Less than a year ago, as we sat in utter boredom in our NYC living room, I posed one of Randy’s most dreaded questions, “What if we….”. This is often the beginning of one of my “harebrained schemes.” I’m not sure how seriously Randy took my idea at the time, but a few months later these longtime New Yorkers became proud owners of a St. Petersburg, FL craftsman bungalow. We are now some of Florida’s youngest snowbirds.
Excitement that only new home ownership can deliver
At the time of purchase, the house definitely radiated snowbird, especially the aluminum awning exuding from above jalousie windows on a carpeted front porch (why???). Both interior and exterior were covered in seemingly endless shades of brown, a color scheme we referred to as “rotting avocado”. I’ll delve into the individual projects in subsequent posts, but the exterior before and after is below.
Given that this 1930s cottage would never be sprawling, I decided to lean into the cute, playing up the craftsman details by opening the porch, revealing the original attic vent details, and adding window boxes. Aside from accent colors, I stuck with a relatively neutral palate for resale purposes, though I couldn’t resist a pop of classic Florida seafoam green on the door and window boxes. A big shout out to Randy and my dad, who sprayed most of the exterior while I enjoyed endless Zoom calls. Randy prefers to keep his feet firmly on the ground, so in the evenings I painted anything above window height with a paintbrush.
As an impatient New Yorker at heart, I hate any unnecessary trips for paint, but I strongly suggest picking up several samples first. Lighting can dramatically change a paint color. Another insider tip is to step outside with paint chips; big box stores have horrendous florescent lighting that alters the look of paint colors. Be warned that if you stand out there too long, you may be asked about the cost of the riding mowers, as I was.
Also be sure to get the right paint for your exterior material. I find that experts at smaller paint-focused stores are more willing to share best practices and suggestions, though making friends with the more knowledgeable people at big box stores has also proven successful (thanks, Patty!). My neighbor’s father would be thrilled that I included this caveat; I enjoyed a protracted conversation with him while on the roof, and despite his concerns, I’m happy to confirm that you can indeed paint vinyl siding.
We tested multitudinous greys in several spots before landing on this relatively neutral grey with blue undertones (Gray Screen by Sherwin Williams). The door and window boxes are Dancing Mist +50%, by Valspar. Many similarly-aged women will understand my goal of capturing the sweetness of Miss Honey’s cottage in Matilda. I hope I pulled it off!
After: Cozy craftsman cottage