Saturday, May 12, 2012

Exterior Colour Scheme, now in progress

original colour scheme as when we bought the house
Our old stone house is made of what is called blue stone, with some dark steely blue stones in the mix.  It also has stones in rust, beige and other hues.  The exterior trims on the house are very bright, a deep/bright gold ochre and a dark indian red.  We have intended to change this to a more neutral scheme, but the work pushed out as we did the complete interior renovations.

However, we await planning permissions for our studio space in back, so other jobs we left for later are getting pulled forward to do now while we wait.  One of the jobs to do was to restore a door in the front, a door we don't use for entering/exiting the house, but that is of a very poor condition.  It was very drafty, having holes you could look through from inside out.  So poor in condition that when the rain blows towards the front of the house, water flowed through every edge and every timber panel of that door.  Ian decided to take the door off, restore it, and then seal it up.  It would still look door-like, but would be weather proofed.

the restored door in front,
in new colour scheme
windows to left also painted
The job was not as simple as it seemed.  Some of the timber door framing and also timber panels to sides of the door were rotted, because a gutter near by had a leak and let water splash onto it.  The timber rotted probably over a number of years.  Ian had to cut it all away and replace it.  When the job was all done, he did not want to paint the door the same previous colour, because we intend to change the exterior trims to a more neutral scheme.  The door needed priming, then painting.  Once only please.

I was dispatched to get exterior paints (I am the Procurement Director here !).  Masonry would be painted over from gold to grey.  Timber work on door and window frames from gold or red into charcoal, in a  Colourbond colour called Monument that matches guttering on the shed and back patio/pergola.  Eventually we will replace the guttering here too, and it will be replaced in Monument colour.  The door is painted a dark steely blue.  

left side of house has new trims colours
guttering and roof not done.
Front gable and right side not yet done.
(house will look mix-match for a while)
(eventually the roof will be cleaned, primed, and painted over in a Micaceous Iron Oxide paint, we are considering Murobond Bridge Paint for that.  Probably a mid grey colour.  This will be a big job and will require good weather conditions too, thinking late winter or early Spring might be the right timing).

 south side windows look MUCH better
in new trims colours
You can see some of the work in progress.  Ian started on the door he restored and is working around to the left of the house.  It is more easily accessed with ladders we already have.  Painting window framing is a very slow and tedious job.  Also, windows need to be removed, so he can scrape years of old paint off them, or off the glazing, and fill, sand and paint anew.  But gosh does it ever look good when done !

back entrance,
now painted in new trims colours
This week he made it to one of our back entrances.  The door here will get done over in the dark steely blue too.  That will "quiet" its look down, to more of an elegant whisper (the red is very brash).  The door's paint job is delayed until next week because that door needs restoring too, on closer inspection it was not as solid and sound as we had thought to hoped.  

the kitchen window and door frame are
painted in new trims colours.
Door will get its new colour soon, steely blue.
Reglazed window above door looks very good,
other two old coloured glass windows
to be reglazed next week
Another delay was the window above the door.  It was a "legacy" window in pink textured glass, next to another window like it in same colour, and one to side of door in green textured glass.  The textured glass panels were cracked, and on the Replace Someday list.  But that list is always long, and some things sit on it a while, waiting for other work to be done, or for funds for their turn to come up.




window above the door shattered,
needs new glazing
Anyways, Ian touched the top window and it shattered to bits.  He had to stop other painting work, go find some glass to reglaze the window.  By the end of the day it was done.  Looking lovely in a cathedral pattern clear glass.    Now the other two windows look all wrong, so their Replace Someday turn may come next week.  When all of them are done, the door  and window frame painting can be completed.

The whole job will take some time to complete.  So our house exterior will look a bit disjointed until it is done.  But it is great to see where it is going and it feels like the changes will enhance the house's curb appeal.

I am loving the look of the old red brick paving in back entry with the more neutral trims colours.  All very complementary to the stonework, letting it be more noticeable as a feature.  Which is part of the point !




4 comments:

  1. Oh a new blog to follow! I am a bit renovation mad at the moment, so I will be reading with interest! I like your choice of Monument for your trims. It is looking great! Can I ask which Blue you used for your renovated door? Hubby would like a blue door and I would be interested to see if your colour choice will also work with our trim colour - we are going with Colorbond Ironstone :)

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  2. Hi Marieka, sorry to be slow to reply (have been doing a fair bit of biz travel the past month). The doors have been done in Colourbond Ironstone. I did consider doing a darker shade, but the pigment required was voluminous and would not fit in the tin !! So we thought to go with Ironstone, which as you know is very easy to match in a number of paint brands. And also with colourbond guttering, trims and corrugated metal products. I like the door colour, it is elegant and refined. Not bright, but given we have a lot of stone we want to have a starring role in the exterior scheme, the colour for doors seems good. The Colourbond Monument is used for the exterior door and window frames and also painted over the old storm doors (metal ones), using spray paint. I would recommend a glossy finish for Ironstone on the door. We did and I am very happy with the look (I think it would look duller in a less glossy finish). Good luck !!

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  3. Hi Kim - we are still a little way off painting yet, but am trying to get an idea in my head. We decided to remove the render from the front and side of our house during our last visit. Here is what we started with - http://pinterest.com/pin/230246599669432403/

    And this is what she currently looks like -
    http://pinterest.com/pin/230246599669879022/

    Such a vast improvement! We are now waiting to get the repointing work done before we go any further. We think that Ironstone will work well with the bluestone, and will probably appear to be more on the blu-ish side rather than grey. Our place is in Bethany, so just down the road from you really! We will be moving in permanently in December. It is going to be a long work in progress, but I think there is something nice about that :)

    I am currently starting some kitchen research and I noticed that you have a Falcon cooker in your kitchen. Where you able to source this in Adelaide?



    Looking forward to more updates on your blog!

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  4. Hi Marieka, love the work you are doing, and your pics on interest. I noticed you have posted several pics there of bluestone retaining walls....that are part of this property (from the real-estate listings when we were buying it). Not sure you knew it was the same house. Let me know if you want to come by and see them in person sometime ! (it would be fab to meet you too)

    Both Ironstone and Monument look great with with stone walls with blue stone in them. I think the choices will be fine.

    The Falcon cooker was indeed sourced in Adelaide, I found it at Harvey Norman in Gepps Cross (they sell locally for the importer). I was going to get black, but to ally surprising me, my husband picked the cranberry (and it is beautiful). We really like the cooker...it is very heavy, but lovely and we cook up a storm in it !

    More soon...I am currently wracking my brains for inspirations on how to do our extension work on a shoestring to save money. The big challenge at the moment is how to do a laundry that has the right charms and features, but doesn't cost more than absolutely necessary.

    More soon,,,,

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