Ok. Maybe this isn’t going to be the most exciting post for you so you may be wondering why I used exclamation points in the title. Well, I’m pumped. To the max. Picking new siding means that our 80’s tri-level is finally going to start looking decent after living here for 4 months. Everyday when I walk into our house before I enter the door I feel un-inspired & just hate how the house looks. It looks sad to me, but as soon as I walk in the door it feels like home. Our house feels like ours & we have our touch on it. Then you go back outside & the exterior of our home has none of our style, no touches of us, & it doesn’t even seem like ours. Well, that’s about to change!!! This week we picked out siding, cedar shakes, new trim color, shutters, & more to completely give our home a makeover on the outside. Here is a little preview of the direction we are going…
That photo with all the writing gets me so excited. We are starting with the new siding color [a crisp and soft white] & then on the upstairs part of the house that sticks out we are putting accent cedar shakes [ white distressed shakes called coastal white] At the same time we are adding new shutters which haven’t been finalized yet so if you have a color suggestion leave it in the comments below!
So, If you remember a post I did on the exterior of our home when we got new windows, but the plan then was to do gray siding. Nothing against gray, but I just wasn’t feeling it for this house of ours. I wanted something classic & cottage-y. & I know some of you are joking about me picking white, & you can keep laughing because I am too. I just love white, it’s fresh, clean, & again, classic. I actually had picked a creamier white, but Mr. LMB chose this white & I love it too. When he has an opinion I always listen because it’s rare when he has one. He is the type to always go with the flow so it’s fun when he goes against what I say.. is that weird? If there was a every a faux cedar shake that describe me it would be these distressed shakes that we chose for the front of our house, I’m a little obsessed with them. The trim color will be almost the same color as the siding so that it blends in with the house [unlike the brown trim that is there right now as seen in the photos.] The white trim will break the house up less & just help it all flow together. The one thing we haven’t chose? The shutters! I like the cottage style with the two vertical boards with the horizontal boards across at the top & bottom. But the color or stain has yet to be decided. If our roof wasn’t an orange/brown I would choose a gray, but alas our roof is an orange/brown. Remember our first exterior plans last fall included replacing our roof because we hated the color? Well, our roof is basically brand new so we decided to not change the roof [for now]. The shutter color option in the photo is a dark brown with some gray undertones . So with the gray undertones I’m still getting my way right? I’ll keep thinking that.
Just looking at the white siding sample compared to the old tan siding makes me so ready for the exterior refresh! & isn’t it funny that you can see the outlines from the old shutters? Not really funny, but I’m ready to get some new shutters up there! Besides adding a front porch to the house, I think that the siding is going to make the biggest impact on our home makeover. I hope you are all excited for this amazing makeover & excited to go through the journey with us. Be sure to follow me on Instagram & Facebook for more updates. Let me know what you guys think in the comments below, I really want you to be a part of this journey with us! xx
How nice to be able to do all of that!
I also love white! So so fresh crisp and clean! I think a french country Wedgwood blue would look great for the shutters 🙂 can’t go wrong with blue and white color palettes 😉 good luck with the project 😉
What about old pallet- wood type shutters? Something that looks reclaimed? That old wood might match your roof for the time being, and let’s face it, it’s not a fun way to spend money (changing the roof)…. Same with us, I want something else, but can’t justify spending that kind of money right now… I’d rather re-do my kitchen!:) anything you decide will look great! ~Kim
Everything is going to look so good! I think I’m obsessed with those cedar shakes along with you. I started to suggest gray shutters for you too (because that’s so you), but then when you mentioned the roof color staying as-is, I think brown with cool undertones will look great! I can’t wait to see the progress!
I’d say for the shutters do a nice cedar wood that would kind of tie in the roof, but keep it rustic and neutral. I think it’s why this house from Fixer Upper works so well with almost the same color roof you have–although they don’t have wood shutters, they have the planters in the cedar, while the shutters are a brown grey. So that might could be an option for you as well; do the brown/grey shutters & cedar box planters to tie into the roof.
See what you think…
https://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2015/2/10/0/BP_HFXUP206H_Gulley_home-exterior_AFTER_front_160404_503226.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.1280.853.jpeg
oooo…I CAN NOT wait to see these after pictures! Awesome choices! We have lots of houses around that look like yours and i’m always excited to see new ideas to make our flip houses stand out. GREAT choices!
I love your choices, I would not put shutters on the two small bottom windows. Save the money and put it towards landscaping. I think a nice medium brown stain for shutters will help tie in the color of the roof.
This is very exciting. Congrats on the start to this!
http://www.southernfolly.com
I would be be excited, too! The changes will make a huge difference! We live in Michigan too – in Big Rapids. Where are you?
love and blessings~
Lynda @ Gates of Crystal
Ohh I can’t wait to watch it all transform!! I love your choices! Our cottage style shutters unfortunately are painted, not stained but the color is called musket brown and it’s a dull/gray/brown color. Something like that would probably work for you!!
Cant wait to see the finished project!
What are your ideas for landscaping? Would love your ideas for plants. Me and the hubby are doing some landscaping this month 🙂
Natural cedar (sealed with a UV inhibitor), Brown, Dark Turquoise or maybe even Charcoal would work for shutters. I’m with holding a final choice until after I see your porch design! Window boxes…or no? Hold off on the landscaping (except for the part with chain saws and sledge hammers) until after construction…I had an entire bundle of shingles dropped onto a brand new tree and scaffolding erected in the middle of my new flower bed when we did our last house. Buy the plants if there are good sales and keep them in a “nursery” on the other side of the house, away from the construction until it’s safe. I might be able to help you with plant selections if you can tell me how much maintenance you want to do and what zone you’re in. I’ve been doing garden design for 20 years. Let me know if I can help. xx
Love this look! How about some of the DIY warm wood looking shutters? They’d look great with the warm tones of your roof and fit in with your laid-back style. Here’s a post I found with directions/picture of what I’m talking about: https://thespacebetweenblog.net/diy-wood-shutters/ (Scroll down a bit to see.)
Ummm, I LOVE your accent cedar shakes! What a great choice. When I read that you were doing gray siding, I was really surprised because it didn’t seem “you” … this seems much more you! I’m excited to see what it looks like in the end! We have an ugly exterior house right now and I’m SO excited for when we will change it- but, for now, we’re working on the inside 🙂
I love the updates you have planned.
I have an additional suggestion. To finish the look, how about adding a wide trim board along the bottom of the cantilevered section of the house. Adding trim along that section and possibly adding width to the vertical trim boards might add to the finished look. I have a home of similar design and those changes really completed the presence of the front of the house.
Enjoy the excitement of making your house your own. I love what you do!
I love the colors. We are building a house. Can you tell me the colors of the siding ? I love the accent color. Thanks.
Can you tell me the color of the siding and accent color? Thanks
Its going to look great!!
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[…] couple of weeks ago I blogged that we were finally picking out new siding for our home exterior makeover! It was actually a long process of picking out colors that maybe has […]
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