what i did last week.

well, okay: to be fair, it isn't what *i* did, per se, but it's what happened around here. i just took pictures.

back story: when we bought our house in '04, it was a bland, crappily-painted beige. a bland, crappily-painted beige ranch in the 'burbs ... i was so NOT excited about it. but over the past six years we've done many projects on the inside to make the house better. and now that selling is right around the corner, it became time to address that bland, crappyily-painted beige exterior.

i spent the past couple of weeks getting bids, then our realtor recommended a guy who works out of her office, he came out to give us a bid, i found him to be adorable reasonable and reputable and said, "you're hired. when can you start?"

the answer to that was "monday."

so on monday paul came out with his dad and brother and they got to work. and little by little, each day saw the bland, crappy beige give way to a beautiful, crisp gray ("intellectual gray" on the house, "porpoise" on the trim, both sherwin williams colors.).

(oh, and concurrently? i had a mother of a cold. also? we were supposed to get our wood floors buffed and polished, only to be told that there were wear marks too deep to buff and/or polish, so we opted to do a full-on refinishing. that was wednesday. our house has been chaos from the inside out for a week now. but the floors also look gorgeous, it was so worth the estimate tripling in price, and maybe later this week i can actually get the furniture moved back into the dining room and out of the sun room. maybe.)

the painting was a fun process to watch. i've always been a bit obsessed with paint chips and re-imagining rooms with a fresh color, so to paint a room or - hellooo - a whole house for real is kinda a thrill for me. harper had fun, too ... she was my front steps and back deck supervisor:

she liked to take her apples out and chat with whomever was painting there at the time.

by friday, the house looked amazing. so fresh and pretty and decidedly less bland and crappily painted!

we went from this:

to this:

even the underside of the sun room got a makeover:

(and yes, that was my last attempt to subtly slide in a photo of paul. eye candy for those of you who don't care about houses.)

i've picked out the front door color - the aqua on the right side of the middle paint chip. ("wythe blue" from benjamin moore, if you're playing along at home.)

this week? i'll get the door painted, get the brick painted, when marc gets back in town he'll hang the shutters and lights, i'll take more pix to show you, and then: ahhh!! pretty little ranch in the 'burbs!!

Comments

[Ann Marie]

Can't wait to see!!!

[Courtney Walsh]

ooh, I love it!! :) What a fun project!!

[Michele H.]

I love home makeovers and I can't wait to see the door against that nice cool grey. Looks absolutely wonderful:)

[ArlaMo]

I LOVE your floors!! So pretty. And your painter isn't too bad either ;)

[Meghann]

Yay! Nothing better than a fresh coat of paint!

[Michelle]

Love the floors and the new coat of paint. That door color is going to look awesome!

[Amy]

Oh love the pics! Hheeeeeeeee! I think your DD is too cute..sitting with her apples and chattin with the painters! Made me laugh. What beautiful floors!