Client’s House Exterior Makeover

The best part about helping clients with their decorating dilemmas is making them happy. It is the most rewarding aspect of the job and I am at my happiest with a long-distance consultation when the client sends me excited emails with their progress shots, and they let me share in the joy of seeing our vision come to life, regardless of how near or far we live from one another. Today I want to share that joy with you and show you a wonderful project I worked on recently with the most amazing and trusting client.  Not so long ago my client  and her husband purchased a beautiful shingle-style home in a bucolic New England town and she reached out for advice regarding the exterior color scheme.

Before I show you more images, I would like to say that my client has THE. MOST. AMAZING taste for fabric and furniture, and a great appreciation for antiques (which she collects). She shares my love of traditional design and is trusting and patient, and willing to step outside her comfort zone. All big pluses! We are currently in the process of transforming her living room and are waiting on a couple of fabrics for window treatments.

When we wrapped up our living room consultation earlier this fall, she immediately reached out for advice regarding her home’s exterior. The house is a classic New England shingle-style home, with charming details inside and out, but the dark stain and the red trim didn’t do justice to the home’s beautiful architecture and, most importantly, my client wasn’t happy with it. We worked closely on several possible scenarios, both dark and light color scheme options and poured over a number of stunning inspiration photos to determine the appropriate and the beautiful.

She particularly wanted her house to feel uplifting and fresh, yet also timeless and elegant. Typically, shingle-style homes on the Eastern seaboard boast dark colors (often aged singles or gray stains) but my client also loved the idea of going with a lighter shade. Here is another photo of the house, before: 

And here are images sent to me by my client of the “after”:

Inspired by the work of architect Patrick Ahearn who worked on several homes on her street (including that of a good friend) she and her husband decided to go with a beautiful warm white on the exterior and contrasting dark green on the doors (and soon, shutters) and we tested a number of different whites to find the one that looked best under the capricious New England sky. 

My client loved the contrast between the white exterior and the vernacular green as an accent, and I am THRILLED that she decided to go for such a dramatic change because that willingness to take a (calculated) risk led to absolutely wonderful results.

As part of our color consultation we also looked at ways to enhance the curb appeal and the exterior architecture (which greatly influences the color scheme) and we will be adding shutters on some of the windows on the front and side elevations, boxwood spheres, a trellis or two, fragrant climbing roses and hydrangea at the back. But the most important thing is that my client loves her home’s new look, and neighbors stop by to comment on the incredible transformation. 

Hope you enjoyed this peek inside one of our favorite projects! Thank you so much to my amazing client who was a dream to work with and who so graciously agreed to share these images with you! 

Happy Wednesday! 

P.S. We are accepting new clients for 2022 so if you need help with a decorating dilemma, feel free to contact me about our design services at cafedesignhome@gmail.com.