painting option #1.

Okay, so I did this earlier in the Summer (after I finished laying the sidewalk)–took a photo of my pretty-crappy-on-the-outside-needs-a-new-paint-job house and then went to work in Photoshop creating masks for every different section and applying different paint colors to them. The trim. The porch floor. The gutters. The railings. Etc. etc. Good times. But it is cool that it is possible to try out different color combinations and colors easily before ever dabbing a brush in a can of paint. Or–for that matter–before even buying a can of paint (see–there actually are practical uses to Photoshop!).

So the before ~

And then the after ~

This is Benjamin Moore Historic Collection Peale Green (HC-121), a brilliant white trim and some grey or other (there are a couple in the HC collection). I will try other options before I actually go out and buy paint but if anything it goes to show how crappy my house actually looks right now–in case I need motivation (although painting the exterior of my house ranks fairly high in the category of projects I would never look forward to doing myself).

Oh yeah, I also 'Shopped in a new door more along the lines of what I will be getting. What I did not bother doing was replacing the crap metal railings and the crooked stairs. But I will for real. Oh–and get a classy porch light. I love how I did not even bother to move any of the shovels or broom before taking this. Now that is classy!