Updating the house

As you may have heard, we've had new siding put on our house this fall. It's been a very long process (we're still awaiting the final walk through) and we're so very glad that we went ahead with the project.

This is what our house looked like when we moved in 4 years ago.

This past year, much of the siding was rotting and warping. We decided to redo the entire house and as we did, discovered that there was no paper wrapping between the plywood and siding. Hopefully, this new siding (and Tyvek wrap underneath) will last for 15 years or so.

Here is our house with the new siding and before paint.

With the entire house getting a fresh coat of paint, we wanted to pick out a new color scheme. And of course, that turned out to be very intimidating and a bit nerve racking. I mean, it's not like a pet's name, which you can try out for a few days and then change if it doesn't sound right. But, I think we did ok and I really like the new look.

(It looks kind of yellow here, but it's light gray with dark gray trim and dark blue doors and shutters.)

The previous owners left a bunch of paint cans in the basement, all from 2008. Which means that we are long overdue for an interior facelift as well. Subsequently, I have started the VERY long process of repainting the inside of our house. Over fall break (just a 4 day weekend) I decided to repaint the dining room and our bedroom.

I've never liked the dark red dining room, it alway felt like a bordello and was extremely warm under the chandelier.

The walls were striped with the same color red in glossy and matte paint. I'm sure it took a long time, but meh, not my cup of tea.

Also, the white walls below the chair rail were very dingy and scuffed.

A couple gallons of primer and paint later.

It's a very light tan on the top and a dark blue on the bottom.

We're now on the hunt for some artwork to hang on our bare walls. But I love it. It feels bigger and cleaner and less oppressive.

This was our bedroom the week we moved in.

And here it is half primed. It was at this point that I began to feel as if this whole project was a bad idea. There's nothing like your home being in complete chaos to make you feel overwhelmed.

But, it was totally worth it. Better than a deep clean.

It's a very light gray with blue undertones.

The entire room feels more elegant, lighter, and fresher.

The rest of the house really needs to be updated, but it's such a big job. Hopefully if I just do it bit by bit, I won't get too burned out.

To his credit, Aleks did try to help. He started to tape some molding until I swooped in and encouraged him to just take care of the kids.

I just can't help my perfectionist tendencies. I may have used one of the girls' crafting paintbrushes to touch up here and there...