We Painted Our House! Exterior Remodel Before and After

We did it! After almost three years, we finally bit the bullet and got our sweet Colonial Fixer Upper painted. And I’m so excited to show you the results!!

Wait for it, Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrum-roll, please?

Tada!

New here and don’t know what we were working with? A little walk down memory lane…

‘Inside of a pumpkin’ exterior paint color…check.

Red door that clashed with said pumpkin color…check.

Dingy 1985 shutters that seemed to hold bug cemeteries behind them…check and check.

There was a lot of carpentry work that they had to do prior to paint starting. Two full days were devoted to solely fixing wood rot around our house. Remember, our house was built in 1985. We had some issues…

Our crew worked tirelessly through the whole week. Most days they were coming to our house prior to 6:30am and leaving 11-12 hours later. We had temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s with oppressive humidity. They never complained. They never left early. They were incredible!

So let’s dive a little closer and see just what we did with this Colonial revamp in all it’s glory, shall we?

I narrowed down our “white” color choices to five of my absolute Favorite White Exterior Paint Colors to decide between. I loved doing this post because I narrowed down not only the ‘why’ I love each of these white paint colors, but also because there are photos of homes painted in those colors that really do show the drastic difference between each paint.

I felt really good when I started opening these jars because I could definitely see different undertones and tints to these samples. Okay, I was ready. Already had a front runner and I was ready to throw them up on the wall. Simple decision. This one’s in the bag…

Shoot. These look way too similar on here…:)

It was a solid 24 hours of looking at the paint colors in the sun and in the shade, during dusk and dawn, and even had a chance to see them against a much more cloudy setting, and then again in near full sun. If I didn’t have the weather on my side that 24 hour period, I would have most certainly waited until I did. These colors changed their appearance based on cloud cover and time of day, and I actually ended up changing my opinion of Alabaster because it seemed to have a slight yellow undertone as the sun was setting.

So after much thought, way too many back and forths, I decided to stick to one of my very favorites: Sherwin Williams Snowbound! You can read more about the paint’s light reflective value and undertones HERE.

As for the front porch, we have some big plans to tackle someday down the road that I’ll share with you tomorrow, but for now, we kept the front porch as it was. The paint made enough of a difference that we felt like we could hold off on altering this structure for now.

We painted our front door Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black, which matched near perfectly to our pre-painted shutters that we purchased.

These shutters were great for two reasons. First, they were priced really well for the quality. These are vinyl shutters but made to look as though they’re real wood. When you stand back, you really can’t tell that they aren’t wood. Good detail and great finish. Second reason I loved these shutters was because they are double-sided, reversible panels. The inside panels are reversible with one side this more rustic look, while the opposite side is a more traditional raised panel. If down the road, we fall out of love with this modern rustic vibe on our front, we can actually take them down, flip the inside panels, and reinstall for a new look with zero cost. I like the option there!

And as I mentioned, we didn’t have to paint these shutters. They match the Tricorn Black on the front door flawlessly.

We painted our garage door Snowbound to give it a monochromatic, seamless look. The added accessories were purchased from Overstock for a mere $15. 🙂 They’re magnetic pieces that hold really strong to the door through even the midwest wind storms. You know they’re good then, right? I wanted a more expensive, personalized look to the garage door without actually having to buy a new one so these did the trick.

The previous owners had the deck and pergola installed and stained this rich, dark color, which we have loved and lived in for the entire 2.5 years of being here. But with this white paint, it’s made it pop and accentuated what beautiful additions these really are to the house.

With one week of work by an incredible crew here in KC, we have a beautiful house that I’m so proud to call our home. It shines a little brighter. It welcomes you in a little better. And I’m proud to say that this house is truly our home. Something we’re proud of and cherish. Now the outside is just as beautiful as the memories being made here are.

Paint Crew: Juan Leon Painting (local KC area)

Siding Paint Color: Sherwin Williams Snowbound

Front Door Color: Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black

Front Door Knob: Build.com

Yay! You’re Here! Doormat: Target

Plaid Doormat: Amazon

Front Porch/Garage Light Fixtures: Wayfair **Currently on sale for $57!**

Magnetic Garage Door Accessories: Overstock

Shutters: Menards

Back Porch Light Fixture: Home Depot

Basement Light Fixture: Home Depot

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