A few years later the gardens were thriving, we'd grown a flock of Rhode Island Red chickens, the flock of geese had grown to fifteen, and we'd replaced the roofs on all the buildings. It was time to bring in a painter. We chose teal, with bright white trim and dark blue-green for all the fancy molding.
Colors
For years, we talked off and on about how to paint the buildings the next time around. We hashed it out so much, that when it came time to make a decision, it was pretty easy. Both of us wanted barn red for the outbuildings. And I wanted dark gray for the house and garage, something that would be a neutral background for the green grass and trees, and the flower gardens. In the end, after much research, we chose a medium gray for the house and garage with dark gray for the gable ends, and ebony for the fancy trim. We thought the perfect barn red would be tough to find, but the grays were much harder. We drove around nearby farm country, holding up paint chips and making notes, and we're completely happy with our choices.
New doors
Once the paint colors were settled and John (our builder/painter) started in on repairs, we went shopping for doors. The old front door (which is now the unused back door) was in poor shape and needed to be replaced. Plus, I wanted a door with a window to let in more light. We were lucky and found fiberglass Shaker doors for half price, because the leaded glass windows were put in slightly crooked. We decided we could fix them easily, and decided to replace both of our doors. I love how the window reflects the trees around the patio, and love the extra light that streams inside in the afternoon.
Garage
The biggest construction part of the job was updating the garage. We wanted it to match our 1923 farmhouse, so added a belly band and replaced the cedar siding above the trim with shingles. We also added a pair of corbels to the ones at each end and at the top. This was DWs brilliant idea. There was always something out of place about this long stretch of roof, and the corbels brought the whole building into scale.
John used gray-tinted oil-based primer on all the buildings as he finished each one, not just the new wood. This made sure that the new paint would hide in one coat.
The end of the garage near the house has a mother-in-law apartment, with a classy beveled glass door. Once the building was painted, it was clear that we needed to replace the old light fixtures. Something in dark metal or black, and Mission style I think.
John drove in one morning and said he thought the garage doors were too plain. What would we think of using the dark gray to highlight them? I thought it would look too modern; doors just like these with frosted glass panels are all the rage right now. But he was sure it would be perfect, so he painted one row. We stood back and looked, still not sure. So he painted another, then another, saying if we didn't like it, he'd painted it medium gray again. But when one door was done, we loved it. He also painted the foundation, the perfect touch.
Barn
The machine shed forms an "L" with the garage, and houses lumber and the John Deere tractor and the farm truck, and always stored hay and grain when I had horses. I've always called it the barn, because a farm isn't complete without one. It was never anything but plain jane. But John had the perfect idea: add a belly band to make it match the other buildings, and battens to break up the long expanses of plywood.
Chicken coop
Our little chicken coop changed the most of any of the structures, because it was never really finished. It sits on concrete pier blocks, has a wall of windows, and a door at one end. It was sheathed in scraps of plywood. A few hours with wood and a nail gun, and John added a belly band to each end, battens all the way around, trim around the door, and a sill. The old door has a coat of ebony paint, and even the chicken's door is painted in ebony. All it needs is a ramp... and chickens!
Well house
The original hand-dug well is protected inside a tiny replica of the farmhouse. One of the windows was missing, replaced by a sheet of plywood. But we found the window in the barn and re-installed it. John repaired damaged siding, and DW and I pulled out the rotten boards over the 3-foot-diameter well casing and replaced them with ground-contact boards. There's a perfect little wedge-shaped flower bed in the corner, and come spring I will plant something there. Something suited to a farmhouse in the country, like rudbeckia or purple coneflowers, or maybe a hosta.
We couldn't decide what color to paint this little building, so we painted all three colors on one side and took our time making up our minds. The lighter gray was out right away. I loved the dark gray, and thought it would look perfect, separated from the big house by a smooth green lawn.
But I couldn't get the image of a tiny red house out of my mind, surrounded by cedar trees, the red a beautiful contrast to the green, a jewel nestled in the snow of winter. So it became red.
The farmhouse
We saved the best (and the most work) for last: our classic farmhouse.
Like the garage, the farmhouse will be painted in two colors of gray: dark gray in the gable ends, and medium gray for the rest. The belly band and window trim and barge rafters will be white, and the fancy moldings will be ebony. This turned out to be a very cool color... in the right light, it has a purple cast, which I love. The front door will be barn red, and the other doors will be ebony.
While John worked on the other buildings, I scraped paint on the south side. It was kind of addicting. The last week before vacation we both worked on it, scraping and sanding. And it was hot, many days in the 90s. Great for drying out the wood, not so great for the humans out in it.
When we got home from vacation, everything was done and perfect.
The rest is up to us: new light fixtures and door hardware, and refinishing the deck. And building a back porch.
Next year.
Love the new colors of your home!
ReplyDeleteWow! This was quite a project, and you have done so much. I love the shades of gray with the red out buildings. Your home is lovely!
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