Friday, September 6, 2019

THINKIN' ABOUT HOME

GATHERINGS

For 27 years we have called our La Chaumière de Briarwood house, home.
REAL ESTATE PHOTO - 1992

She was a little over 20 years old back in July of 1992 when miraculously we scrapped together $3,500 for the down payment and our little family moved in. 

That seemed like a million dollars to us at the time.  Especially for a young couple with two little children.  We were just beginning to figure out if we spent more money than we earned we were destined for big trouble...

Over the years our home has changed a lot.  Back in 1992 the siding was still the original builder's grade color, a shade of dingy off white and it was desperately in need of a paint job.  Her shutters were brown.  Everything was faded, dusty and dirty and the exterior was in pretty bad shape.

Within a year we had changed the shutters and garage doors (ugh!) to a dark hunter green...a color popular in the early 90's.  We lived with that really bad choice until about 1999 (I have some close-up shots of the house at this time SOMEWHERE...would love it if they were lost forevahhhh!)...
SEPTEMBER 2007

In 1999 we finally resided the house and repainted her a light beige.  Her shutters were changed to a pale sage green and we purchased new front doors.  I love how our home looked at this time.  She still needed new garage doors, but with some strategic repairs they were kept fairly decent looking.
JULY 2019

Cheap paint is never a good option and we learned the hard way that if you don't buy quality paint you will pay a price for it.

The beige-siding-paint of ten to twenty years ago (we repainted once the same color!) had faded to a pale pinky-beige that reminded me of canned Rosarita Re-fried Beans.

Seriously.  Same color!

It was not pretty.  Trust me when I tell you it looks better in the photos than it was in person.

I hated it.

We also lost ALL of our euonymus plants that were in front of the left window to mites AND the large shrub/tree by the driveway as well.  After a complete infestation we removed them all...how the plants in the flowerbed where the bench is survived we don't know.  Probably just a different species...not sure.  We plan on replacing the pretty shrub by the driveway with something similiar...but I will never buy another euonymous plant again.  I'm tired of the struggle.

Anyway...
  SEPTEMBER 2019

Last summer we looked tirelessly for a new paint color for our home.  We drove around looking at so many houses in lots of different neighborhoods to just get an idea of what MIGHT look good with our brick color.  We did NOT want to go with another beige color!  But I did originally want to paint the house a soft, very light shade of maze (almost a cream-colored yellow).  Problem was...our neighbor's home next door is yellow.  Even though our shade would have been a lot different...it was just too much!  Two houses right next door to each other, both two-story, close in color, just seemed weird.
STILL LOVING OUR HOME

So...after much debate and a gathering of several test samples in an array of colors, we settled on this shade of paint from Sherwin Williams...
SVELTE SAGE  SW6164

The change has been overwhelming.
A HUGE DIFFERENCE!  The color isn't tooooo green-green...  Just a great shade that isn't too loud or harsh.  We both love it, but it is taking some time getting used to. I will like everything more when our shrubs and ornamental tree have been replaced.  Still looks kind of bare to me!

My Mr.AGPMan has done an amazing job doing the work himself.  Saved us about $10K-$12K.  Two-story houses are very expensive to paint and the quotes were staggering!!!  It's been very hot here in Oklahoma so he's had to wait for cooler temps to finish some of the trim work.  Totally understand why painters charge what they do!   

We love the new garage doors.  Hauling the old ones away brought us great JOY!  Fifty year old garage doors are heavy and are nothing like the new insulated doors you can buy today.

Fall will officially be here before long!  I celebrated my love for all things Autumn by reworking my wreath from last year and adding a bow of vintage black check gingham to the side.

In spite of the Oklahoma heat, a change of seasons is in the air and I love it...

Love to you~

Rebecca

20 comments:

Crown and Cottage said...

Rebecca, your hubby did an amazing job, congrads. Home Sweet Home!

Mary said...

So nice to see you again:-)

Mr. AGP Man said...

Great article babe and I love the pics!

Grandma G said...

Gorgeous 💕

Sonia said...

Beautiful color! Love before and after pictures!

Cathy Rowan said...

Absolutely beautiful. Love the choice of color. I SO LOVE reading your post!

Junkchiccottage said...

Love it. So beautiful. Bravo to your hubby. Lookin good! Happy Friday.
Hugs,
Kris

Anonymous said...

Hi Rebecca! Oh, your home looks beautiful and I love that soft green color. I see it as a neutral color as almost any other color looks good with it! Kudos to your hubby for being able to paint your home! That's kinda dangerous work! I remember when you were redoing your kitchen. I've enjoyed seeing your beautiful artwork on Facebook! Thanks for popping in to see me.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia :)

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Rebecca!!
I was so thrilled to see that you stopped by, my friend!! You home has always looked beautiful to me!! I am well and now recently retired after having knee replacement surgery.... Glad to see that you are blogging again....
Hugs,
De

Recep Hilmi TUFAN | rehitu.com said...

Your house is so lovely. This type of houses are very expensive in my country.

My Tata's Cottage said...

SO lovely! You have such a heart for blogging. I am happy to see you here. HUGS

Theresa said...

I love the color you guys chose! The house looks fresh and pretty! Great job for your guy to do the work. Now you can take the money you saved and go shopping:) Have a blessed day dear friend, HUGS!

Debra@CommonGround said...

your new green looks gorgeous! older homes are a challenge at times. we're going to have to redo all the landscaping soon, it's just too big a job for the two of us. the wreath is so adorable. love the check ribbon!

Rämmengården said...

Beautiful Home. Have a nice weekend hugs Nina

SImple and Serene Living said...

Love what you have done to your home. It looks so inviting. Thanks so much for visiting me today. xo Laura

Jacqueline~Cabin and Cottage said...

Hi Rebecca! So nice to have a comment from you! My linen posts seem to draw out the fellow linen ladies in blogland. I have always admired the work you do with yours. I started blogging ten years ago, and life has changed for me so much in that time. I read your recent posts and learned that that is true for you too. I'm so sorry to learn of your sweet mother's passing a while ago now. And saddened to hear of your recent suffering. I'm so glad you're better and back to things you love!

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Rebecca,
Your husband Steve, as well as you yourself, have been very industrious people and have done a lot to the house for making it into a warm home; a NEST!
Also the roof looks a lot friendlier and garage doors make quite a difference.
We are not that close to our neighbor's home and with our paint color choice therefore did not have to look at the neighborhood as a whole.
Love the way your color turned out though.
Our painters in 2013 gave it three layers of paint as he said, we don't paint a home but we 'protect' it.
Once, with our first home, we got cheated big time by a person who used very poor quality paint, almost looked diluted and it faded and disappeared. And all that at a time of financial struggle...
Sending you hugs,
Mariette

Elizabeth "Libby" Day said...

Thank you for visiting my blog post this week and I'm so glad you did because I found a new kindred spirit. I too love all things home and making it homey and where we want to be. I have added your blog to my favorites and look forward to staying in touch.

Dogmom Diva said...

Hi Rebecca! Thanks for visiting me!
I love the new color! Very neutral yet warm and homey! Thanks for sharing..
Barb

My Pink & Cream Cottage said...

Good afternoon Rebecca, it has been years since I have visited blogland & am really enjoying reading your posts. We are also currently painting our home both inside & out & it put a smile on my face to see the shade of green you chose is nearly the same as what I want to paint my lounge & kitchen in. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.
Lyn xx

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