Freshly Painted, chapter 1

In a long overdue house project, Sassafras House is being painted this fall.  Of course, I'll be blogging about the project.  The best place to start is with some before pictures.  The house is a two-story bungalow with a large front porch and loads of windows.  Here's a view of the front yard, which faces north.  This picture was made Monday morning, as T and I were getting started trimming the overgrown shrubbery along the foundation.

And here's the front of the house after the shrubbery haircut (the large evergreen bush to the left is still due for a trim but it's clear that I need some power clippers to get that done).

Here's a view of the back of the house, which faces south.

Here's the west side of the house.

The driveway is on the east side of the house and that section should be the easiest section to paint since it doesn't have any shrubbery to get in the way.

The second story has vinyl siding that is in good condition, so that color is fixed.  The first story has the original old-fashioned wood siding and that is what needs painting.  The paint is worn and chipped and generally looking shabby, as Lucy is prepared to testify.

The current siding color is a taupe-gray and, in the interests of continuity with the upstairs, that will be the updated color as well.  The paint to be used is Benjamin Moore, a color called Senora Gray.  The windows and front porch will be trimmed in crisp white.  The big decision I have to make is whether or not to stick with the cranberry shutters and accent trim.   I like that combination just fine but I think that something new would be pleasing so I am leaning toward a change.  That means giving up all the cranberry trim, including the front door, one of my favorite parts of the house.

The project starts today with a power wash.  Chipping, siding repair, primer, and two coats of paint plus all the trim work will follow.    I'm excited about the changes to come and I'll be making and posting pictures every step of the way.