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Well, we finally made one of the biggest changes we have made to our house yet, and now when people come over for the first time, we can tell them to look for “the navy blue house on the corner,” and that feels so much nicer than “that sort of tan or green house.” Right?

Last year, one of our home goals was to get our house painted. Not only did we have some wood rot issues (normal, not excessive), but we also just really wanted to ditch the sort of poop greenish brown color for something more our style. I have to say, if you’re wanting to freshen up your curb appeal and you have a couple thousand bucks to spend, this is SOOO WORTH IT. I mean…look at this before and after!

We ended up choosing Sherwin Williams Dark Night after trying like…50 other navy blue and blue-gray samples. Honestly, any of them likely would have been fine, but I do think Dark Night was the right choice. We ALMOST went with Sherwin Williams Naval (which is a bluer blue–like more patriotic) but Dark Night has a VERY slight tint toward the greener side, which I really like. It was also the darkest of the ones we tried, which I also really liked.

I tend to over analyze things anyway, but because this was a big purchase we’d be living with for several years, I had even more trouble deciding on the final color. There are just so many variables to consider. Light areas, dark areas, trim colors, accent pieces (like our brick–which we may still whitewash) and on and on and on.

At one point, our house looked like this:

This was the shed that had been built onto the back patio under the deck, and if you look at the above photo, you’ll see some black mold on the bottom of that (rotten) board. Yuck. So, we tore that off because it was disgusting and not very functional and obviously moldy.

And when I say we, I mean Wyatt. It feels so much more open and clean back there now! And, we were able to get a freestanding shed for the backyard that matches the house and is as cute as can be. Just look at it back there!

And yes, we 100% hired this job out because we don’t have the tools or the vacation time to devote to this, and because we have a two story back part of the house over a concrete patio that I was terrified Wyatt would fall onto if he tried to do it using our extension ladder.

But mostly, we knew our time (and sanity) (and SAFETY!) was more valuable than what it would cost to have professionals with the right equipment to come do it.

It truly made such a huge difference as soon as the paint started to go up, and they were finished with the painting in one day. In the end, that was a great decision. However, just like with hiring out our drywall, and our carpet installation, we had a couple of issues. And yes, we did get recommendations, so I can’t blame all of it on poor contractor choices. I just think we’re picky and have high standards. Still, the company we went with was quite a bit cheaper than other bids we had so I am pretty pleased even with the things we don’t love.

I have been waiting to share this update with you all so I could have non winter photos, and I figured since we hadn’t done any of the other curb appeal projects on the list yet, at least the tulips were a nice touch.

I mean, the dandelions sure are festive, right? You can so tell we are big “lawn people.”

I mean, we’d like to be “lawn people” but I think we’re more “yard people.” Anyone else feel the difference in those two classifications?

Anyway, we do want to get some other outside projects done this year, I think next on our list is a new front door and I’ve almost decided on a color (in theory) so now it’s time to go get the sample (and buy the door!) so we can do that! We also want to replace the garage door (you can see the sort of “waves” in the wood on this one since it is getting worn and old. It’s nice that they painted it, but Wyatt says it’s starting to break down and will need to be replaced soon.

For now, I’m just enjoying this new view.

I know a bold navy blue house might not be for everyone (and I recently saw a freshly painted white house with dark wood accents near our neighborhood that I’m swooning over…shh!) But if you’re looking for the perfect navy color for an exterior job, I totally recommend this one! 

What is your dream house color?