The facade of our house has been pretty sad since we first laid eyes on it. See?
(I don’t know if it’s because we took it on a gloomy day or what, but geesh, that makes me want to cry!).
Anyway, we’ve been working from the top down. The roof required our immediate attention and that helped the house’s appearance immensely. With each window, the house looked a bit brighter. After the last of the windows was replaced, it was clear that the siding was going to need some fixing to finish the house’s exterior makeover.
Somewhere along the line, an owner took the time to slap up some white vinyl siding over the original wood. It probably looked nice when they first had done it but when it came into our hands, the painted window frames were rotting and the siding was growing mildew and lichen, was chipped and cracked in spots–overall, just needing some thoughtful attention.
I’m not opposed to white–it helps keep the house cool in the summer and it looks neat and crisp (when it’s clean, that is). However, it’s not my favorite siding color. If it were up to me, I’d have a dark greyish blue with dark grey and white window trims. I’ll keep that in mind for later. Still, I wanted to do something to add a little pop to the otherwise bland white.
First, I painted our front door fire engine red. You can see that door a mile away. Seriously. Then Jack and I found this really interesting faux stone siding panel that makes it look like the house is built of cut stone (without the hefty price tag). Other than being a horrid pain to order and have shipped, it’s incredibly easy to put up.
Jack came home from school on a Friday and in a days work, the front was nearly complete.
It’s just a matter of keeping the starter strip level, cutting the panels to the right size and interlocking them tightly. Siding is really not that difficult.
If I look at the house in small sections, it’s amazing the metamorphosis that’s occurred. Passerby’s have no idea the improvements we’ve made to the inside because, like it or not, people judge houses by their exteriors. I’m happy to think that our house is finally starting to give off the right impression.
