Monday, August 23, 2010

~THE CASUALTY OF AGE~

~ONE SHUTTER MISSING~

From the minute I first laid my eyes upon the house I've called home for 18 years I loved her.  As we've worked to transform what was at first just a house into our home, we've watched as she's grown older and we've seen many changes take place in her appearance.  Still lovely and strong, her once sturdy roof has become weathered with time, her south side windows need to be replaced and her original garage doors are beginning to moan while being lifted. 
~2007~

Last Spring my Mr. AGPMan and I noticed there were several things around our La Chaumière de Briarwood that cried out for some serious TLC.  Some of the easier repairs were attended to but the major ones we put off for another year.  After all we were super busy in the winter with our formal dining room makeover and we are presently still working on our TINY master bath remodel (lots of snags but it's coming along!).  That said, we decided that next summer our girl's roof will be replaced and if we can swing it financially, her garage doors and aging windows as well.  
~BEYOND REPAIR~

A couple of weeks ago while spraying down the front of our home (remember...I live in hot, dusty, windy Oklahoma) the right shutter on the lower left front window fell off the brick.  I just stood there for a second staring at it thinking at first the attaching brackets had just come loose.  As I began to pull it out from behind the shrubs I noticed the thing had completely fallen apart.  
~TOTALLY ICKY~

On closer inspection my Mr. AGPMan realized that all the shutters were rotting and each one would need to be replaced.  Since they are the original wooden shutters that means they are forty years old.

Forty isn't old, is it?  Tell me it's NOT! :(

OK...maybe it IS OLD if you are a shutter.

Anyway...my guy did some checking around on what was available and we decided that since a color change is due on the house we opted to change the shutter color as well.  On Saturday the first set went up and on Wednesday, when the weather in our state is suppose to stay around 80 degrees, the remaining eight will be installed.

When we moved into our home in July of '92 the shutters were an ugly brown.
 ~The Day We Closed~


As we looked closer (ick...who knew that stuff was behind the shutters!) we noticed they were once creamy white.  I first painted them Hunter Green in 1993 and then changed them in 2000 to Sage Green.  When our girl married in 2007 we repainted them again (just to freshen things up) with the same lovely color.
~Hmmmmm?~

Our new shutter color of choice?  Black.

Now...I'm not sure how this cottage-white-lovin-gal is going to like the absence of color but I'm hoping in time the black will grow on me.  Since we will be pulling out another color in the brick for the upper siding repaint in the Spring, we are excited about the change and trusting it will look smashing!

I promise to show you more pics when our girl is dressed for Fall.

Blessings as you enjoy the last summer days of the year.

Love to you~

40 comments:

Char said...

Rebecca, every girl needs a little face lift now and then. I think black is the perfect fit and choice for her. She looks so much younger now. Great job, Char

Elizabeth Dianne said...

Love black shutters! I painted mine black a couple of years ago. Well, okay, I HAD them painted black--smile--

You can do so much with black accents on the outside of the home.

Yours will be lovely, I know. I don't think anything you touch could be less than lovely.

Hope you have a great week, Rebecca.

Love, Dianne

Do you ever give lessons on how to paint your awesome roses??

When I lived in Tulsa I knew a gal who painted them similar to yours and I kept meaning to learn from her and the years slipped by............

Nancy's Notes said...

Oh Rebecca, your home is just so beautiful, I love it! What beautiful lush landscaping and what great big trees! The black shutters will look really fantastic, I love that look! Can't wait to see more pictures!

Hugs to you out there in Oklahoma!

Your Texas friend!

Nancy

Theresa said...

40 is only old if you are a shutter:) Love the black! It is fresh and clean and ready for the next 40 years! Have a blessed day in your lovely home! HUGS!

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

Of course, I love the black. It is always so rich looking. I think you will grow to love it.

Unknown said...

G'morn, R ~ Costco has a fabulous deal on beautiful garage doors ... we are thrilled with ours vs. HDepot & Lowes ... & it is Q-U-I-E-T! Shutters look very nice.

Have a beautiful summer day ~
TTFN ~ Marydon

Tanza said...

Good morning sweet ~r~,
WoW !! The black does look smashing !! Who would of thought that little ole' mee would LoVe that color !! It looks wonderful, and I can soo picture her dressed for Fall !! Will look wonderful with all the fall colors !! PeRfEct !!

It's sooo HoT here today, soo I can only imagine what fall will feel like !! Pray your friend won't melt away today :(:(

Thanks for sharing such prettiness as always, and wishing you a wonderful cooler?? day than we are having in gool ole So. Cal..
HuGs ~TeA~ xo

Denise@alloverroses said...

I love black shutters! I think you made a great choice. Black is such a rich color. I can't wait to see it all finished.Have a great day!
Denise

Patti said...

40 is NOT old...unless you are a wooden shutter exposed to the harsh Oklahoma weather!!!!

You have a lovely home, and I think the black shutters will look gorgeous. Can't wait to see the finished look.

Have a wonderful, blessed day.

Love,
Patti

Anonymous said...

O.K. ever since I first saw a photo of your home, I have wanted to ask you if the top level is really painted
PINK?? It sure looks pink on my computer, but my hubby says it is just the glare from the sun...?? He is afraid if it is PINK, I am going to BUG him to paint our house that color...I'd love to!! But I did "sweet
talk" him into repainting our front door a "cerise" pink shade, and the wooden surround with the glass side panels and the glass arch over the door are creamy white like the porch railings and columns. It turned out fantastic-looking! Even he says so!
I think your black shutters are "tres
chic" and am nosy enough to ask you what color are you going to paint the top level this time?????
ANYTHING you come up with is gonna be beautiful!!
Have a fun week, my friend...
Love, Francy

Rebecca Nelson said...

To Francy Girl...

Nope...the color of the house (the siding part) is not PINK! I love PINK...I do, I do! But you ARE seeing the glare of the sun OR it might just be your monitor. The color is called INDIAN SKY and it is a soft taupe with a hint of carmel brown. We matched the paint to the color of the grout in the brick. When we paint next year we are going to pull out the most prominent beigey tone that is in the brick. We don't want to go too dark and to match the brick exactly by it's shade would make the house look all one color.

I learned a long time ago when in doubt about a color to buy a PINT of paint and do some paint testing first. We will do this to make sure our color of choice is the one we want to live with for at least 7 years.

You are sooo funny Francy. I love pink as I said but IF I painted the outside of my house that color I do believe my neighbors would sign a petition to have us REMOVED from the neighborhood....maybe not though. I do give them great candy at Christmastime and that MIGHT save me if it ever comes to that!!!

Love to you~

Rebecca

Anonymous said...

Next year for us will be a new roof & vinyl siding! Our Cottage was built in 1860 & like anything 150 years old it needs help now & then!!
Have a Great Week!
Marilyn

Unknown said...

40 is ONLY old for shutters! Trust me. LOL

Lisa said...

You have made such lovely changes to your home! The black shutters will be gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

LOL...so Berch WAS correct about the color!! Well, the pink on my computer screen makes it look lovely!! You could have used it as your "SIGNATURE"
color and everyone would have just thought "How Rebecca"!!
The new shades you mentioned sound lovely though. Please post photos of the finished result. I always love to see photos of what you are doing to your house...soooo pretty
Believe me, my front door has been noticed!! We live on a quiet cul-de-sac street with two acres lots (in the country!) and our house sits back an acre from the street, but that door stands out!!
I have never heard the same drum beat as most other people, so no one thinks TOO much of my choice of color!!! Or at least it has not filtered back to me!! HaHa
Thanks for answering my question...now to tell Berch he was right!!
xxxxxxxxxxxx Francy

Terra said...

Your new shutters will pretty up your home, and to answer your question: of course 40 is NOT old. Definitely not :)

Stella said...

Black shutters look like just the right accent to me. Black was my choice when we moved into our home six years ago. When we moved in our house was mint green ( no choice it is steel siding) and had brown trim. When I described our new home to a friend she said "do you mean the girl scout cookie house"?

Sherry from Alabama said...

You have such a lovely home. I like the black shutters, they look very sophisticated. We went for many years without shutters on our cedar home, but one day while at the Goodwill, I found some that were the exact sizes needed for our front windows! I was so excited! They dressed our house up so much.

Sherry @ A Happy Valentine

Deanna said...

Black is goooood!!!
I think it'll grow on ya,
d

Caroline said...

Looking forward to the end result...I think black was a good choice.

Julie Marie said...

Hello Rebecca... I think a touch of black is really pretty in so many places, and your shutters look wonderful! Anything shabby chic pink you can paint out of your old shutters??? Also, how is little Miss Mollie doing? Better I hope... love to you... xoxo Julie Marie

NanaDiana said...

What a beautiful home! It just looks sturdy and solid and says "family" to me. I must admit I thought the paint was pink too...are you sure you didn't pull the wool over the hubster's eyes just a bit by calling it taupe?

That said..I do like black shutters. I think they are very traditional looking and, if you hate them, you can always paint them. But I think they are just classic in black.

You know...40 years...old? Well, sometimes at this age I feel like I might be missing a shutter or two myself~ Diana

Home and Heart said...

Your home is beautiful! You can hardly tell it is the same one. If I was a house i'd be missing a few shutters too!

Mari said...

HELLO SWEET PEA,

YOUR HOME IS BEAUTIFUL, I LOVE ALL YOUR IMPROVEMENTS, CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE END RESULT, I'M SURE IT WILL TURN OUT MAGNIFICENT :)

HUGLETS~XOX~MARI

Debra@CommonGround said...

Oh, I just love black as an accent color on houses. I have a black front door and love it! And no 40's not old no matter what you are!
xo,
Debra

Kim B said...

AWWW, so sweet story. I always wanted to marry and have a home that long. Sometimes life turns out differently than you might have thought.
You come up with cute stuff. Tell me I just got a little yorkie, he was quite a little bargain because his little ear flips back (birth defect?) anyways...We cant pick a name...we have tried baxter,sampson, romeo, bentley, riko, he is such a little sweet doll.....any suggestions...whew what a long comment..hope it fits.
Smiles,
Kim

Stacey said...

Hi my Edmond friend! We have black shutters and a black front door. I love it! Black is such a timeless look to me. I think you'll like it.

A Rose Without A Thorn said...

Hi Rebecca, I love the black and think it finishes off the house. A bit like getting lovely eyelashes and eyebrows. Black is very stylish!!! Maureen.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, how I wish I was at the repair stage. We are in the demo stage, you know that part, where your wiping up dust every 30 seconds it seems. I hope your Molly is feeling better today. Short story: Our lulu wasn't feeling good all day one day and she was one shot from complete. So of course panic sets in thinking maybe parvo or caronavirus. We waited her out as it wasn't every 10 seconds. Next day she goes into the bathroom with Daddy, she vomits. What is in her vomit? A bee. A freekin bumble bee. Oh Lawd I couldn't believe. I called the vet, told them the story. Vet says, "if you had something buzzing inside your belly you'd vomit too!" Oy. She was fine as soon as mr.bee came up. Ick. Tazzy

I'm having a GIVEAWAY if you would like to stop by for a chance to win.

{oc cottage} said...

Love your home!!!!! {and BTW...your blog header is just DREAMY!}

m ^..^

Shabby T said...

Well every girl loves a makeover..
She is pretty but will be over gleeming with glee when her makeover is complete. Ya know ho great you feel comin out of the salon.. New and improved..
Lookin forward to see her renewed..
Shabby T
come and visit me sometime...
shabbytammie.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Sounds like black is a wonderful choice. We've lived in our home for over thirty years and it is desperately in need of some repairs also.

Tara said...

Poor shutter. I bet she hung in there as long as she could! Love the black, its a very classic look with the red brick. I am sure it makes your home look much slimmer too, lol!

Victorian1885 said...

Good evening Rebecca.The black shutters look great! I can't wait to see the finished bathroom...I am showing off one of your sachet pillows in my Tea post..come have a peak! Take care..

Hugs,
Wanda

Cindy Adkins said...

Oh yes, black will definitely look awesome--you'll love it..it's very formal and adds so much character...
I think your home is so pretty with green too but the black is very chic...(I chose green and my neighbor got black...lol.) On hers it looks great because has brick like you do...My house is so white I needed some color, so that's why the dark green...

Hope you're having a great week.
Hugs,
Cindy

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Rebecca...tomorrow morning I am going out and check our shutters. Our trim needs painting and so do our shutters. I cannot decide on a color. What do you think of a deep red? But then what else. They are now brown..so is the trim.
The house is white...and brown..those are the only two colors..and shouldn't there be three colors? Of course it is going to be hard on Howard. He is afraid of change and has already gone through a lot with me. Poor babe!
I think the black will look fantastic...striking in fact!
:) Yep...absolutely striking. Never seen pink shutters..so... lol
Really...what do you suppose that would look like. Not good I guess.
Sorry..now I am tickled...got the giggles thinking about what the neighbors would think.. :)
Hugs!!!

The French Bear said...

The black shutters look great, very elegant.....it must be something in the air, this is the year I love black accents too!!! Looking good!!!!
Hugs,
Margaret B

Rose said...

shutters look great. you have a beautiful home. rose

Linda said...

Great choice...the shutters look very nice.

Homes do need maintenance and care don't they. We are finding things to do already and we have only lived here 3 and 1/2 years.

Your home is beautiful!

There's No Place Like Home! That's what we say here in Kansas!

Love, Linda @ Truthful Tidbits

A Romantic Porch said...

They are very pretty black...and I never thought I'd say this, but I like the black rocking chairs that Cracker Barrell is selling now, too! I'd still love to feature your porch...well, that is once I'm "featuring" again. Wonderful day Rebecca. xo rachel

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