So this was our house about a year ago. It’s perfectly fine, but to be honest I have always hated the exterior. The white was so boring and there was no real character to the place, but I knew it had potential. Plus, after living in a tiny beach bungalow in CA, this house was huge and so was the lot. Our lot in CA was so small, that our neighbor once “watered” my mom through our living room window while watering her plants outside her own home. That’s how close together our houses were! When we moved to GA, we wanted space for our growing family and a little bit of privacy. This house gave us those things, but unfortunately it was not our dream home. So, over the past few years, we have made changes big and small to make this space feel more like ours. The exterior changes are some of my favorites. Here’s what we did…
Eric(sweet husband) and I spent a great deal of time researching the look that we wanted. We drove around, took pictures(stalked) other people’s houses. We searched the internet and tore inspiration photos from magazines. When it was finally time to actually get the work done, we had a perfect idea of what we wanted. Now, as most of you know, the perfect plan and the perfect budget do not always align with the sun, moon and stars, so we made a few adjustments and moved on. And this was the result…
After several years of waiting and much planning, I now have the curb appeal that I have always wanted for our home! That’s our sweet boxer, Lucy, in the yard. Here’s a rundown of some of the changes…
Probably the most noticeable changes were the dormers that we added over the porch and the garage. The porch roof stayed the same and the dormer was added on top, so it wasn’t terrible expensive to do. What was expensive was the metal roof, so we decided to do it on the garage dormer and just add a touch of it here on the porch. I think it worked well. I also had the oversized bulkhead on the porch raised and arched. We’re not sure why the bulkhead was so large, it wasn’t hiding anything. By raising it, we were able to get more light onto the porch and into the house.
We also had the standard rectangular window above the porch dormer changed to an oval to add more character. The windows were replaced and new, more substantial pediments were added. I had always wanted a double front door and was thrilled to find one that we could use in our existing opening that required very little construction. That’s my youngest with the bubbles!
Choosing a paint color ended up being the most difficult task of the whole project. We went through 19 paint samples before we settled on favorites!! It took a while, but I feel like our final choices were unique and gave us a bit of that beachy feel that I loved from our time in CA. Just in case your curious, we used Behr Premium Plus Ultra from Home Depot in silver sage for the siding, hushed white for the trim and mined coal for the shutters.
Here’s one more shot of the finished product sans Lucy and my youngest. We still have plans for the driveway and the sidewalk, but that pesky budget didn’t allow for that with this project. What do you think? Have you done a major or minor remodel to the exterior of your home that you think changed the look completely or just made it feel more like you? I’d love to feature your photos. Send them in!
Happy Thursday!
LOVE LOVE LOVE! The color adds so much more character to the house. Great job. And funny story about your mom getting “watered”… 🙂
Wow!! Absolutely beautiful!!!
I’ve never done a major remodel, but this definitely gives me the inspiration to. You guys did a wonderful job, the house looks beautiful.
I love your home!! The outside is beautiful!
Thanks everyone for the wonderful comments!
Hi Lori! It was so nice to meet you today! You have such a beautiful home! I love the way you have decorated your home inside and out! Hope you’re out enjoying the rest of your day! Take care!
even though i thought your home was beautiful before, i love the changes you guys have done! i think the paint colors are the most perfect shades to go with the house as is, and i love that you did a few minor things to really take it up a notch–it’s not so much that it would stick out in your neighborhood, but enough that it commands attention on its own. beautiful job! also, i didn’t realize you were from CA–did we talk about that before?? funny visual about your mom being “watered”!
Love the transformation, Lori! The dormers were the perfect touch. And the colors that you chose are on point!
Wow! What an amazing transformation! Love it!! Happy to have found your blog and look forward to following you 🙂
Amazing remodel! love it! will be watching for you on Design War.
Love the transformation!!! What kind of siding do you have?
I love this look, im in the process of trying to decide to paint our brick or not, you did an amazing job.. i would love to send a pic of our house an you tell me if you think i should paint or not paint the brick.. we have done several other exterior products i will send b4 an after our house.. We jus moved in a year ago an it was a foreclosure..
Hi! I just read this post and have fallen in love with your front doors. If you don’t mind me asking, where did you find them? Great job on the makeover!
I love your makeover! We have an older home with metal siding and brick and are tossing around the idea of painting the brick. I LOVE how yours turned out and am really curious as to how it’s wearing. Is any peeling off or anything?
Hello!
Love your remodel project–your home is just beautiful!
Silly question…what color is the yellow exterior paint? I’ve actually been searching for the right tannish gold to compliment our stonework and the yellow you painted over might be perfect.
Thanks so much!
Jennifer
Lori, your home looks amazing! I am curious where you found your front doors? They are exactly what I have been looking for.
Hi,
I just stumbled across your website. I love you house. Can you tell me you exterior paint colors?
I LOVE the transformation!!! We are looking to do a similar remodel and I’m so glad I found your page for ideas! Can you share where you got your front doors? I’d love to change ours to double front doors! Also, what type of siding do you have? Just curious since it looks amazing painted! Thanks for sharing your beautiful remodel!