Wednesday, May 17, 2017

In a Fix - I Shutter to Think

Well hellooooooooooooooo! Did you miss me? I sure missed you! Good gracious has it been a crazy few weeks. I still can't believe we sold a house, found a new one, packed our gear, unpacked our gear all within 15 days. Oh and had my best friend visit and worked. As the saying goes though, "If there's a will, there's a way." Darn if that ain't the truth! hee,hee,hee.

So, since we moved into "Bayfield," it has been one thing after another to fix. The people who owned this little cottage were "corporate" people, not "handy" people. Needless to say, we have replaced tons of burned out light bulbs, replaced a broken toilet seat, painted the laundry room before the new washer and dryer arrived and cleaned out lots of stuff they left behind. On top of that, the refrigerator sprang a leak, the microwave is almost dead and the dishwasher overflowed onto the kitchen floor. David is starting to call this the "money pit!" LOL! Even with everything going nuts, we absolutely LOVE this cottage and the neighborhood and our new neighbors. We have no plans to ever move again until we are ready to go to the "garden" as Mommy Syl would say.

Today, I thought I would start off my first installment of "In a Fix," with some photos of the outside and my shutter dilemma. This first photo is the one that came from the real estate listing. The yard and house look so pretty don't they? Well of course they do! Just like they do to movie stars, this photo has been edited and photo shopped. Yep, you read that right, photo shopped!



Here's what the yard, house and landscaping really look like.




How's that for reality TV. hee,hee,hee. The yard got Army Worms and the previous owners didn't treat it, so needless to say, they had a buffet on the lawn. I have already talked with a landscaper about what we are going to do. That will be in our next episode.


David and I decided to pick one major project, since unlike the TV shows, it will take us years to complete everything as we will have to save our pennies for each thing. Thus, we both agreed that the exterior of our house needed some serious curb appeal. We wanted people to drive by and know the cottage was under new management. Haaaaaaaa!

So, before the landscaper starts, I thought we could at least paint the faded out shutters and remove the plastic window boxes. Here's how it looked when we took the shutters down.



You can see an outline of the shutters as the house paint has faded so badly.



Here's another angle.



The thing is, I kinda like not having shutters on the house. Now, I know I would have to paint the house to get rid of the shutter outline, but I really like how simple it looks. A fresh coat of a soft creamy, pale yellow on the house, with white trim and a green front door would look really great. Hmmm.....


Since we can't afford to have the house painted yet, we needed to put the shutters back up. I picked a really soft green color for them in a satin finish. Well, David hated the color. He is a creature of habit and we have always had black shutters. He wanted black semi-gloss on them. What is it with men and shiny objects?????

So, black semi-gloss it is....



But, I hate them! I don't like how they make the house look even more faded, I don't like them with the brown roof and I don't like how heavy they make the house look. Note to self, listen to my gut and never use semi-gloss on shutters.

My first thought was to take them back down and paint them a darker, warm green instead of the light green I originally picked. This way it would be a compromise for both of us. However, when I was looking at these photos, my eye goes back to what I think really does look best and that is no shutters at all. David is ok with that option too.

I shutter to think about how much it will cost to have the house painted, but again, if there is a will, there is a way. ;)

What do you think? Would you choose dark green shutters, the black shutters, or no shutters?

Hugs and see ya next week!
Michelle

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Michelle i like the lighter coloured shutters,i think the house looks bear without them and the dark shutters look too heavey,good luck with what you decide my friend xx

Hi! I'm Lisa said...

I like the shutters but the black is a little stark. Keep them up for now.

Unknown said...

Green with out a doubt. I painted the front door on my white house....PURPLE!
The neighbors love it. Jim....not so much!

Heather said...

I am afraid I would want to go with an Aqua or teal shutter. Someone near me used Aqua on their shutters and I love them. Watching all your moves takes me back 3 years to when we went thru several quick moves in a row. Hope we are both now in our forever home!

Cynthia said...

I would leave them off. Try power washing the area where they were. Black looks to busy and makes house look smaller.

Nancy said...

Well, I have to tell ya Michelle. We had our house vinyl sided quite a few years ago now. The contractor wanted me to pick out a color for shutters. I asked him to hold off on adding that cost and was so happy I did. Because... I ending up loving the uncluttered shutterless look. Certainly works even better for your home than ours which is a New England raised ranch. So I vote no shutters. Black would be my last choice for me and you. :-)

RG said...

I'm a guy. Whatever.

Jeanette said...

I liked them off but if they have to go back i like your choice of colour. The black is just too dark & heavy looking. Hugs, xx

Sherri said...

Michelle, you have a beautiful home!! 😄❤️

quiltmom anna said...

You have impeccable taste Michelle so you should never be afraid to trust your gut. Your new cottage is lovely and you will have it looking stunning before you know it. How is it that you moved to this new abode? Wishing you and David many happy years in this lovely cottage.
Warmest regards,
Anna

Createology said...

Michelle Dear your new cottage is adorable. Photoshopping a listed home should not be allowed! Good luck with your lawn repairs. As for shutters...I feel you and David will do what what is best for the both of you. Enjoy your cottage and all it brings to your lives. Home Sweet Home...Priceless. <3

Stephanie said...

House is perfect....like the lighter green shutters!

Tanya Quilts in CO said...

Black shutters..

Pat said...

Love the house without shutters. I think the house looks fresher and more updated without them.

Unknown said...

I kind of like the house without the shutters. I think it looks more like a cottage without them.

Bert said...

I like the shutters, but I agree with you on the color. Your shade of green would look much better than the black.

Unknown said...

I like the shutters, but agree about the semicolons. My hubby likes chrome and anything shiny! I laughed about your shiny comment!

Kris said...

Hi Shell - I love the look of shutters, but the shiny black, in my humble opinion, are too dark and too shiny!! Go with your gut, girlfriend!! You have fabulous taste!! Look who you pick for your sweetie, right David??

Melody A. said...

I think the shutters look fantastic, like a light shirt with a dark tie!! !! so maybe you could live with it for a year or two until you can repaint the whole house!! such a pretty place!! have fun and take care from Iowa

Tammy said...

I love the black shutters. You call it a cottage, and the shutters give it that cottage feel. The black give is a "Cape Cod" feel. Can wait to see your progress.

Susie said...

Hi Michelle I like no shutters, unless of course you need them to keep the sun out. If they are just decorative definitely not, because if you don't put them back then you won't have to paint them again in a few years!!! I am all for less work and more time to play with fabric!! Congratulations on the move and good luck in your new home. Hugs, Susie x

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

First of all, I am SO THRILLED you are in!!!!!!!!!!!! It makes me remember 20 years back now, when we first moved into this place. We took down the plastic shutters and started the curb appeal transformation too. OK, I agree with you Shell; a yellow house, a green door but how about a small PICKETT fence, just at the entrance...ya know, really cottagy?????

Oh how much you will be doing to this life-time home. We recently took one afternoon and repainted our cedar shutters FRENCH BLUE. We love it, but there are a few things we need to do to really make it complete, since the brown fascia and the roof don't match. But of course we can't replace all of that, but me more than Ruben, I'd love to paint this brick of ours WHITE.....he loves the idea, but the expense and commitment of dealing with the paint gets in the way.

HAVE FUN and keep us posted!

Sherry said...

I liked the no shutter look.

But if hubby wants shutters he should have let you have the green. The black does not do a thing for the house.

Good luck working out the rest of the compromises. . . I will be watching since my DH & I are contemplating a move in a couple of years so I know there are going to be lots of compromises for us! LOL

Have a lovely day.

Susan P said...

I say the shutters are painted and look fresh. Leave them until you can repaint the house and address the color then. Why do extra work?

Erica said...

I love shutters but I think a dark green would look better than black! The May Magic has begun.....

Stitching Cat said...

While I am a shutter person, I like your cottage without them good luck putting your special touches on your new cottage.

kc said...

OK, first off, congrats on the new digs....I know y'all will make it beautiful no matter what you do. I know you like the clean, uncluttered look, but I think I actually prefer it with the shutters. But, I do agree with you, and most others, the black is awfully stark and harsh, not inviting and warm, like your personality. I think I'd go with a navy blue on the shutters, and maybe a burgundy door and cream siding with white trim. Odd for me, as I despise red and all its various hues and shades (well, ok, except for Candy Apple Red on a Corvette or Mustang...). Or maybe dark green on the shutters, cream on the siding, white on the trim and, oh, I dunno, how about spruce on the door? Our house down here is white stucco, dark teal columns and accents, and soon to be a lighter teal door. We have also been in the total re-do stages for the last 25 years...and 5 houses. Not counting the 6 years we spent in the PERFECT 5th wheel...

Good luck, whatever you decide. Can't wait to see the final product!

Tina said...

Oh gosh! I would dither and dither with this decision as I can 'see' all three choices and I wouldn't want to make a mistake if I didn't like my final choice. I really enjoyed reading the comments that were left for this post and I'm so curious to see what you and David decide. I am the worst when it comes to things like this!! But I really love your new home - it's so wonderfully charming even with the outside things that need attention. I love it!

Susan said...

I like the shutters - but they need to be a softer colour - perhaps a grey or to match the roof.

Draffin Bears said...

Dear Shell,

First let me say how gorgeous your new home is and I know you must be very happy here and lovely that it is in a great neighbourhood .
It is often the way moving into a new home, that things need to be done to your liking to get it how you like and want it.
I say just take your time and you will eventually get your new home to how you love it.
Thank you for the very kind birthday card, wishes and your wonderful friendship.
Best of luck with your new home and can't wait to see more.
Hugs
Carolyn

Connie said...

When I saw the one without the shutters my immediate thought was that I liked it better without them. Just another opinion. Very nice looking house. Best wishes.

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