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Check Out What a Difference a Fresh Coat of Paint Made on this Boring Old House

by on Oct 28, 2016

Do you remember the original Curbly House? It’s probably inaccurate to call it that. Because we rarely wrote about it, and even more rarely posted photos of it. It was our first home, the one Bruno bought in college, shared with roommates, and later with me. It was the house we brought both of our children home to (though our youngest only slept there for 10 days before we moved him to his new nursery). It’s a sweet little house that holds some of our sweetest memories.

In every way, this house is a record of our true DIY journey. When Bruno first moved in, we spent many Friday nights painting walls, ripping up carpets, and trying to cleverly cover up quirks (think: floral Contact paper and paint in a lot of places where it didn’t belong). We listened to Mason Jennings albums and played Weezer and Counting Crows’s August and Everything After on repeat. We were inspired by the movie The Royal Tenenbaums and painted the house accordingly. Primary colors and patterns were everywhere, and it was all kinds of wrong style-wise, but it was a joyful snapshot of our 20-something life on a tight budget.

Home painting progress - poised taupe
Sometimes progress doesn’t look like much.

Later on we toned everything down with tasteful colors, and I painted the living room thirty-two times in ten years. I’m not being hyperbolic, that is a real true statement of fact.

With the arrival of our two children, we outgrew the house, but we weren’t totally ready to let it go. The real estate market was not in our favor when we moved, so we rented the house to neighbors for a few years.

Few things bring me as much joy as seeing a house as it’s meant to be

As with all old houses, the house aged and the exterior most certainly did not match its beautiful insides. We knew it was time to paint the aging stucco. It was a boring, drab white, and dirty from years of exposure. The stucco and trim were unified in color, leaving all the house’s character hidden. You know how sometimes you go out wearing an outfit you know just doesn’t look right? That’s how this house felt.

A house in the garden


Sherwin-Williams Emerald zero-VOC paint

So, as we began exploring paint colors, our friends over at Sherwin-Williams announced their color of the year: Poised Taupe (SW 6039). The instant we saw it, we knew it was the right color for our house. It’s neutral, but warm and organic. It’s a warm gray, with rich browns and purples mixed in. It was the perfect color for the house because it grounded the stucco and felt like a perfect fit. We paired it with Snowbound (SW 7004) as the trim color, and the results were so super stellar.

Poised Taupe from Sherwin-Williams (exterior paint makeover)

The house looks like it has always supposed to look, and few things bring me as much joy as seeing a house as it’s meant to be. It reminds me of the early 00s show MADE, where ordinary people learned a new skill or talent and practiced with a coach for weeks to perfect it. The show always ended with a big debut, everyone cried, and I imagine the subject’s life changed because their dreams were realized and the stars aligned offering them a life that was charmed forevermore. I feel like that’s what happened to our house.

 

Beautiful house painted in white. A screened porch on the front of a house.

Once the house was completely transformed through paint, all of its other external imperfections were illuminated. The overgrown shrubs flanking the entry needed to go, the 20-year old roof was bringing the whole project down, and it was a real bummer.

We knew it was time to completely commit to moving the house into its deserved glory. So we stretched to put the money together to fund a re-roofing and light landscaping (we DIYed this part), and completely transform our beloved first home.


Have a look

Paint makeover - gray and white trim

Rear shot - grey body and white trim paint exterior

exterior flower details

 

 

Poised Taupe is neutral, but warm and organic. It’s a warm gray, with rich browns and purples mixed in. It was the perfect color for the house.

 

front step with red mailbox and mums

 

And, guess what? We have some big plans for the inside of the house too! We’re on a strict budget, but isn’t that so much more fun? We’re excited to see where the project takes us. Stay tuned!

A huge shout out, hug, high-five, and gratitude goes out to our friends at Sherwin-Williams. They were our house’s MADE coach, and we couldn’t have realized this dream without them!

 

This post was sponsored by Sherwin-Williams. We’ve worked with them on lots of posts, and can’t say enough about the quality of their paint. Still, all opinions are mine alone. Thanks for supporting the brands that make Curbly possible.

 

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