Lately I’ve been feeling like my mind is an internet browser.
You’ve probably heard this one, right?
“I have 19 tabs open, 3 of them are frozen, and I have no idea where the music is coming from?”
Today’s post is like that. But you’re gonna wanna ride out the frozen tabs and make it to the end because I have a fun giveaway for you!
What’s her deal you are probably wondering? In a few words: curb appeal.
Let’s just say y’all should be so happy that I don’t have your cell phone numbers. Seriously.
I’ve been driving my friends and family batty trying to figure out a front door paint color and a separate color for the new shutters and… have them both coordinate with the window boxes we put up last year.
I’ve been texting my peeps with new combinations almost daily.
All summer long I’ve been torturing people with the bag of paint chips I kept stashed in my purse.
Once I decided I liked one, I would tape it up on our front door. At any given time all summer long our door likely had five or six paint chips on it.
The UPS delivery man, the lawn treatment guy, and every visitor in between weighed in and voted…. BUT ALL ON DIFFERENT COLORS.
Yep! They were no help at all. Not one bit.
I’ve never been so indecisive! So I decided I need to take a step back and figure out what my deal was…
Why can’t I make a decision??? I asked myself this question about ten times a day all summer long.
Curb Appeal: Creating a More Cohesive, Inviting Front Exterior
So this was the house when we bought it… Hard to tell from the photos, but it was suffering from a bit of an identity crisis.
The landscaping clashed with the lighting which clashed with the door color which clashed with the brick.
When you got up close, it felt stiff and formal and just plain unfriendly….
Over the last two summers, we’ve managed to make progress in pumping up the curb appeal…
But I knew it was time to decide on a new front door paint color and add new shutters to the front.
After staring at the front of the house so long I’m sure my neighbors were starting to gossip… a light bulb finally went on for me.
Our brick has a bit of sparkle to it. Putting a door with super glossy auto paint next to it was …a front door fail.
It’s too much bling between the super shiny door and the sparkling brick.
Our old house was in the historic district and everyone went all out on brightly colored doors in high gloss.
It worked though. Old houses and high gloss are a great match. That’s why it took me a while to figure out what the problem was, I think.
Now that I finally saw the light, I felt like I was on the right track…
Curb Appeal: Choosing Paint Colors and Shutters
I narrowed my colors options down to about four or five— don’t judge me it’s been a long process— and I was pretty sure I was getting pretty close.
And then… I discovered Fusion Mineral paint!
How did I not know how fabulous Fusion Mineral paint colors are before? Their colors are awesome. And right in line with the softer colors I had in mind.
This photo I found on Pinterest was my inspiration….wish I knew where the photo came from so I could credit the homeowner. It’s so pretty!
I made my way to this fun store in southeast Michigan, Vintage Finds & Redesign and met the owner, Barb, who is a Fusion Mineral paint pro.
She helped me narrow down my choices. I was set on Texas Teal for my front door and one of two greys for the shutters.
After months of indecision, I was ready to roll. No one was more relieved than my family…
My little momma stopped by so I could show the color swatches to her in person…
She cautiously mentioned that my neighbors had a painter next door working on their their shutters and front door when she pulled in to our driveway and… the colors looked a lot like the ones I had finally chosen.
I grabbed my paint swatches and raced next door and…their paint colors were so, so close to mine.
AAAAHHHHH….
I cursed the paint Gods and went back to the drawing board.
I spent time on a few Southern Living sites and soon found inspiration in these…
I’m just loving the deep blue green color of the shutters in all three, and Fusion Mineral has a paint I think is pretty similar.
Now I’m down to the front door paint color…which I’ll share with you as soon as I start the painting process!
Fusion Paint Giveaway
As promised, I have a fun giveaway for you this week…
A Fusion Mineral Paint basket with 2 pints of paint, a brush, and a finishing product.
How cool is that?! I’m psyched to be able to share my love of Fusion Mineral Paint with you.
Here’s how you can enter! Good luck…
Until next time,
Shelley
My front door needs to be painted also. Maybe after you figure it all out I can get a consultation so I can avoid the decision process. 😊
Haha. It has definitely been a process, Tina! I hope you entered the giveaway. Fusion has so many great colors!
I love the blue door color from the Southern Living picture. Is there a Fusion Mineral paint color to that?
Yes! I will email you a few I was considering…
I’m glad I’m not the only one who can’t decide on paint colors. I’ve repainted our outside doors three times this summer and I’m still not happy. That Texas Teal is lovely. I might have to try that next!
Haha. That sounds like a lot of work. One of my neighbors is on color number three right now though, so you aren’t alone!
That shutter color is awesome! I’m so sick of our black ones and ready for a change.
While I like black, I think “Seaside” from Fusion Mineral will be great on my house. Thanks for visiting!
You are right – gloss works on historic homes but I think a matte is better with brick. Can’t wait to see what colors you choose!
Thanks Arletta! Stay tuned…
You sure transformed the front o your house. It was nice before but the after is definitely more inviting. We bought our first house this summer and it’s a fixer upper that ends a ton of work. I’d love to win the paint basket!
My first house out of grad school was a major fixer upper! You learn a lot from those houses, but she sure do work hard. Good luck!
I always enjoy your posts! They are so much more relatable than these big bloggers with houses and decor that all looks the same. It’s nice to see a blogger with a sense of humor and personality.
Thanks! Those blogs are fun to follow for inspiration, but it can be a little overwhelming. Glad you stopped by.