Almost six years ago, we gutted and renovated our home in the city. I chose the red, green, and white color palette for the exterior colors and loved it at the time. I also worked on flipping our twin and was able to choose the same colors for their home so that the “twins” would match. Fast forward to the present, and the exterior of our home looks horrible! Water damage caused wood rot and flaking paint galore. I was worried about termites, mold, and other safety issues so knew that we couldn’t ignore the problem any longer. This time around, we will be smarter and will solve our water run-off problem by installing the appropriate gutter system on our home! I’m not sure why we missed that 6 years ago, but it has been a costly lesson.
I got a few quotes from local painters and ended up using the same company that originally painted our home. His quote was a full $1500 less than two other companies and I know he does a great job. I also reached out to Sherwin Williams to see if they would partner with me in my exterior painting endeavor. They agreed to donate 10 cans of paint toward Operation Home Stories A to Z Restoration and we will need 18 cans total to get the job done. The first time around, we used cheap paint and that is a mistake I will not make twice!
I had pinned this gorgeous row home from BHG a few years ago and knew that I wanted to do a similar color scheme.
I used Sherwin Williams Chip It tool to discover what colors most closely matched the exterior of this row home.
Home Stories A to Z Exterior Paint Colors
- Gray paint color on body of house: Sherwin Williams Knitting Needles SW7672 (which I also used on our back porch last year)
- Gray paint color for trim accent: Sherwin Williams Dovetail SW7018
- White paint color for trim: Sherwin Williams Extra White SW7006.
- Blue front door paint color: What is Home Stories A to Z front door paint color? is probably one of the top questions asked on this site. It is Benjamin Moore’s Wythe Blue. It is on both the front door and porch ceiling. Sherwin Williams Rainwashed was a close contender, but the Wythe just seemed to work better.
In case you are wondering exactly what kind of paint and primer we used, here you go:
- All Surface Enamel Acrylic Latex Primer for the wood trim.
- Loxon Concrete & Masonry Primer for the brick.
- Emerald Exterior Acrylic Latex for all the paint.
The first thing that needed to get done before any painting could begin was replacing all of the rotting wood. The boxes around the columns on the porch were completely rotten, the porch was rotten, the railing was rotten, and much of the trim needed replacing. My painter used to build homes in his homeland of Bosnia, so he offered to replace all of the damaged wood for me. He did a fantastic job!
Next up, prime the entire house! I decided to paint all of the exterior brick on the front of the house this time around. Everything on the house has to be touched by a paint brush or roller three times–once to prime, and then twice with two coats of paint.
Here you can see the primer is on, some of the Knitting Needles is on the left-hand side, and the porch is getting some Dovetail treatment! I’ll be back soon with the full reveal :).
Thank you to Sherwin Williams for donating 10 gallons of paint for this project. Your paint rocks!
Rachelle says
did you finish? I can’t wait to see it!
Luci@BungalowAtHome says
The lighter palette will look awesome on your house.. Can’t wait to see it!!
Beth says
Thank you Luci! I’m hoping to show it off next week :).
Laura @ The Turquoise Home says
Oh, what a huge project. But I know it will be so beautiful when it’s all done! So excited to see Wythe Blue on the front door. It’s by far my favorite paint color!!
Amanda @ mommy is coocoo says
This is so awesome! I am really excited for you. That must be a TON of work.
It’s going to be beautiful! Can’t wait to see it.
Amanda
P.S. Where do you live? This reminds me of Philly???
the cape on the corner says
oh my gosh, I love that fresh palette! so totally different!
Beth says
Thanks girl! Long time no see! Thanks for stopping by :).
Kim@reposhture.blogspot.com says
It always amazes me what a little (10 gallons!) of paint can do! Looks grand and clean. Can’t wait to see the whole thing completed.
Kim
Beth says
Thanks so much Kim!
Megan @ Rappsody in Rooms says
Wow! The house already looks transformed with just the primer! It’s going to look gorgeous and provide such peace of mind, I imagine, that you did it right. Can’t wait to see it!
Beth says
Thanks Megan! I can’t wait to show you :).
Kim {plumberry pie} says
Beth, I can’t wait to see the results. It looks great already with just the primer and a bit of the knitting needle. I’ve just started to research painting our exterior because I’m encountering the same kind of stuff…rotting wood and all that fun. It’s got me in a bit of a tizzy because I don’t want to make a poor color choice considering it’s not an easy fix.;) So, so excited to see your updates!!
Beth says
It’s such a tough decision isn’t it?! It’s a lot of money to invest, so it has to be perfect the first time around. It took some testing of paint samples to get the right colors but I’m really, really happy with how it turned out.
Danielle says
Love the new colors. I need to decide on a front door paint this week (yikes) our painter is coming on Tuesday. x
MarieRoxanne says
It’s a breath of fresh air, all that color lightness instead of the red all over.
I wonder if you’ll inspire the houses beside you to do theirs lighter too?
Yvonne @ StoneGable says
Oh my goodness, Beth!!! What a transformation! Your home looks gorgeous!!! The colors are so classic and will have years of “staying power”! Painting the brick etc. really makes your home look so chic!!! What a great choice. Looking forward to seeing all of it done!
Mel says
The final look is going to be fabulous, I’m sure. The colour palette is fresh and classic. The previous colours, while nice, looked very heavy. I can’t wait for the reveal.
Beth says
Thanks Mel! And I agree. I loved the colors at the time, but 6 yrs later and I was definitely ready to lighten things up a bit :).
laura@Top This Top That says
your c hoice of colors is amazing. can’t wait to see how it turned out!
Beth says
Thanks so much Laura!
GlamorousMommy says
It’s going to look amazing! I love the colors you chose!
Fotini
Beth says
Thank you Fotini!
Pam @ Frippery Farmhouse says
That is just gorgeous. What a change. Your house was pretty before but now it is breathtaking. Subtle and classic and so elegant.
Kerri, A Pop of Pretty says
The colors you’ve chosen are awesome – simple and fresh. I painted our door to a color similar to Whythe Blue last summer, and I love it. I can’t wait to see it all finished! ~Kerri
Roeshel says
Love the colors you’ve chosen and can’t wait for the reveal!
Beth McHale says
Love it! Can’t wait to see the end result. I want to paint the brick on the front of our house and didn’t know what paint to use. You solved that issue! Thanks!
Kristen @ busykidshappymom.org says
This is going to be a fabulous transformation! I also wanted to let you readers know that Sherwin Williams is having their BIG sale now through July 22 – 40% off paint. I save $56 today ! Yippee! Can’t wait to see the reveal.
Beth says
Awesome tip! I was so mad because I bought a bunch of paint and then came home to a 30% off coupon in my mailbox. Grrrr…. Some of this paint is $70/gallon which seems insane but it really is amazing quality.
Christina @ Christina's Adventures says
ahhh Beth I LOVE it!! the colors you chose are beautiful – and I can’t wait to see the full reveal!!! So exciting! 🙂
Beth says
Thank you Christina! I am so excited to share the full reveal next week!!
Shannon @ Fox Hollow Cottage says
It’s going to be beautiful Beth!! I love your palette. The house is just going to positively shine!!
Beth says
Thanks so much Shannon :). I’m uber excited about this reveal!