Cliff May Restovation

You know it's been a long time since you've seen the sun when 75 degrees feels like 110. This presents a particular problem for doing exterior work on the house. The only thing worse than spending 12 hours painting trim is spending 12 hours painting trim and another 12 hours repainting trim because it rained and ruined your previous work.

Luckily, this weekend worked out okay. I was determined and I thought a 10% chance of rain was reasonable. It poured last night, but my paint dried. Anyhow, here's what got done:

BEFORE

AFTER (some progress)

Oh, and yes, I am aware that the door + windows do not match the side of the house. Apparently, the previous owners only repainted half of the house. So the front and back are the brighter color and the courtyard and sides remain the older, grayer tone. Fortunately, the courtyard is almost entirely windows and doors so they're all being repainted from the ugly Smurfey Blue.

The effect I'm going here is so that the windows and doors all blend in with a lighter color for the frames. I already like the look. In Cliff May's original designs, the windows and doors always matched the body color of the house. In today's world everyone wants window trim that "pops" the architect here wanted the doors and windows to blend in so you're eye could see through the glass without distraction. It also gives the house a very clean look.

Back in Black (or Brown?)

I'm also thining of changing my fascia board / beam color. One of the challenges is that the main beams are visible both in the interior and exterior...so I have to pick a color that works for both. Right now, I have white. Originally, the house came with either charcoal black or very very dark brown stain on the beams and fascia board. The black looks cool, and would be arguably more likely to go with anything inside...but I'm a bit afraid it could be too much and overpowering.