I give up on trying to call this color coral, it’s absolutely pink and it’s ALL OVER MY HOUSE! That’s right, y’all, Berrybrier is finally painted! It’s been a journey – a rough journey – to get here and I’m so glad to show you this today! My house finally looks like a home, like someone loves it! Remember what it was like when I bought the property? Partially blue with a white corner and lots of flaking paint, it hadn’t been updated in 30 years. I saw a very similar picture to this on the listing and instantly knew this place was my house, my future home. It’s a good thing I’m totally crazy, because normal people don’t fall in love with exteriors like this!
After a disastrous painting journey and a failed complaint to the CCB (they referred me to small claims court, which I wasn’t ready to endure), I finally found a painter and now the house is complete! After almost a year of looking like a hot mess, the new paint is just like the first bite of birthday cake. I’m giddy about it!
A new roof, a dormer, new paint, and this place is starting to transform. The color is bold, but I adore it. California born and raised, winter is always a bit hard for me. I miss greenery and color as the cold and rain stretch through April in Portland. When I was trying to decide which color to paint the house and which color would work best with the green aluminum windows, I knew the most important thing I wanted was to come home and smile. I wanted something that would stand out in the fog of grey that tends to descend over Portland in October and give me a little sight of oopfh! And boy did I get it!
Now every time I arrive home, it’s hard not to grin. Even on the greyest day, this house stands out! I know this is a bit intense for a lot of people out there, but for me, I’m happy to make a splash. And the neighbors are just grateful that it’s painted and done! The house looks like I always imagined it would, happy and bright! The color brings out the character of the house and now even the little dormer looks like it always belonged!
You probably noticed above that I didn’t end up painting the garage… the garage is a whole other project. The longer I live here (it’s been over a year!) the more I realize is wrong with the garage. It’s leaking and needs a roof; of the 3 additions on it, at least two need to be knocked down; and it needs new siding on at least one side. I’m chipping away at it, but it’s a long ways away from painting! But that’s next year’s (… or the year after’s) project. In the meantime I’m just going to get all googly-eyed about the house! It is just such an amazing improvement!
The front porch used to be a bit sad looking with faded & dirty blue paint, string lights plugged into an outlet above the door, moss creeping up the steps, and dual handrails slapped together. There was a lattice panel on the porch and the original 4×4 post looked a bit dinky compared to the rest of the architecture of the house.
I still want to paint the steps and install a new railing, but again, one project at a time! I’m just happy with how this is looking now! The lattice fell victim to an evening of frustration at DIY and now the porch is sided, prepped for a future bench I want to build under the existing mailbox. I installed a new light fixture which I picked up from Lowe’s for under $20. I will probably switch it out of something a bit bigger down the line, but for now it’s a great improvement. I put one of those new dusk-to-dawn light bulbs in and it’s just amazing. I leave for work in the mornings at 6:42am and it’s often still really dark out. I love being able to leave the porch light on and not stress about wasting electricity all day, since it turns off on its own as soon as it gets light outside! The other big change was the front porch post. See how chunky and substantial it is? SO MUCH BETTER!
My painter had a friend who did small carpentry project like this and thank goodness, because I have too many projects. Although I think I could have done this easily myself, it came down to timing and I didn’t get it done in time. So I sent the guy this crazy marked up picture and $250 later I had a new post! I try to do as much as possible myself, but there’s also a threshold to the time I have to dedicate to all the projects. Hiring this out made sure it happened before the painting was complete.
The back of the house has been a truly huge transformation. The old roof was peeling off a bit and the hobnob back stairs led straight into the garage. The kitchen was dark and dreary due to the light blocked by the falling-down porch roof.
The back garden is still a mess, but this view is much improved!! Removing the back porch and exposing the original concrete steps was one of the best free ideas! The new roof did wonders to spruce up things, but a fresh couple coats of paint on the flaking exposed siding really did the trick! I do need to pick up some porch and floor paint and give the steps a nice prep and painting, but I’m debating jackhammering off the top step, so I’m waiting to paint. Yup, just another project to add to the list. For now, plopping a couple of new plants in some pots I already owned dressed things up. I also replaced the door with a old half-lite door my neighbor Erik found for me on craigslist.
Overall, I’m so happy with this before and after! It’s hands down the biggest transformation at Berrybrier and one of the most important! I’m so excited to come how to this everyday and I’m sure the neighbors are psyched to see this change! I’m just obsessed with how much lighter and brighter it is here now.
In case anyone else wants to paint their house pink, the main color is Sherwin Williams 6324 Mellow Coral, the white trim color is SW 7012 Creamy, and the grey-brown foundation (which I almost didn’t paint!) is SW 7048 Urbane Bronze. I’d highly recommend them all if you want a fun colored house that packs a punch! Despite the struggle to get here, in the end I’m just so happy this place is complete!
Land of Laurel 