Friday, March 2, 2012

Final photo!

I've been waiting for a sunny day so I could take non-phone photos of the finished paint job. And then I wanted my before photos to show what it looked like when I actually bought it, arbor vitae in front and all. Guys, between the 30,000 photos (it's quantity, not quality!) I've taken and the two shows filmed here I think I have the best documented house in Portland.

And yet, I don't have a facing shot of the house with the arbor vitae, I guess because you couldn't really see the house behind them. So I have screen shots. I apologize.

I loved my inspector so much. Total sweetheart.

Can you believe I overbid on this crackden?


And then I tore out the arbor vitae with my friend David.


And then we had the rhododendrons removed and painted some swatches.


And now she looks like this!

Sunny day real estate

I'm really pleased with how the paint color picks up the bit of purple in the roof and in the bricks on the fireplace.


And I think it's going to look great with all of the plants (all the plants! all of them!) that I'm going to put in front.

On a stormy day. Still cheerful!

Even with the pink tree, LeAnn.


I love it, I don't care what anyone says. Pink + orange forever!


Bonus Offbeat Green because I'm in love with this scene!

24 comments:

  1. Gawd I forgot all about those lovely Arborvitae...and for just a moment I was shocked that the Dogwood is already blooming (need more coffee). As a member of the pink and orange club (hot pink Rhodies and orange shade pavilion) I can testify that you shouldn't let a fleeting moment of intensity scare you. Whenever I start to be alarmed I pull out Christopher Lloyd's "Exotic Planting for Adventurous Gardeners" it always makes me feel better.

    Anyway....brilliant choices! And I love that green window on the back of the house, especially with the back-story of why it's hanging there.

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  2. Ha! Are my photoshopping skills that good?

    Thank you! I can't wait to see what you and the others would put in the front yard. :)

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  3. IT LOOKS SO GOOD!!! And oh my god I LOVE the door color. And the pink tree looks fabulous with it as well, pink + orange = love. Seriously, totally awesome.

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  4. Hahahaha...I did a double-take on the Dogwood as well...it's a little bit of PhotoShop Fabulous ;-) I KNOW that orange and pink should't work together...but as I found out a while ago, sometimes they are just so great (I always look at the colors of common Echinacea...pink and orange...and hey, they're pretty rad, right)! Love the paint job...such a HUGE transformation.

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  5. Thank you, Meryl! How about you can have my orange door and I'll take your fireplace?

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  6. Thank you! And yes, nature knows what looks good! I just have to make sure I don't end up with too many hot colors competing in front. I think about Laurrie's post about her redbud tree and I worry that I'm not thinking enough about bloom times and colors: http://laurries.blogspot.com/2010/04/oklahoma-redbud.html

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  7. What a transformation! It looks incredible!

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  8. Love, love LOVE your yellow door (sorry, I just can't see it as orange...maybe it's my monitor). I look forward to watching your whole look evolve...and seeing it for real at the plant swap.

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  9. Hey Heather. Love your blog and this DIY project. I'd like to talk to you about an opportunity to blog about this (or another DIY project) on a new digital magazine that's launching in May called Tinkernation. Shoot me an email at kara(at)detailspr.net if interested in learning more. Thanks!

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  10. LOL! House swap! :)

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  11. See? All of that hemming and hawing turned out great: it's really, really lovely. And just a note: I'm a fan of pink and orange. It's the underlying tones that make them go well or clash. As for that bright green on the windowframe? Genius. I'm stealing it.

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  12. Thank you, Ricki! I can't wait to pump you for plant suggestions! ;)

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  13. Yum! The colors work, and the door is perfect, both with the pink tree framing the house or without it. The door actually reads as a neutral, not an accent color like the green. Can't wait to see it all landscaped.

    I finally saw a clip (not the whole episode) of Portlandia and I recognized shots of your kitchen I think! I wish I could get whole episodes but IFC and Hulu only give clips of most.

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  14. You should do a post on color theory. Have you already done that? And I have lots of paint leftover if you want an offbeat window. :)

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  15. I don't think you have to worry yet about clashing colors. I seem to always gravitate toward cooler colors and have to occasionally remind myself to toss in a few hot, contrasting colors...of course, then they REALLY stand out! Color theorists (like Gertrude Jekyll) tell us that too many hot colors can tire the eye...but then again, it's YOUR garden...and if it makes you happy, that's all that really matters, IMHO :-) Plus...a big part of gardening is moving things around until they look good...Never give up, never surrender!

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  16. Katy @ Turtle HouseMarch 2, 2012 at 7:14 PM

    Heather! I love it!! What an amazing before and after - I think the colors look fantastic. Also, pretty sure we should start a Facebook group for people with orange doors. http://bit.ly/xtaH5H :-D

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  17. Agh, so cool that you have one too!

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  18. Okay, now I NEED a sign that says "Never give up, never surrender!" in my yard!

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  19. Thank you, Laurrie! And I'm so glad you got to see part of our Portlandia episode. I really hope they make the whole ep available online at some point. Then you can see our kitchen AND an older woman vomiting on our front lawn. Really.

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  20. What a transformation Heather!

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  21. It looks fantastic! And that pink tree with the orange door is divine.

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  22. Thanks, Becky! I can't wait for that tree to start blooming.

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