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The Exterior Reveal

Exterior· ROOM REVEALS

Our exterior has come a long, long way.   Like almost the distance from Mars to Venus.  Ask John Gray…that’s long.  Sorry.  The cheesy jokes ooze out of me especially when I read cliff notes on relationship books.  For those of you that have been around for the last three years, you may remember that our house was a foreclosure.  A very large, abused foreclosure.

As for our exterior journey, we did a bunch of landscaping.  We painted the front door.  Twice.  We hired the best crew ever to paint.  Like basically everything that has been said about the wheel, the iphone, fire and chocolate could be said about these guys.

And now my house doesn’t have a lick of brown on it.  In fact, it is really starting to look kinda how we always envisioned it.

Okay.  Let’s get to the meat and the cheese….before you get all crazy and start stabbing your screen in attempt to murder me through your computer.

Here are some of the befores and afters…

Did your pants just fall off?  Because mine did.

And the side porch is now a way to get your clothing off too.  Teenage boys would flock to this place if they knew my exterior was a panty dropper 🙂

 

More random photos…

Okay…remember the back of the house?  Of course you did.  Unless you have the worlds shortest short term memory because I just showed it to you five seconds ago.  Three if you are a fast scroller.

We still have more stuff we have planned for back here but it’s coming along nicely.

Oh and I wanted to show you this door….

It’s the one that had so much damage to the frame that the guys had to fix before painting…

Now you can’t even tell…

They even cut out whole pieces of wood but you can’t tell from the finished product.

And yes, that doorknob on that double door will need replaced.  It will look like this one eventually….

The garage side looks a million times better to me.  We flipflopped the color scheme on the doors (instead of light doors with dark trim, we now have dark doors with light trim).  I still need to paint the light fixture.  It requires a ladder…so yeah….not in a hurry to do that chore.

And there is still a ton to do in the front (the maintenance on this piece of property is really time consuming so both Jer and I have to work on it a lot each week but it’s a small price to pay to live in such a nice house with such a dreamy private lot).  On our list is to replace all the exterior door handles, add bed borders, switch from pine straw to mulch, plant about ten more plants in front of the garage side and center circle, add house numbers, get some nicer chairs for near the front door, and get a bistro set for the side porch.  And that’s only what we want to do in front.

But yeah…if I have to live with it looking like this for a while….

I think I will survive 🙂

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Comments

  1. I LOVE everything about this. It just looks so fantastic, and really is exactly what I’d like my dream home to look like (large private yard, stone/grey, and lots of greenery). Love it. You are definitely blessed mama! Keep up the hard work and love every minute of it while doing so.
    XO!

  2. Katie,
    I never (ever, ever, ever) comment because I know you have way more important people to correspond & network with & I’m NOT a DIY-er (military wives have a hard time just getting used to a house before we’re whisked away again). But I felt compelled to comment because HOLY MOTHER OF MERCY your house looks completely different. I was even playing I Spy with the stone work on the house to try to tell if it somehow got changed. Mad props to you, Jeremy, W-squared, and those amazing painters. Looks AMAZING!

    🙂 Ashley

  3. Credit where credit is due, Katie. You guys picked the PERFECT color for your big repaint. It looks gorgeous next to the stone. Well done!

    I worked for a guy once who was really into DIY and home improvement and he would call a post like this, “Project Stare Time.” When you sit back and just keep staring at what you’ve accomplished. Well deserved as your family has taken this house and made it a home!

  7. I truly don’t mean this to sound negative, your house is beautiful. I’d that the color you were hoping for? I thought you’d go grey but expected you to go for more contrast. Did you want it to blend into the stone for a reason? It’s a thousand times better than the peach, and obviously everyone has their own taste (I’ve never been able to like ikat so maybe I’m just not cool enough).

  8. Wow! Looks really great and yeah, the gray is so much better than the tan. Looks like a totally different house. Looks like you’re filling up that huge house fast.

  11. Wowza!! What a huge difference! Every single project, big and small, has contributed to making this a major makeover. Your house is a dream!!!

  13. It looks amazing!

    This is probably a silly question that I already know the answer to from reading the blog posts about this update, but they didn’t do anything to the stone facade, did they? It amazes me that in the “before” pics the stone clearly looks brown-ish and in the “after” they look gray! It’s like all of the stones were replaced or something! It’s amazing how trim color can change an entire appearance.

    Unless they really did do something to the stones…? 🙂

  14. Looks great…you’ve come such a long way. Curious why you opted not to give your porch ceilings the traditional blue paint treatment…or perhaps it is and my monitor is missrepresenting the true color?

  21. The ceiling is actually a very pale blue…We definitely considered something more saturated but in the end, it just looked funky with the gray and the stone and the brick. Maybe down the line I might pick some other blue that is darker in hue but still muted…but for now, it’ll work 🙂
    xo – kb

  22. BEAUTIFUL! I particularly love how the grass reflects in the windows in the after shot of the front door. The green and gray? Might be a new favorite combination.

  23. Nope! Not a thing! The stone actually has some blue undertones and the brick has more brown…which is one reason why picking the right color was hard.
    xo – kb

  24. I definitely leaned toward more contrast in my mind…but once I saw the photoshopped versions, I knew that the porch needed to be lightened and the stones would look best if the trimwork kinda disappeared. Here’s the post all about it. Of course, everyone does things differently but I love it.
    xo – kb

  29. I’m never one to comment unless I have a chance of winning something, but I just had to say how impressed I am with the changes you’ve made. I’ve been watching your blog for the past few years and have really enjoyed seeing the transformation. I know you still have a long way to go but you’re obviously on the right track.

  30. I am soo jealous!!! The colours you picked are absolutely perfect…why would it have ever started out so bad to begin with!? Keep up the fantastic work guys, the yard looks amazing, and will continue to get better I’m sure!!

  31. Y’all’s house looks great! It just barely looks like the same house! The paint color & the landscaping are spot on! The transformation from your mind’s eye to actuality is stunning! Yay for your home.

  32. Your home is stunning! Having your house painted really is the crowning glory to all of your pretty landscaping & hardscaping you’ve worked so hard to create!

  33. Dream house!! I think the new color makes it look cleaner somehow. Love it! And so glad you didn’t have to climb those crazy ladders! I’m not really scared of heights, but woah!!

  37. You and Jeremy are awesome – I love how you both love on your house so much to give it true potential and to really make it home for your family. I am so inspired by the vision you guys have for your house – I would never have thought about painting the exterior – but wow, after seeing your home, it looks amazing!! What a transformation!! Love it. Thank you for sharing!

  38. Such GREAT, GREAT color choices! I don’t think it could look more appropriate to the style of the house. It’s like what it should have been all along, which is always such a jump-up-and-down feeling. CONGRATS!

  40. Hi Katie!

    I doubt you remember me but I commented on your “News” post days later to congratulate you and share my struggle with infertility… Then that morning (August 7 to be exact) told you that I had my own positive pregnancy test! You commented that I “made your day” and let me just tell you that you made mine by commenting back!

    I’ve been waiting for a “Future Baby Bower” post to comment on (is that coming soon??), but I just wanted to tell you that everything is progressing perfectly for me! We had our second ultrasound yesterday and are measuring right on track (9 weeks 5 days) with a strong heartbeat of 178! We are due April 11, 2014, and while the first time around I was excited to be pregnant at the same time as the Princess (LOVE HER), this time I am super excited to share this journey with you!!! Yes, I hold you and Kate Middleton in the same regard, is that a problem?

    The house looks fantastic, and please, fill us in on ALL the details of the newest member of the Bower family when you can!

    Lindsey

  41. Katie B, you have my dream wrap-around porch. I have always wanted a big porch where I could hang a porch swing and spend my days reading, sipping lemonade and enjoying the sounds of my son and his friends playing in the front yard. *swoon* Serious jealousy is oozing out of my pores.

    And the house looks maaaavelous. Simply maaaavelous.

  43. I think the trim blends in too much. It would’ve looked better with more contrast. But to each their own:)

  44. Remind us – how much did you pay for this home?
    It’s so drooly and gorgeous! You were blessed to find a foreclosure ! Xo

  45. This has become one of my favorite blogs to follow, and I’m loving the transformation you are making to this house bit by bit. This was a huge leap forward! We just bought our dream house (not everybody’s dream house, but ours — if that makes sense) and it’s going to take years and years and years to transform it from builder grade to special. I’ve never DIY’d anything in my life but I’m starting to be inspired. Your posts make me think I might be able to actually do it. Keep sharing; I love reading!

  46. that’s a different house. you moved. i’m certain of it. 😉 lolol

    what a stunner!! <3 the change is just incredible! absolutely beautiful.

  47. Loooove the new the house colors and how it all looks now. (Those guys are amazing.) Love the big rocks and shrubs in front too. I’m missing the pop of red on that far out shot, though. 🙂

  48. I rarely comment on your blog but oh my gooooodness this is just the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen! I love the cool grey colors and how it changes the entire look of that gorgeous house of yours! It just looks so good. We are currently house hunting and one I have my eyes on would look SO GOOD with some light grey exterior paint. Off to show my hubby 😉

  53. When you painted the door black I thought, “Oh no that will look so austere!” but, Katie, you proved me wrong. The whole thing looks absolutely lovely.

  55. Gorgeous! So impressed with how different it looks. Much more modern and-dare I say-classy.

    I always laugh when you talk about hights. We resided the front of our two story house and had a scaffold that went to the very top. I was nervous, but you might have had a heart attack!

    I love it! Congrats that it’s done and that much more beautiful!

    Abby J.

  61. Katie: You did an amazing job from paint to landscaping. How great does it feel to knock out such a big project that will really last for the long haul? You should be very proud 🙂

  63. I agree with a few of the other posters that there is something sort of “blah” about the new trim color and how it just sort of disappears… but then I started to think about what would look better and I think you guys went with the best option for your particular house. The “blah” issue is usually solved by having contrasting shutters but your home design doesn’t allow for those. I think that is why it looks odd to some people… vast expanses of glass with no definition or “pop” around them. White or anything lighter would be great on a smaller home but way too stark and dramatic because you have so many windows and trim. I think once some landscaping and color is added to the porch it will work great!

    It doesn’t even matter in the end, it looks INCREDIBLY better than it did before. Good job!

  64. Your house looks like a castle. It is so stylish and I can only imagine how much time and efforts it took you to project the house and to think over all the smallest details. I like the style and the décor.

  65. I did it! I figured out why Napoleon made all the crazy “design” (I use that word loosely in this case) choices he did on your house: all the gold fixtures, the poop-color exterior, all the crazy interior carpet and paint colors… He was building a “Before” house! See, most people have to get an older house with a crazy 70s remodel to get that drastic “Before and After” reveal, but not you, you lucky kids! You got a modern house with enough funkiness to keep you occupied for years. So thank you, Napoleon… now come build one for me in Portland!

  67. I love hearing about the plans you have for the front and I would love to hear more about your plans for the back! I loved the drawings you did when y’all were building the fire pit. I’m a nerd for stuff like that 🙂

  70. I love the paint colors you picked! I know you mentioned the trim color in another post, but wasn’t able to find the darker color you painted on the doors in the back. Would you mind sharing it? Thanks!

  71. so- you know how you read a blog, and you’re all like “wow, i think it looks great now. i wonder how the changes will make it look better” (knowing ALL the while it will, but ya know… i don’t have the eye?)
    your kitchen and exterior rock my socks off. way to work hard and make your place…. yours.

    i bet it is SO fun to come home, hunh?!

  72. Fabulous! Paint colors are great. And a 3-car garage! Ooo la la! I don’t think I’ve ever seen the garage view before. Totally jealous. Then again – it would just be one more car’s worth of space I would cram with junk I don’t need. 🙂

  73. Hi Katie!

    First, the update looks amazing! Great paint choice!

    Second, I was curious what your thoughts were on choosing window treatments for windows facing the front of the house? I guess I am torn because my house is MUCH closer to the road than yours is and right now with blinds/closed curtains/open curtains I don’t like how the windows look so different from the street. I don’t want to choose a window treatment just based on how it looks from the street (I don’t want blinds in every window) but I’m just not loving the mix-match. What are your thoughts?

    Thanks!

  75. I think the painters did a great job and the outside looks way better than it did when you moved in. I do have a question, though, and I hope it doesn’t sound rude… Do you have any window treatments in your upstairs windows? Something just always looks really off to me when I see pictures of the front of your house with those big empty and dark windows. Are they there and you just can’t see from outside? I think it might be the lack of grilles that’s throwing me here but it makes the house look kind empty or unoccupied to me. Just curious.

  78. Nope. Nothing yet. That room to the far left is the guest bedroom and the other one is Weston’s room. They both have black out shades (the white roll up kind) but the white looks horrible from the street…so we pull them up when it’s time for photos. Hopefully both rooms will get something soon!
    xo – kb

  81. The back is definitely a work in progress. I hate to spend too much moolah back there but hopefully one of these days we can get it moving!
    xo – kb

  82. EXACTLY! You nailed it! These people don’t have terrible taste…they are just doing their best to create the before! I love that!
    xo – kb

  83. Oh yes, I definitely think that next time I get annuals, it will be in the COLOR department. I also hope that maybe a future couple of chairs will add some color.
    xo – kb

  85. LOOOOOVE! I’d be so happy right now! What a ‘to-do’ ticked off the list!

    And I love that the painters all have matching moustaches! Ha!

  88. WOWZERS!! What a beauty!

    OK, so, I have to ask… are you originally from Western PA?
    “And yes, that doorknob on that double door will need replaced.” It’s the “will need replaced” that screams yer a sistah from the hood, n’at. That plus I remember something about the boyfriend lovin’ the Stillers.

    Go Yinz!!

  90. My parents are and my grandparents still live there…so yes…technically speaking, my lineage is very West Penn.
    xo – kb
    p.s. GO STEELERS!

  94. YAY! I am so happy to hear that everything so far is going so well! I definitely pray for all my online friends who are pregnant that they have a healthy and happy nine months! OH and if you happen to deliver on April 8th…it’s a really great birthday…just ask Will 🙂
    xo – kb

  95. I can’t remember, did you do stain the deck since the before back picture? The color looks so much better against the grey! Love it!

  101. Katie, your home looks lovely, but I take exception to the “dropping my pants” and teenage boys comments. Frankly, I think they’re beneath you. Couldn’t you use phrases that still convey excitement without resorting to phrases that are sexual in nature and really quite inappropriate? This is the worst ” Teenage boys would flock to this place if they knew my exterior was a panty dropper ” That’s just disgusting.

  102. It is disgusting. But I guess that is just my sense of humor. I know everyone doesn’t get it…or like it…but I’m immature. No excuses…just am and probably will always be a little 🙂
    xo – kb

  103. Your house is absolutely beautiful. I definitely love the grey over the brown. Great colour choice! But here’s the real question: How do you ever clean a house that big?! 🙂

  108. What color exterior paint did you do? I tried looking through post and comments but didnt see it.. But im on my cell so may have missed it if you already said!

  109. It’s called Pavestone. It’s Sherwin Williams. It’s at two different strengths…one is 100% on the front and then the back is a little lighter.
    xo – kb

  110. Hey, I’m a long time fan and reader of your blog, first time commenter. Just wanted to say this post really hit home with the stuff I’ve been looking into. Thanks man

  111. Ok, this post is super old (I know), but I love the layout of your place. Do you know if there was a certain company or architect who we could research for similar plans to it? I’ve cruised around the Internet, and I’ve not quite found anything like it.

    Thanks in advance!

  112. That’s a good question. I just don’t know of anybody. I am sure if you had an architect, you can give them our floor plans.
    xo – kb

  113. Wow. The change here is amazing!!!

    Did you guys get this FOR your family?

    Can I ask, How much would this house have sold for if it were in good condition?? (I don’t know where you live or what the market is like).
    Can I ask how much money you have had to put into it, in order to renovate it?

    We just bought a foreclosure and are trying to decide if we will stay and “make it ours” (do all the renovations to make it what we want in a house), or if we will do minimal work, live in it for a bit (b/c our house is set to sell soon) and then sell the foreclosure later, finding what we “want” in a home elsewhere in the city. It’s hard b/c it adds up! It’s hard to decide.

    Have you bought a foreclosure before? This is totally new to me!!

  114. Did we buy this for my family? Yes. We live here. And if it were properly priced, we estimate that it was worth close to $400K if it were in livable condition. We live in the rural area of Georgia…about 1.5 hrs to Atlanta. We so far have not renovated it all but each room is different. Like our bathroom it cost roughly $6 to renovate it. Each room is different. I think that the key to finding the right house is to first determine location and then make a “must-have” list. If your current foreclosure is in the right spot and you can add the must-haves…why not stay?
    xo – kb

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