From Stoop to Porch

April 28, 2015 / Lauren Harper Newton / Leave a comment

Nothing says, “Welcome, friends!” like a sweet little covered porch!

Truthfully, there wasn’t really anything wrong with our original front stoop; a sturdy set of stairs and a little landing leading right up to our front door. Totally functional? Yes. Something to remember? Ehhhh, not really.

Its lack-luster presence and barely-there overhang at the front door (hardly enough to keep a guest out of the rain as they ring the doorbell) just wasn’t exactly the warm welcome we wanted. So, with a few very simple changes/additions, our so-so stoop has become a precious porch!

We worked with our builder to design a simple, architecturally appropriate overhang that would shelter the entire front stoop and add a little extra curb appeal to the front. I could describe it all to you, but wouldn’t you rather see pictures? I thought so…

A few “before” pictures:

Before! In fact, this photo is so "before" that it was one of the very first photos we snapped as we were beginning the journey to buy the house (September 2014)... it was ours roughly one year later!

Before! In fact, this photo is so “before” that it is actually one of the very first photos we snapped way back when we were a couple of baby birds just beginning the journey to buy our Nest (taken September 15, 2014)… it was officially ours roughly one year later (we closed on September 25, 2015!).

The “after” pictures:

Well hello, pretty porch!

Side view! You can see here how much farther the porch roof extends from the house. It now shelters the entire landing.

New front door!

Close-up of the tongue and groove ceiling.

And just in case you didn’t quite get the picture… here are a couple of side-by-sides:

How Appropriate

April 25, 2015 / Lauren Harper Newton / 1 Comment

Ladies and Gentleman, we have chosen a paint color! (For the outside, at least. 🙂 )

8 paint swatch cards and 5 sample jugs later, we have stood close, stood back, squinted, discussed, and viewed them in nearly every hour of daylight… introducing the color chosen to grace the exterior of our nest:

Ta-Daaah! Sherwin Williams’ Gauntlet Gray it is.

Appropriately named for the “challenge” we’ve endured (Mostly kidding, it has been a lot of fun, too!) to bring the Newton Nest back to its former glory, Gauntlet Gray just seems like a fitting color in which to shroud our bundle of sticks.

Swatch testing!

We hope to paint the outside in just a few weeks—stay tuned!

Patchwork Perfect

April 17, 2015April 17, 2015 / Lauren Harper Newton / 2 Comments

Hallelujah – our cedar shakes are finally finished! The outside of our Nest has an interesting pattern these days, but after a lot of removing, replacing, and refurbishing, we have a solid exterior again.

Although we think a patchwork quilt is a thing of beauty, the Newtons definitely plan to paint the shakes to ensure that they all blend together soon; so choosing a paint color has become a top priority over the last few weeks…

As part of shaping up the outside, we have also replaced all the trim along the roofline. Initially, we were hoping to patch areas of rotten trim like we did with the shakes, but after some consideration, we decided that this would probably result in a “chopped up” look. Plus, removing and replacing all the trim with new, treated materials would be less labor intensive and weather evenly over time.

So, without further ado, here’s a look at our newly-thatched Nest:

We had a crew of professionals who did the majority of the cedar shake repair, but the perfectionist of the Newton duo also learned to replace shakes so he could switch out the few sub-par shingles that missed the first cut.