, brown/gray/taupe, or messenger green

I used the Sherwin Williams ColorVisualizer to help pick a color. I found a few I liked on my paint deck, and then uploaded a picture of our house and tried them all to see what they looked like. Once I narrowed it down to Foothills (SW7514, if you're interested), I had my painter get me a sample jug of paint. BEST decision ever!!! We only used about 1/4 of the little jug, and were able to paint a really good size patch on the back of the house. (Justin had to tell me that I didn't need to paint the whole house!) Anyway, it was soooo helpful! I was able to look at the color during different times of day, and against my white trim, and knew immediately I loved it!

I knew I wanted black shutters, so this was to help me visualize the house color, white trip and black "shutters"

After that, we ordered the paint, and the painters went to work!! They power washed the whole house, covered/taped all the windows, doors and trim, painted everything, touched up trim in 2-1/2 days! Oh my, I was so excited!! It was totally worth it to pay someone else to do the job. With a 2-story house, we would have been painting for 3years to get it all done! They had a lift and sprayers, making it so quick!

Here's the BEFORE & AFTER of the front...

(the before was taken the first time we ever came to look at the house, before we made an offer)

In December 2011, we had to have all the white trim painted in order to get our home loan, so it was already nice and fresh when the siding was painted in May 2012. 

We also had our garage doors painted! This was another stressful decision for me! My little brother told me as he has before when it comes to painting "Leave it white! You paint everything...leave it alone, Martha"! Well, I think I proved him wrong again :) I like them much better painted! It was like getting brand new garage doors. They were in pretty good shape, but it just made them all fresh and new. We also had some plastic sunbeam inserts in the windows that I removed.

Some more of the process...

Finally, we had my black shutters installed! AND my vision was complete. 

That's all for now!! I really wanted to do a mustard gold door, but for now it's still red. I like it red too :)

Our last step will be to take down all the existing light fixtures and give them a fresh coat of black paint. They're not really our style, but for now a little fresh paint will make due.  

Then the front walk needs some major landscaping help! 

PAINT!!!

Well, it's been over seven years (I think), since I created my last "color board" at Scott Rice.

AND even longer since I created my last residential "color board" in studio at K-State! Gosh I miss that place!

BUT...the past few weeks, I've been putting my college degree to use!

You're welcome, mom and dad!!

***

We first saw our new house in July.

After 6+ years of searching, and having heartbreak after heartbreak...

I was reluctant to get too excited, too fast. I couldn't take another disappointment.

Now here we are, 5 months later!

Our "cottage" on Cherry Street is sold. We have our closing date set for December 19th. This coming Monday.

Although we had been patiently waiting for those 5 months, it all started moving really fast after Thanksgiving. So, I had to decide paint colors fast! (Thank you, Audra, for your help!)

I love to paint, but I've never done a whole house at once!! I was a little stressed. I have all sortsa crazy ideas for what I want on Pinterest :) BUT I don't have bedding or things like that yet. So, we went pretty neutral, but still warm and cozy. Then we can accent with our colors pops down the road. 

My PAINT BOARD...

I had to start with this, so I could see all of the house colors next to each other...

I wanted to make sure everything had some sort of flow!

*the paint square for hall bath, Barrett's room and guest room are looking a bit pinkish' to me here.

Sandy Ridge is what we currently have in Barrett's room though, so I know I love it! 

From this, I've started working on color boards for each room.

Here are a couple...

That is an actual picture of our cabinets. We are dark wood people, so we were very excited that those won't need painted or stained or replaced! They are in very good shape. Just gotta do something about those gold knobs! This room will need work...there is currently a lot of wallpaper up, and the counters are a black marble-looking laminate. Sweet, huh?!? We just got a new fridge (like shown but with another small drawer between the freezer drawer and french doors), range and dishwasher tonight! 

{before}

Found this fabric on fabricworm.com, and love it! Gotta get some ordered and hope my talented sister-in-law will help me make something with it :) There is a standard closet with bi-fold doors in the mudroom, and I'm thinking about converting it to something like the top right photo! Justin even thinks it would be cool :) The walls in the mudroom are currently hunter green, so more work to do! Who wants a floral balloon valance? Highest bidder wins!

{before}

(closet I mentioned is behind me/in front of Barrett...door to garage is just to my left)

Very excited for this room! It's small, so it shouldn't take much...and I've always wanted a powder room.

We just got this vanity and faucet over the weekend, so we have a start! Another fabric I found on fabricworm.com. Any ideas for that?!?! Basket-liners in the those wicker baskets for under the vanity?? More wallpaper to remove, and the pedestal sink is outta there. Sorry if you have one, but we are not fans! ;)

 {before}

So, that's where I'm at so far! NOW, we have to get to packing up this house!! I've been staying up til 2:30am or later every night for almost a week straight! It's killing me, but I have to get client edits and orders finished up for 2011. Just a few left still! I finished my last 2011 wedding last night, and it feels great! I think come February, I will be taking a nap every.single.day. 

Ideas and advice welcome! If you want to come to the painting party/moving party, just let me know :) 

AND feel free to tag me on Pinterest, Pinterest friends, if you find something I might like!