What color should I paint my shanty?

[Mellifluous]

Kevin and I have decided to paint the ole' love shack. It is really really in need of some shutters and paint. It might actually be pretty cute if we did the right color scheme. We were going to go for new siding and windows, but have decided to just do paint and shutters. We will end up renting it out at some point in the future so having something that does not look like a haunted house will be a plus! ;-)

I was thinking kind of a moss/sage green with red/brown shutters and cream colored trim.

Kevin is thinking dark yellow with wine shutters and white trim.

What would you guys go with if this was your house? The nice part is since it is an old house, you can have more fun with colors.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/legado/shanty.jpg

[Linda Y]

I know it would look like a little doll house if you paint it, but it sure has a lot of charm the way it is!

[CarolU]

Yeah, I like it as it is too. Maybe some white (what color IS the roof??) trim around the windows, pretty white flower boxes in front. Lots of white flowers around it.

Adorable.

If you're set on painting it, look in a lot of real estate magazines and see what color scheme you like.

[baileyholc]

I like it as is as well. Do a little land scaping and put in some flower beds and more pots and you will have a nice little cozy cottage.

[Privatetreaty]

Oh Mel, ask Barbwire.
She was an interior decorator in her previous life.


Sorry, I can't help you, sweetie.
I'm way too much "left brain", to be of any assistance.


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[Barbwire]

I say, torch the mother, and get yerself a double wide with polyester curtains and a redwood deck. 8-)

[Jasfino]

Country Living Magazine would love it just the way it is!

I would add some shutters..and maybe a cobblestone walk up to the front porch..

[Edurne]

I used to work in construction, and unfortunately like most construction managers, I could never think of anything more creative than "paint it white"......... although there was that Quiet Room (a locked concrete room) in a Psych ward that the painters did in a soft pink ...... just for me. :D

[Abejita]

yup I too would just re-stain it..now I might not go with white for the shutters and trim(in the humid climate and with trees around I think in a few years you might get the green algae?? growth ) Unless you can get a paint with some kind of inhibitor..I would probably still go with a cream or maybe even that sage green If you really want to change its look ..Put in some dormer windows on the second floor..

[Mellifluous]

Uh oh, I think I need to post some close ups! Right now, it is actually painted a color that I call "Forest Service Brown." I don't know how old the paint job is. When I went to wash some of the cobwebs off of it with the hose pipe, the paint started flaking off. :shock: The white columns on the porch are just primed, not actually painted yet. The roof is plain tin.

I agree about the landscaping needing help. You would never know that a Landscape Architect lives here. Somehow, spending time in the yard is waaaaay down on my list of things to do. Those 4 legged kids of mine seem to take my spare time! ;-)

[Edurne]

I lived in a cottage in the woods like that, painted sage green. It was really beautiful, very subtle. Current owner's now have it painted a bright blue - very sharp. Hard to make choices, but it is a beautiful little cottage and surroundings..... lucky you. :D

[Barbwire]

It has been pointed out to me, that Mel may have been offended by my post. I just want to let her know that it was a reference to a 1993 Sammy Kershaw song called "Queen of My Double Wide Trailer".

The lyrics go, in part, like this:

"Well I met her out at Murphy's restaurant
She said she was fresh from the farm
And I remember thinkin' for a country girl
That she went pretty well armed
We sat there talkin' by the lobster tank
I ordered her a slow gin fizz
And when them chicken fried steaks arrived
She said I like living like this

So I made her the queen of my double wide trailer
With the polyester curtains and the redwood deck
Times she's run off and I've got to trail her
Dang her black heart and her pretty red neck"

See? I wasn't being mean, afterall. :D

[Privatetreaty]

Barb, you must have been an interior designer MANY, MANY lives ago.

[Mellifluous]

Barb, don't worry - it is almost impossible to offend me! ;-) Plus, I thought your comment was funny. We actually would fit in with our neighbors across the road if we went that route. :D

My FIL wants us to tear the place down and build a new house - I told him no thanks. If for some ungodly reason we decide to stay, we will add on. The house is 100 years old and is one of the last ones standing that went with a huge farmstead that was in the area. It also served as a schoolhouse for a short time.

[pasofantasy]

Oh, cool! Aren't you fortunate, living in something with that history?

With such lovely surroundings and possible additions of flowers, I'd go more with greens and browns to blend. You'll see the flowers when you add them. They won't be overcome by a bright house. If it's open towards the camera, a sky blue might be nice.

[baileyholc]

Paint it red with white trim. It will explain alot. turning to run away now :lol:

[CarolU]

Well Mel, I love it's rustic charm and I think a total paint job would ruin that. Maybe sandblast the brown paint off and then use a nice dark stain to maintain the old wood character. I like the white shutters and window upstairs ideas. I might even add a half-high rustic split rail fence around that curve of the lawn/driveway, just for charm.

[JennLM]

You know this was not the thread to skim by early in the a.m. before coffee.. I had NO clue why you wanted to talk about the color of your panties LOL

[TrueStepPaso]

Okay...I say go with the original wood color, and then paint the shutter/trim/posts sage green.....I LOVE green. It would look adorable, yet classic........

[Linda Y]

Well, I would put shutters on it. If you really need to paint it, I think I would go with the yellow, only a very soft yellow. White shutters and trim. Then I would put stone on the foundation and that split rail fence CarolU mentioned. Dormers would look great on it!

[Privatetreaty]

We can't accurately do this over the internet.
This requires a field inspection.
I think we should all meet out at the property.
Hey Mel, get ready to fire up the barbie :lol:


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[Mrs. E.]

You could pressure wash it lightly and leave it as is. Maybe painted shutters.
It is a beautiful place and you would be taking away the charm of it if you were to paint it. And don't forget, once painted, it will need a fresh coat of paint every so many years.

[Barbwire]

Hey Mel, get ready to fire up the barbie :lol:

I'm already fired up, thank you very much. ;-)

[motorgypsy]

I love the rustic look of the house the way it is. I'd pressure wash it and pain it with the darker brown or grey brown Olympic fence and deck paint. They can tint it any color you want. It is fabulous and warranteed for about 32 years. It is really cute and rustic the way it is. The roof color is the problem. IF you want to take the time and do it yourself you could roof it with something like weathered grey architectural shingles (Lowes). We did our place ourselves with it and the roof looks really great. You rent the nail gun. Two people could do it in a week probably. If you can do it your self it's not too pricey. If you want a different color trim there is a really nice evergreen in the same Olympic paint that looks really good with the dark brown or grey brown.

If you're bound and determined to do a light color you may as well do viny siding because the wood that looks good weathered in the brown will look very yucky white or yellow or pale green and will take several coats. Vinyl siding is easy to do and ten years from now if you are tired of it you can just yank it.

I think there is a computer program that lets you change the color of the house so you can see how it looks. Please post pictures when you're finished. We LOVE the house!!

[Mellifluous]

Hmm, well I like the suggestions so far. I am having an internal conflict about the rustic ideas. It could very easily go into the rustic mode and Kevin and I would both like that. It actually had never occured to me before. The HP people might have issue because this style of house typically has some sort of interesting paint scheme and rustic is not the intended "style" of these old gable ell type of cottages. I will have to take pics of similar houses in Athens so you can see how creative some people get. We could pressure wash the paint off and silicone up the woodpecker holes in the siding and go with some sort of stain/sealer. The roof is going to stay as is because we just had it replaced a few years ago and we are both suckers for a tin roof. The rain sounds wonderful!

I would never ever ever ever put vinyl siding on the house, actually I would not put it on any house. I do not like the looks of it and it is a "dead end" product. If we were to reside the house we would go with wood or hardiplank. But, the idea here is to improve the exterior without spending a whole lot of money since we don't plan to live here forever and would prefer to save the money for our new house.

[Terry Wallace]

YES..A Field inspection is definitely called for here...lets all join inspector Hellon at Mel's (barbie)....

Mel...you call that a "shanty"? I thought a shanty was that wooden, tin roofed box my uncle drags around on top of frozen lakes....

Its a lovely CABIN... a cabin in the woods!

Shanty INDEED!

[Privatetreaty]

Hey Mel, get ready to fire up the barbie :lol:

I'm already fired up, thank you very much. ;-)


Oh brother, here we go again.
I was not referring to Barbwire, when I mentioned the barbie?
A barbie is an Australian term for BBQ :roll:

Do you honestly think Barbwire needs "firing up"?

I guess you guys are still reeling from all the excitement this morning.
Oh BTW, Homeland Security did not visit anyone with the initials BW today.


Hey Wallace, better watch where you put those double LL's honey.


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[motorgypsy]

Glad you feel that way about the vinyl siding!!

Since we really can't see the detailing on the house - I do love gingerbread and all the great colors they use. I still say redo the roof. They make a really pretty green and a really nice brown tin roof. We used the green on our springhouse. They also have a blue if you're going to do the house yellow. Ahhh - I just remembered - I'm pretty sure there is a paint you can use on the roof that does a good job. You may have to prime it first to make sure it doesnt' peel though. I hope you have a compressor and buy the best spraygun out there. (around $90 at Lowes for the automotive gun which is fabulous with the top load paint reservoir) It makes all the difference in the world. We painted our "burbs" house last year and I couldn't believe how much better the more expensive spraygun worked and how much paint it saved because it's so precise. You do have to keep them clean though. I ended up having to run acetone through ours once because number 1 son forgot to clean it. OUr paint man says methyl alcohol (racing fuel) is the best for cleaning windows and overspray even if it's dried. Have fun!!

[Privatetreaty]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/legado/shanty.jpg




vinyl siding . . .
is not an appealing finish to most structures.

A frame (wood) structure should be restored or repaired. The objective is to retain the charm, in order to maximize appeal (value).
Any good Realtor will tell you that what sells property is emotion, i.e, the cute, the dramatic, etc. Even new draws emotion to some.

If the frame lacks charm, then stucco may be more appropriate. The structure will appear as new construction. Some people love new construction. How can you tell a frame from a CBS structure apart? Look at the windows. The frame structure will have windows that are flush with the structure, while the CBS structured windows will have an exterior sill.

However, if the structure has undergone a series of carelessly planned additions and the roof line is flawed or not "clean", it doesn't matter what you do to it.

Mel's subject property has charm and the front porch is the only "addition". Yet the roof lines flow.



Repair rule of thumb:
The repairs should never exceed 50% of the structural (not the entire property) value.
Example:
If a structure is worth $100,000, the repairs should not exceed $50,000.


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[Abejita]

Oh BTW, Homeland Security did not visit anyone with the initials BW today.

yeah..but...the dynamite reference in my profile ;-) ..well lets say I was surprised when they let the President's helicopter fly right over the barn a few weeks ago when he was in York visiting the Harley plant...They were pretty low...

[Mellifluous]

I talked to Kevin about the staining idea. He said no way. He said that even though the current coat of paint does flake some when it is sprayed with water, it would be nearly impossible and VERY expensive to get all of the years of paint off of this house.

He said that pressure washing, priming and then painting is our only option.

So, time for some gingerbread trim and fun colors. :D I am going full Victorian cottage with the house now. I saw a nice purple in Athens yesterday. ;-)

[echo]

Check out the visual tool at:

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/do_it_yourself/

Pretty home. I love the split rail fence idea. Something coloniel would be very appropriate, such as the deep golds and creams of that era.

[motorgypsy]

Slow down Mel - show Kevin the Olympic fence and deck paint. It's a paint that looks like a stain and covers really well. Our cabin has both oil and latex paint on it already (some of it is barn red) and the Olympic did a great job covering. They have some lovely dark browns and grey browns and greens. All you need to do is pressure wash and paint. I doubt you need to prime. Check out their website. It will look just as rustic as it does now. We have a Western red Cedar house in the burbs and we stained it for about five years and it just didn't look very good because it doesn't age evenly. Our paint man used several different paints on it after that but we didn't like any of them until he talked to the Olympic guy and tried the Olympic decka nd fence paint. It has been great. We just wash it down with a house washing liquid or clorox every few years and it looks freshly painted. It's great stuff!

I do like Gingerbread but your place is so pretty the way it is. . . . .

I forgot one more thing - my dad told me that when he was a kid his father showed him that when you paint or varnish a wood that has no grain or that has pain underneath of a similar color you can take an old hair comb, remove some of the teeth in a random pattern and just comb the freshly painted wood to give it a wood grain. Since your house is already dark brown I bet it would work really well. Just a thought!!

If you really want gingerbread though - GO FOR IT - It's just paint and you can always repaint again if you don't like it.

[hast]

I'd either paint it red with white trim OR white with blue, like this... (it's really pretty in real life)
http://elaine.midgaard.us/the-barn/sc-stella-1/500/IMG_7365.JPG.500.jpg