A Few years ago We thought we might change the color of the exterior of our home.  We live in a five level split and this was going to prove to be a huge undertaking … after getting quotes to have it professionally done and seeing how expensive it was, we decided to hold off and try to update it other ways.

I wasn’t fond of the brick colors as they are oranges and browns and reds but thought I’d try to make them work.  I decided to pull out the terracotta color in the brick by painting the front and side fence in the same color… after 12 hours of painting I knew it was wrong…  ALL WRONG!  UGH! Our house now took on a different (mish mash) sort of feel when you looked at it.  I was so sick of painting at this point that I decided I could live with it for a while.  Well, a while turned into 3 years!  I wasn’t completely hideous, it just didn’t feel right.

I planted pretty flowers and had beautiful hanging baskets which helped…

(These are really old pics..not that good but all I could find)

color …  all wrong!

I have been neglectful this year in my yard.  I have been so busy with my children, my booth, work and other projects that the outside has really taken a back seat.  Not to mention that we went on holidays for a bit and I gave away my beautiful hanging baskets.  It was either leave them to die while we were away or give them to my neighbor.  We have the best neighbor, she always looks out for our kids and is always doing something nice for us so I didn’t mind giving my flowers to her :0)

So…finally my ugly paint choice bothered me enough that I decided to finally do something about it!  First I started by painting the door I use as a gate to the back yard.  I used my spray gun on it and it took so little time that I decided to try spraying the fence with it too.

The spray gun saved my back from rolling and reaching and saved me time from having to wrestle a brush in the cracks and sides of the fence boards.

I didn’t have to use a paint tray, rollers or brushes!!!  This project took me a fraction of the time it took me using a roller and brushes.  I know I have said it a lot but I REALLY LOVE MY PAINT SPRAYER!!!!

Here is the results…notice how much richer the whole outside looks with the darker color…

I accidentally broke the window in the door when I was taping it off so I could paint it.  I replaced the glass with some poultry wire instead.  It was kind of a good accident as I think I like the door better without the glass, and little birdies won’t fly into it as much now and get hurt.

I also decided that the stained front step could look nicer as well so I painted it with concrete paint/sealer in a dark brown/black color.  What a nice fresh feel it gives.  The screen door used to be yellow so it got a nice coat of black to class it up as well.  The windows and door frame are also going to get some freshening up as well…

(I have to still finish off the bottom step )

As you can see, the flower bed is pretty sparse.  The deer have eaten all the blooms and flower buds off of my Lupins and portulaca.  They have even eaten all the apples off of the apple column tree on the left.  Next year I will need to put up some sort of deterrent.

So now I’m feeling much better about the overall feel of the outside color.  It looks much more modern than it did.  Once the window frames get fresh paint and the large beams on the house get a fresh coat of stain I don’t think we’ll need to paint the stucco part of the house.  I think I will pretty it up with some potted mums for the fall and a nice antique chair for the front step.

I have been super busy lately getting my gang ready for school and doing projects in between that I haven’t had much time for writing posts.  I have made a few long overdue changes in the direction I want my life to go and that has meant some really big decisions that I’ve made.  I will share those changes with you soon :0) !

As my family gets back on track and into more of a routine with school etc. I will have more time to blog and share projects.

Take care!

Smiles!

Terry