Painting The Exterior Of Our Home Ourselves

Why not start this blog with a bang and how did we do that…well by painting the exterior of our house ourselves of course! I mean isn’t that what normal people do?

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Painting our house is something we have wanted to do for many years but never got around to. You know how that goes life gets busy or money doesn’t allow it. But the day came where I said that’s it I want my house to reflect how beautiful I know it is. Our house was built in 1954 and when you have a house with history and character it’s a shame to just not let that stand out showing it off to everyone who will look. So began our project and what a project it was.

Before we started she (yes I say she for everything whether I’m talking about homes, plants, cars, etc…it’s just something I do) looked like this:

Now she didn’t look bad just bland and pretty much blended into the earth. Even though the surroundings looked beautiful she became lost in the thick of it all. The brick wore a dull, earthy brown hue, while the trim was an even darker shade of dull. To say I was excited was an understatement when hubby said yes let’s paint.

Now I have to admit that I have been pouring over paint colors for sometime whether it is for the outside or the inside of the house which I have in my handy dandy notebook along with every other thing I have planned for the house (it literally is held together by a rubber band) my husband calls it The book…lol. I picked two Farrell Caulhoun colors from their The Essentials Off White & Neutrals Collection one being Santo for the brick and White Shoulders for the trim. We came to find out that they are not open on weekends (I don’t know if that was because of different hours due to everything going on with the pandemic) but we ended up going to Sherwin Williams. Not only do they color match but we discovered a pleasant surprise…a paint sale as well! Win win I say!

Preparation is key:

But as you know before you can paint you must prep….and prep and prep….did I mention prep?! We meticulously pressure washed the house, repaired rotten wood with pressure treated wood, applied new grout to the front and back steps, and slurry to certain areas that it had worn off of. We also rented a paint sprayer from Home Depot for the weekend which is actually a great deal verses day to day.

Then it happened. The moment I have been waiting for. We were about to begin painting. I must admit I squealed and smiled till my cheeks hurt! I mean wouldn’t you if you have been waiting years to do a certain project.

Then…..it started to rain…..for the rest of the week. One thing you learn living here is just because they say no rain all week doesn’t mean that Mother Nature doesn’t have a mind of her own. I was heartbroken to say the least as I looked out the window….

Nonetheless, eagerly awaiting the moment when we could resume painting we had another interruption….which came in the form of a fledgling bird and its sibling, attempting their first flights from the nest. Patience was necessary, but we never lost sight of our goal….WE WILL SUCCEED!!!

let the painting begin:

But first some pointers:

• Make sure that its not humid or is going to be humid because the paint will not dry correctly. It can start to run and also once it dries it will start to flake off eventually.
• Use Primer always. It gives you a great base, an even color, and good protection from the elements. Which helps the paint last longer.
• You want to make sure that you go in an even constant one direction otherwise you will have an uneven coat and when it dries you will notice.
• It’s best to paint the main part of the house and then paint the trim because unless you are an expert painter (which we are not) you will have over spray on the trim. Even if you are using a spray shield.
• Paint the trim by hand with a roller or brush…it will look really neat and clean once you step back and look at it.
• The most important thing of all is make sure you fix, caulk, and etc. everything you need to because if you think the paint will cover or fill in something it won’t. It will show it especially if you are doing a light color.

So at the beginning of a new week and lots of prayers it happened.

In the end with one coat of primer, two coats of paint on the brick, and two coats on the trim WE FINISHED!! What a BEAUTIFUL TRANSFORMATION! We couldn’t help but smile every time we looked at our freshly painted house when we pulled up to it. Here she is ladies and gentlemen in all her glory:

When I say it became a daily ritual for us to go outside, marvel at the change that a little paint can do, and appreciate our cozy patio now. Are we going to enjoy it everyday we are! Are we going to sit here worn out next week when we start our next project we are!

So thank you guys for coming along on our first post and we hope you stick around for many more as I write them sitting here on our freshly painted back porch and Halt is probably flying around here close by.