House Lipstick

Big news, guys! We sold our house! It’s been a roller coaster of decisions/emotions, but we finally decided to make the transition. We have a significant bond with this house as it was the house we planned and got married in and brought our baby’s home. It is filled with so many great memories with friends and family which made it so hard to let go. We also love our neighborhood and neighbors and will miss them dearly (but will be back to visit).

This house was perfect for my husband when he bought it in 2014. I eventually moved in and we had the best time playing house. When Oliver arrived, the house seemed a little smaller, but in the most wonderful way as we had a tiny person to chase around. Last year when Audrey joined the Hartnett clan, the house was filled with even more laughter and happiness, but started to shrink even more. Then COVID hit and Chris was working from the bedroom, while I was having to work at a friend’s house and the walls finally caved in. We were considering building for many years with an architectural plan ready to go, but living in quarantine, we knew we wouldn’t be able to make it in a small apartment for a year with two small, energetic children.

We feel very excited and grateful for our new house which will afford our family a little more breathing room as well as a large park down the hill where the kiddos can run wild and free.

In order to put the house on the market, we needed to get a new roof and update the exterior paint. I’m kicking myself for not making it a priority to paint the exterior when we moved in because it was always on the to-do list, but life got going pretty quickly and it fell to the wayside.

Here is the before photo of the house. It was fine, but just didn’t reflect our family’s vibrancy. Plus, the beige with red door is outdated.

For the new paint, I was looking for a fresh, relaxed coastal vibe. The interior is very white and bright and I wanted the outside to match the inside. I knew we needed to paint the brick, shutters and front door. I wanted to paint the house white since that is very coastal and classic. I also knew I wanted light gray shutters. The house is cozy and I didn’t want the shutters to overpower the white.

Then the front door paint decision! It’s a hard one as it really brings together the look + feel and shows the world your personality. I wanted a unique front door color that was welcoming and made me smile when I pulled in the driveway.

Some of the colors I was considering:

I was immediately drawn to Ben Moore White Dove for brick, Sherwin Williams Repose Gray for shutters and Ben Moore Woodlawn Blue for the door. But when I did a very quick, down and dirty rendering in PowerPoint, the shutters looked too light. See below.*

I love the Repose gray line of SW colors so I tried Mindful Gray as the next shutter color. I also wanted to try using the shutter color on the door to see what that did to the exterior thinking that perhaps becasue of the house size, a more monochromatic scheme would work best. I also switched to Sherwin Williams Alabaster for the brick as it’s pretty similar to White Dove.

I’m glad I tried the Mindful Gray on shutters and door as I thought it was one dimensional and I wanted a pop of personality with a color on the door. I went with my gut for the Ben Moore Woodlawn Blue and I’m so happy with it!

AND…..TADA!!! Here is the big reveal:

The final decision is SW Alabaster for the brick, SW Mindful Gray for the shutters and the BM Woodlawn Blue for the door. It looks just adorable, happy, and welcoming just in time to move! Hah! But at least we have been able to enjoy it for a couple of months.

I know that the move will be a mix of emotions as we transition into a new home, but my husband and I know we made the right decision and are looking forward to the memories we will create in the new house. This place will always hold a very special piece of my heart and I hope the new owners will love it as much as we did.

*Disclaimer, if you are interested in professional renderings of your house exterior to see color options, we can provide this service. The renderings will be done in Photoshop and will be a completely beautiful and fully realized rendering. It will not look like the image above, which is the designer making a quick decision and not having the time to fully execute a professional final product. :)