A Whole New Look: Siding Reveal

For those of you who havefollowed me for a few years,

you know that one of our biggest items on the "NEEDS DONE" List

was siding the exterior.

What it looked like when we bought our home in July of 2007.

For YEARS we talked colors and styles

and I just couldn't seem to come up with a color scheme that I truly loved.

In the meantime, Scott decided to go ahead and pull off

the asbestos siding and get a gander at the original

lapboard to see if painting was an option.

I lived with it like this for quite sometime.

I distinctly remember that we pulled it off near Halloween because

I figured I wouldn't need to do any spooky decorating.

The house managed all on it's own.

LOL!

Then, when we decided that while painting it would be historically accurate,

it was just more time, effort, and money over the years

than we wanted to spend.

So, off came the lapboard.

We had insulation blown in, since the only insulation the house had 

was the layer of lapboard and the layer of siding plus the plaster and lathe.

Believe it or not,

we lived with the house looking like that for

OVER A YEAR!

While we were waiting to be able to afford the siding,

we talked and talked and talked about colors....

Drove around and looked at tons of houses...

Finally, Scott gave me the, 

"You HAVE to pick a color.  We're doing it."

UGH.

I was sooooo worried!

What if the colors I picked didn't look right?

I mean, you know THAT house...

The one that the roof clashes with the siding 

or

the siding clashes with the trim.

Finally, because I was tired of not being able to

make up my ever-changing mind,

I decided to play it safe and go with an

off-white/creamy color with white trim 

and pull pops of color with paint on the doors.

Super safe, right?

And then I walked into our local hardware store

and saw three colors leaned together along the wall.

And I said,

"That's it!"

Seriously...

That's how I roll.

After years of discussion,

I chose colors that I had never even considered.

And I cannot believe how much I love them!

Siding:  Wrought Iron

Vinyl Cedar Shake:  Heatherstone

Trim:  White

We get the most compliments on it.

I've even had neighbors call to tell me how excited they were for us

and how good it looks.

Or maybe they were just glad that it didn't look like

a complete eyesore anymore.

LOL!!!!

We added a small porch to the east,

which has solved the problem of that ridiculous entry

that I've always struggled with decorating.

It's still just studs/plywood on the inside,

so I'll be blogging about finishing it soon!

You can also see that we removed the old falling down back porch

and added a new larger mudroom/laundry room.

We haven't finished it out yet,

but that's coming soon this summer too!

I am sooooooo excited!

Also on the To-Do List:

Having the foundation spray-foamed again

and under the new additions insulated and spray-foamed as well.

We're on the waiting list with the contractor for that.

I am soooooooooo  ready for that,

so we can really begin landscaping.

I've done some pots of annuals

and

planted a hydrangea, 

but that has only wetted my appetite for more.

I am really getting excited that this old place

is beginning to look as beautiful

as I knew it could when I first set eyes on it.

It's really coming along!

It's just taken a little patience and time.