That Day In Pictures - Painting the Yellow House

We are both better looking than this - really.

In 2008 I was living in an federal style wooden clapboard sided house built in 1765.  I had lived there since 1998 when we had purchased it.  It took me 10 years to first decide what color to repaint it and then the courage to do it.  The existing house paint looked drab and tired and I found the gray color very dreary and there were several areas peeling and blistered.  It's a huge house; three stories and 4000 square feet.  I had painted that barn you see behind us 2 years prior with the help of a dear friend, Ron Deane.  That building was pretty straight forward to do and was a great warm up and learning experience for painting a house.

There was no way I could afford to hire a company to paint my house with estimates coming in around $10,000.  Fifty windows framed by old shutters, scraping, power washing, three stories, one porch, etc.  In 2007, my sister Dede came to visit me to attend my middle son's high school graduation.  I mentioned that I was trying to work up the courage and make the time to paint my house and had decided on a warm yellow by Benjamin Moore called Showtime.  Near the back door of the house by the kitchen I had painted about 6 different paint shades over large areas of the house and I had finally settled on one. And I had been looking at those eyesores for about a year. My sister with her big heart and obvious naiveté declared that she would come out next summer and help me paint the house.  I told her that I would not let her forget her offer and during the year I reminded her of her promise even though I felt deep inside that she would and could not follow through.  She surprised me by flying out the following June and my mother also flew in and volunteered to be our water girl.  My good friend Keith Moulton very generously lent us his bucket truck and powerful paint sprayer.  I had no idea how to operate either one but Dede was here so I went and bought gallons and gallons of yellow paint for the house and white for the trim.  Dede and I removed about 60 shutters, did a half hearted job of prep work and just set to work.  

Dede painted the bottom areas from the ground by brush and I sprayed and brushed the house in the bucket truck.  We worked everyday for about 5 days and wore the same clothes everyday (when she left, we threw those clothes away).  One morning I was up in the bucket and Dede was below me on the ground,  I could smell her perfume and told her she smelled really good.  It was one of my perfumes and she had obviously put a lot on.  When I asked her why she had put on perfume to paint she replied that she had to do something to make her feel good. (I can testify that perfume has that power but that's another post).  I laughed so hard but I also knew that she was not enjoying the really hard, hard work that this job had become.  In fact, she was miserable but was trying to hide it.  We had both bitten off a lot but had to see it through.  

Dede and my mom left and the house wasn't near done but just having her get me started and believing that I could truly paint my house on my own enabled me to finish it and do a good job.  A great job in fact.  It took the rest of the summer for me to finish all the trim around the windows and when the job was complete, when I made the last brush stroke, it was one of the most satisfying and exciting moments of my life!  I was giddy with joy. When I returned the bucket truck to Mr. Moulton, I told him he had given me the most wonderful gift by lending me his tools at no charge and trusting me with them.  The project cost me in total about $1500 - quite a savings from $10,000.  Six years later the paint job on that house is still almost flawless and professional looking.  

Thank you Pig Nose (Dede).

Totally cheery and cheer in the snow

I don't live in that yellow house anymore; I still own it and rent it out for the time being.  This is where I live now, in a yellowish house that I did have to do some painting on this summer (meh- kid's play ;) ).  And here is Dede with me on my front porch.  We look a lot better don't you think?