Our House

Our House is a Very, Very Fine House,
With Two Cats in the Yard,
Life use to be so hard,
No everything is easy 'cause of you.

Can you hear the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song in your head?

When we moved into our home three years ago, I declared it the "color of death"! I hated the morbid dark grey (or however the hell you would describe it). But you don't judge a house by it's wrapping, you consider the neighborhood, price, size, your family, the schools, etc. Nevermind the cross hatching (removed above).

Someday, the color could be "corrected". Color is cosmetic after all. I change my make-up shades regularly, and this past summer our house got a make-over too.

Last winter a college kid named Klaus from the U of M Carlson School came door knocking, looking for  business for his College Pro Painters crew. We chatted, and sent him on his merry way. He came back. Grechen and Dan were over at the time. We  made them answer the door and tell Klaus we were out of town! He was persistent, and stopped again.  We got a quote, did research, signed the papers, and made a down-payment.

Not only did I HATE the color, but the house NEEDED paint for maintenance purposes. We scheduled the job for late August. (It turned out to the Klaus's last house of the summer).

Before our college crew's return, the "decorative" cross-action/western-ranch- ambiance/wood accents were removed from the front, side, and back...

We hired someone to add shakes in its place.

Mark painted the new shakes barn red himself to save on the costs. Shake painting was more than enough time on the tip-top step of the neighbor's ladder for Mark.

 (Opps... gotta change this photo out. Wrong ones.)
Klaus came a few weeks before the job to discuss and finalize our paint colors.

Mark and I choose a chocolaty brown for the base, and a creamy color called "Portico" for the fascia and eaves. Fascia - Eaves - Trim? Which is what? What is which color????

August neared its close, and the prep work and painting inched forward. As the job progressed, I realized a third color on the window "trim" would best "enhance" the over all look of our 1970's Split, while drawing away from the aging windows! (This was our initial plan actually. The idea was lost as I got confused by eaves and fascia and trim and stuff!).

I needed to convince Mark about the "third color" (or 4th if you count the shakes) before Nate (the bearded, college sophomore, painting crew guy) got to the trim.

He was on board. We dialed Klaus and left him a voice mail. Could we PLEASE change the color scheme up a bit?

Okay - we called in time, he returned with our choice, and tested one window in the back.
We stared at it through out the next day, at different times.
Morning, noon, dusk.

...TOO DARK... (yes - DEFINITELY a shade too dark!!!)

So Klaus returned to Sherwin Williams to "brighten it up" for his self proclaimed "Most Indecisive Clients" of the summer.

 and - This is what we landed on!

 We LOVE it!

 BEFORE

AFTER!

I love our front door (and the simple change in direction of the decorative cross-hatched wood by the entrance). I cannot tell you how many times I went through the blue swatches. They were taped to the door for two weeks.

Over, and Over... I stared at those swatches.

Mark let me have my bright BLUE DOOR.
He was SKEPTICAL.... but was willing to give on this one.
Now he loves it too!

*Scroll up - It is hard to see, but Mark updated the Coppola too with the blue and red!
*Oh... and our neighbor Loren kindly came over with his chain saw and cut down the WAY overgrown arborvitae TREES on either side of the front.
*The arborvitae removal lead me to my post about my mom and the love of a good fire.
*I served the painting crew lemonade and popsicles on the hot days. I am motherly and sweet like that. Mark thought I was silly.