This fall Matt and I wrapped on the biggest DIY project we have ever tackled. Renovating this house was a beast! There was new construction and renovating the old… We finished up the landscaping, weeded and mulched every bed, and got ready to say goodbye to a home that provided us with lots of love, laughter and memories. We loved the neighbourhood and proximity to the lake- it was definitely not easy to put a for sale sign in the front yard!
Something we get asked about often is the custom cedar siding. No, it’s not vinyl, and yes we hand stained all of it! The top is a discontinued clear coat oil based product, and all of the solid blue and white is Benjamin Moore’s Arbourcoat solid water based stain. This house means so much to us for so many reasons! (it’s currently for sale if you know anyone who is looking!) I wanted to take a minute to address some of the choices we made for the exterior of this house, and whether or not we would do it again.
When we moved in this house looked very different…
It sat on a relatively bare lot, in a sea of grass with a few plants scattered here and there. Some of you have been following since the start of this house journey. ( if not you can find a ton of tours and details here) We knew that the original house had cedar siding underneath the old vinyl, and so when planning our addition we decided to install cedar sidewall shingles (often described as cedar shakes) with the intention of refinishing the original lap siding, or going over it with the same sidewall shingles we used on the addition if it wasn’t in good shape.
The profile of the original siding was a custom round bevel- so we couldn’t match it with anything readily available. Because of that we decided to switch things up- same material (cedar) different application- and unify it all with the same color scheme. We also brought the same shingles onto the front of the original house.
I think our neighbours probably thought we were a little crazy, because our house and yard where a bit of a disaster/frankenstein for a while there.
However, in the end it was worth it! It did take a ton of time, and a huge learning curve… but it’s a cute home with loads of character! I adore the texture that the shingles add- and with the right tools it’s pretty straightforward to install.
This “accidental DIY home” became so much more than we could have imagined when we bought it 8 years ago. When it was a bare lot, it seemed impossible to envision established trees, a bountiful garden, or a spot to sit and enjoy the lazy days of summer.
It’s a good reminder for me now as in some ways it feels like we are back to a similar place with this farm. Even though it is such a different property, which is far more established and sprawling… it doesn’t quite feel like home yet. We were really able to put our stamp on our last house, adding in touches that were a dream to create.
But as this lake house taught me, good things take time. When we started I didn’t know we were capable of doing a project like this! But somehow, we did. It taught me to have courage, learn new things, dream big and that I adore a good picket fence 😉
-Miss Ash
Lovely! I am always afraid of remodeling as my fiance has had his trying to get done for 2 years! And his is a lot simplier.
This is beautiful! What is the name of this paint color if you don’t mind me asking?
the blue is called “Arrowhead Lake” It is a behr color.