we painted our house

we painted our house | almost makes perfect

woo! as promised last week, i’m so excited to show you that our house is WHITE! now i’m not saying that anything surrounding the house itself looks good, but i can’t even believe what an improvement the paint job made. when we used to drive by our house and see it from the street, we’d think oh that has potential, now it basically looks like a cute house. now check out this ugly before color… 

our house before and after | almost makes perfect

BLERFGUNSHSTINE!! EW. unfortunately i forgot to take wide before photos when we first moved in, but check out the previous front door that you know i hated so much and was the first thing i replaced.

front door before and after | almost makes perfectwe painted our house | almost makes perfect

so much better right?! i loved the new door when we swapped it out, but i can’t believe how much better it looks against white. oh man that’s a sexy new door. also we were planning on painting our garage door, but once we painted the house we noticed the garage door suddenly matched the trim and we were instantly stoked we went with a lighter trim color.

we definitely could have gone with more contrast, but i feel like this low contrast look is real modern and chic and i am a huge fan. we went with benjamin moore aura exterior moonlight white (2143-60) in satin and aura exterior rodeo (1534) in semi gloss for the trim.

as for other things… this is the first time you’re seeing the exterior of the house, so i’ll tell you some of the ugly things we’re planning to address :

the windows are very awkward, so we want to grow something in front to hide that weird in between area. see those ugly pipes and things under the window? we’re going to build a box to disguise that area and paint it to match the house. we’re also considering maybe painting the window frames black (although that can be a bad idea right?) or possibly building wood frames for them to match the door. we were also considering maybeeeee fixing the front yard and making it look less like dirt and weeds.

we painted our house | almost makes perfect

anyway, still a lot to do but the paint has made it feel like a whole new house. i’m really really happy.

we painted our house | almost makes perfectwe painted our house white | almost makes perfect

SOURCES

house color : benjamin moore moonlight white
trim color : benjamin moore rodeo
overhead light : ikea
house numbers : amazon
mailbox : amazon
front door : eto doors
keypad deadbolt : kwikset
door handle : kwikset


this post was in partnership with benjamin moore.

all opinions are 100% my own.

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41 Comments

  1. That door is GORGEOUS! Y’all have done such a great job!

  2. Well, this looks so amazing ! I read your blog quite often, but never left a comment.
    This excited me so great, that I couldn’t left without saying anything.
    Wonderful job, your house is pretty awesome:))

    1. aww thanks michelle. appreciate hearing from you!

  3. WOW! What a difference a few exterior updates makes!!! Looks amazing! We’ve been working on fixing up our house since last summer when we moved in…
    First Update: https://youtu.be/JlqjxJk7lx4
    Second Update: https://youtu.be/7eUgaZu8YD4
    You’ve got me dreaming of painting our exterior and adding some much needed curb appeal! Love your style!

  4. looks great, you should paint the garage door black!!

    1. that’s what we were planning to do actually! but decided against it since we realized we don’t really want to accentuate the garage door and instead kind of disguising it so that the front door is what stands out. 🙂

      1. I was going to make this comment about how the garage door recedes into the house and lets the front door shine, but you already beat me to it!
        For what it’s worth, I think that wooden frames would be a wonderful addition to the house. It looks so much better now! I love it.

  5. What a freakin difference! I am dying to paint the outside of our house white! It needs help. BAD.

    I love all of these sneak peeks!

    1. thank you courtney!! you’ll be so stoked once you do it.

  6. That looks so much better! And great choice on the door. Aren’t exterior doors shockingly expensive? I can’t be the only one who thought they’d be like, $500 at the most, and then was surprised to find out that they’re thousands of dollars. But it was the first thing I noticed in these photos, so a nice door is totally worth it if you can afford it.

    1. they are shockingly expensive. everything house related is! but the original door we wanted was about 5k (which sadly seemed like it was the standard), so we ended up going with this wholesale company instead that was less than half of that…. still so much money but yep, i decided it was too important not to splurge on.

  7. You are right, that indeed is a sexy front door. Can’t wait to see more!!

  8. LOVE the door! I’m curious about the exterior paint and if they estimated how long it would last before needing to repaint? I love the white but would worry weather damage would show easily! Light is a great IKEA find 🙂

    http://www.adaywithlauren.com

  9. Wow, this makes such a huge difference.
    And that door is beautiful!
    I am in favor on the wooden frames for the windows, if you ask me 🙂
    Oh I can’t wait to have my own house some day!
    In the meantime, I’m pinning every single project you make!

    xxx

    – Chloe
    http://consciousbychloe.com

  10. Wow! Between the door and the color change, it was brought into a whole new era. I love, love, love the door! As far as the windows go, I would either leave the trim as is, or make them match the door. I definitely would not paint them black. It really looks great! Thanks for sharing.

  11. Amazing how one llittle thing can change the whole look of your home! The white looks so much better and I think it makes your home look so much more luxurious!

  12. Molly, your home looks gorgeous. I can’t believe what a difference the door and paint color made. Looks fabulous and can’t wait to see the finished product of your home. I follow you on Snap Chat and OMG i love your kitties. Thanks for sharing.

    XX-Myrna
    Mybeatboutique.blogspot.com

  13. I’m so loving it !! Pretty!!! I just painted my place with Ben Moore too and used white on the trim. Our new bunkie is all white too! It’s on my instagram at http://www.instagram.com/lynneknowlton

    I have an idea for you! What if you made a bench seat to hide things? You could also have high sides on the bench seat, and that would hide the higher level of pipes too.

    I’d come visit, and sit on those seats 🙂

    Big love,
    Lynne

    1. yes!! the bench is something we’re considering too. thanks lynne!

  14. Nicole Reis says:

    How long have you had your Ikea light fixture outdoors? We are building a house, and I’m still in the “selections” phase, if you will. Coincidentally, the vacation rental house that we’re in right now has those same light fixtures in the open air kitchen, and I am just curious if yours has held up over time.
    P.S. I apologize for sounding completely snobby with the mention of home building and vacation homes in the same comment. ?

    1. HA you’re fine nicole! we’ve had it out there since november, and it has some cobwebs because we don’t clean it but other than that its been fine!

  15. I just have to comment to say first of all amazing what a difference paint and a new door can make, and I would absolutely paint the window frames black. Its like mascara for the eyes – definition, but because its a dark colour that recedes it won’t be nearly as noticeable as you might think. Seriously, just try one and see what you think (its just paint right – an easy fix if you hate it, and much simpler than building wooden frames)

  16. The door handle and lock! From where please? Looking to replace my entry door as well!

    1. hey gladys! i updated the post to include the links for both (ps we’re super super happy with them)

  17. Hayley Alyse says:

    I read so many blogs and yours is the first that really feels so perfectly my vision. I am enjoying following along as we just bought our first house and are hoping to be as ambitious as you! By the way did you paint your house yourself or hire someone? Any tips?

  18. Hey there! I know I’m commenting a little late but I’m curious what stain you used on the door? And did you do it yourselves? Thanks!

  19. Can that pendant be used outdoors? I can’t find any info on their website. I was thinking also for a covered area.

    1. Molly Madfis says:

      we’ve had it up for years and it’s held up fine! 🙂

  20. Hi!! Love all of the colors. Do you remember what stain you did the front door and did you stain in?

    Thank you!!!

  21. Your door color is gorgeous! Also curious to know the process and color you used to stain the door and frame?

    Thanks so much for being an inspiration to so many – including myself!

  22. Hi!
    I’m thinking about purchasing this exact door for my house. I know the door comes unfinished, but wanted to know if you stained your door? And if so, which color stain did you use? I LOVE the exact finish of your door. 🙂

  23. Absolutely darling! I can’t get your front door out of my head and would love the same as we update the entire exterior of our 1990 ranch! The only thing holding me back is that the door comes unfinished. I’ve done a lot of painting but no staining, and I’m not sure I/we can do it properly to protect the wood and finish in our wet Pacific NW neighborhood! Did you finish it yourself and was it hard? What color stain did you use and what did you put in the top to seal and protect??
    Again, really liking your updates so far! Thank you!