I’ve had the exterior paint sitting in the garage since the beginning of the summer, but I just didn’t want to paint in the heat.  I imagined I would spend a day painting and then jump into the pool as a treat, but waiting to paint on cooler early fall days sounded more appealing to me.  I think there was a bit of procrastination happening as well, but I know myself and I will wilt in the heat and won’t be as productive.  This week, the weather report was perfect for painting.  Not too hot, not too cold, and no rain in the forecast.  So, I purposed to do it.  I put it on the mental calendar and let everyone know that is what I’d be working on for a few days this week.

Yesterday, I got started.

First of all, no, I’m not painting the brick.  I’m usually on team paint, but I think this brick is quite pretty and I don’t feel like I need to paint it.  Would it look lovely painted?  Yes, definitely.  But, I think it looks lovely unpainted as well.  Since painting will take a considerable amount of time and money, I’m not going to do it.  At least not anytime soon.  I have plenty of other projects to keep myself busy anyway!

What I am painting is all of the trim, the soffits & facia boards, siding, and doors.

The siding is the original aluminum siding and I actually like the color and would keep it and clean it up, but the front side has faded to an unappealing yellow-green that is a bit acidic and sickly-looking.  I considered matching the green and painting it in the same color, but I have decided to go in a different direction.  I am going to paint the siding in Creamy by Sherwin Williams.  It’s a pretty, warm off-white that will simplify the color palette of the home’s exterior.  We’ll have cream and brick walls with bright white trim and Card Room Green doors and shutters.

As you can see, some of the shutters are missing including the ones for the garage window and some along the back of the house, but I ordered a new pair that will arrive next week.  I ordered set.  I’m not worried about the color since I’m going to paint them anyway.  I hope to order replacement shutters for the back of the house soon.  They add so much!

It’s hard to see the state of the trim paint from afar, so here is a close-up look…

It’s the kind of thing that makes a house look tired and a bit unloved.  I know from the family of the original owners that this house has been loved for decades, so I want to show that with a fresh coat of paint.  It also helps protect the wood and extend its life.

I also wanted to add a bit of color to the ceiling by painting it a “haint blue.”  It’s just a plywood ceiling, so having it painted a color will make it feel a bit more special.

To prime the chippy paint, I used Zinsser Peel Stop primer.

Before priming, I scraped off loose paint and cleaned up the surfaces by sweeping or wiping (around the door details).  I wasn’t going to get into a deep cleaning and fine sanding, but I just wanted to get things tidied up a bit.

Here is how the porch ceiling looks after a coat of primer.  So much better already, right?

Primer is always a bit unsatisfying, so I decided to set a goal to apply the first coat of porch ceiling paint as a treat to finish the day.  I usually don’t think of painting a ceiling as a treat, but I knew it would feel like one after priming woodwork all day.

After priming all of the wood on the porch (except around the window which I’ll do at a different time), I was almost out of primer, so I had to make a run to pick up some more.

See…there’s primer in there!

We have the best garden center at our Home Depot.  Whoever manages it does an amazing job and the liriope were on sale, so I couldn’t walk away.  I actually thought… I’ll get to put some plants in the ground as a treat to myself when the painting is done.  I laughed at myself for rewarding my hard work with more hard work.

After finishing up the priming along the garage, I put the first coat on the porch ceiling.  I selected Window Pane by Sherwin Williams and it is just perfect!  I used Duration exterior paint in gloss.  I think a bit of shine will be lovely when it reflects light, especially at night.

As I was finishing up the ceiling, I peeked down and saw Violet watching me.  It startled me and made me laugh.  It was a it’s-getting-close-to-dinner-time-mom look.

And here is how the first coat on the porch ceiling looks…

One coat actually looks pretty good, but I am going to put on one more coat to make sure everything is even.

As I was painting it, I thought about the fact that no one ever comes into our house through the front door. This haint blue ceiling will rarely be seen, but I still think it’s worth doing.  If I’m going to paint it anyway, why not paint it something that makes me smile?  And, it’s rumored that the pale blue keeps insects and birds from nesting against it (because they see it as sky), but who knows if that’s really effective.  I just love how it looks.

Oh, I also have some fun plans for the front door which I’ll share in another post.  For now, I’m just excited to get the trim and siding looking sharp.  Jeff and my mom are going to help me tomorrow, so we’ll get much further along…