Transforming the Exterior of Our Home
I’m no expert in exteriors…
I have had many people reach out asking for help with the exterior of their home, but to be honest, it’s not my strength. I always tell people I won’t allow them to pay me for exterior advice because I personally wouldn’t pay myself for my exterior advice - ha! Know your strengths, that’s not one of mine.
So rather than sharing my advice on your home, I’ll share my process for creating exterior spaces at my own. Note, these projects have occurred over the course of years. I have a hard time imagining what an exterior space could look like, especially when it’s a pretty large area. So, we’ve tackled one major exterior project at a time and kind of let the ideas come one after the next! I didn’t realize we had done so much until I put it into a list!
Where it Began
The photos above were taken before we made any changes to the exterior of our house. My initial thoughts were that I didn’t love the brick color, and the house didn’t have much of a defined style. There were elements I liked, but it wasn’t necessarily inspiring in the curb appeal department. We also had NO IDEA whether or not our land was even usable behind the house. I didn’t get great photos of the true before, unfortunately, but aside from the first 20 feet off the deck, the yard was solid brush. That leads us to the very first project we tackled.
Clearing Brush
As soon as we moved in, Andy started clearing out the overgrowth and brush in the backyard. We knew we wouldn’t be able to use the space at all until he did that because you couldn’t even walk into the yard. Many of the trees were being choked out by others and were unhealthy.
I am so glad he started working on this right away because we were pleasantly surprised with what we found. After clearing out all of the overgrowth, we realized we had three tiers of usable space directly behind the house. It was possible our yard was sloped down and not usable, so we were very happy.
We purchased a wood chipper so we could mulch up the cedar branches we removed, and use that as a base for what would later become the play area. It also helped keep more unwanted plants from growing up in the cleared areas. We hired a company to mulch up the larger tree trunks and things that wouldn’t fit in our chipper. Yay for being able to reuse a lot of what was removed!
Naked Neighbor (Yes, You Heard Me) + Shed
After living in the new house for a summer, we realized our 90-year-old neighbor liked to swim in his pool naked. He didn’t use a towel when he walked around the pool, AND he didn’t have landscaping to block the view from our house. We originally planned to put Ivy’s playground right off our back porch, to the side of our yard closest to that neighbor. However, we realized quickly that would not be the best placement. Can you imagine us inviting other little kids over for a play date, and there’s a naked 90-year-old man in the background?! We also needed storage for our lawnmower and other yard tools, so it was an easy decision to build a shed there.
In January 2022, we hired two friends to build the shed. Andy and I worked together to design it, then passed off the plans to our friends to do the build. I think normally Andy would have liked to do this himself, but with the number of projects on our list, it made sense to hire it out. After the shed was finished, Andy built an area for storing firewood and added a ramp so we could drive the lawnmower inside. Que Cute!
Fire Pit
Shortly after the shed was built, Andy and I decided it would be nice to create a fire pit area with string lights. After clearing the brush, we realized we had quite a few big flat rocks we could use to define the fire pit area. Already on-site and free! Well, free in terms of money, but we definitely still had to pay in labor (our own) to move them to the spot we had planned. We brought in some base material to flatten out the area, moved some boulders in place for extra seating, laid out the flat pavers, and topped with gravel. By the time we finished the project, it was way too hot outside to use the fire pit, but it did eventually get used.
Windows + Painting + New Door
April - May 2022 was when the big changes started to happen!
While the previous owner replaced many of the windows, there were still several that were cloudy and/or inoperable so we went ahead and replaced those. Just in time for the heat of summer!
Next was the daunting task of figuring out what to do with the brick exterior. I do (mostly) agree with critics of painting brick. It’s very trendy, and it seems like everyone has a painted white brick house right now. I feel like older neighborhoods are losing some of their charm and the houses are looking more and more copy + paste. Also, sometimes the color of the brick is beautiful and appropriate for the home.
All of the above said, I didn’t take painting the brick lightly. Red brick can be beautiful and timeless on the right home, but it didn’t work with ours. The interior of our home couldn’t be described as traditional. Our house is full of angles, unobstructed views and lots of glass, and the main floor is split level. The fireplace is clad in the typical hill country stone you see in many homes in our area, which was interesting considering the exterior was brick. I started to explore the idea of painting the brick and wanted to ensure there was a paint option that let the brick breathe, so peeling and flaking wouldn’t occur later. I decided if we painted the house, I’d use Romabio mineral-based paints. Mineral paints are breathable and calcify to the masonry, allowing moisture to release. That way, moisture wouldn’t be trapped below a paint’s surface, causing bubbling and flaking.
I started playing around with ideas on my computer and trying out different paint colors to see what worked. After trying out quite a bit, I settled on the mock-up below. Don’t judge it. I’m not a pro in exteriors and I said that right away, haha! I never intended to share this. I included a new door and some landscaping ideas as well, so I could see how everything fit together. I decided to go with black for two reasons: 1. I wanted the house to feel a bit more modern and like it had a defined style, and 2. I wanted our house to essentially disappear from the street. Our house is set back quite a bit from the street, and we have many trees between the street and our home. When the house was red brick, it stood out like a sore thumb in its hill country setting. By changing the house to black, you almost can’t see it from the street and the trees/landscape can take center stage. I like the privacy that provides us too since we usually opt for minimal window treatments in main living spaces.
If you’re thinking of painting your house, 10/10 recommend going to Sherwin Williams paint visualizer tool and painting your house digitally before you fully commit. You can select “paint a photo” and upload one of your own to paint. That’s how I did the image below and it helped me decide on my final colors. I would also recommend digitally painting every side of your house if you have more than one type of siding. Also, always test samples outside. Paint looks different in full sun to shade to interior artificial lighting.
In the end, we chose to tint Romabio’s masonry flat paint to Sherwin Williams Iron Ore for the brick. The trim and siding are painted with regular exterior trim paint and are SW Tricorn Black and SW Latte, respectively.
I unfortunately can’t recommend the company that painted our house, because they did a pretty bad job. They painted things that weren’t supposed to be painted, painted some things the wrong color, and tried to get away with one thin coat in some areas. The red brick was still peeking through in some spots. Eventually, we got it where we wanted it, but we had to call them back several times to fix issues. And, they weren’t the most professional in their conversations with us.
Next up was the door! I selected a door from The Front Door Company here in San Antonio. They didn’t carry the exact finish I wanted, so I opted for an unfinished door that I could stain myself. The door from their showroom, the unfinished door, the stains I used, and the finished product are shown below. The finished product is not too far off from the natural wood, with some of the pink cancelled out.
To Be Continued…
Are you still with me? This blog post is getting long!! I will share a Part 2 soon, which includes:
Observation deck with lofted hammock + playground
Landscaping the front yard (including an “after” photo with the house painted)
Creating a flat surface for a pool in the summer and yard games in the cooler months
The veggie garden of my dreams
Backyard renovation (happening this month!) including a stamped concrete patio and actual, permanent, flat steps to each tier of the backyard. Yay, no more twisted ankles!
There may even be a Part 3 because we’re always working on something.
Questions?
Do you have any questions on the exterior projects shared here? Leave me a comment!
