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We s
tumbled across this gem through a friend of a friend and immediately fell in love with this amazing farmhouse and the makeover story. I mean, who doesn't love a good before/after moment?
Built in 1941, this newspaper clipping from March 1945 celebrates the front garden and the Cordelia family who built it. And thanks to modern technology, we have several images of the house when it went on the market a few years ago showing a perfectly preserved snapshot of how families lived then.
We'll share the interior transformation in Part 2 of this story. Here we're showing an exterior makeover where every decision made honors the past without sacrificing charm or curb appeal.
The new family understood what a special building they had discovered and decided to keep as many charming details as possible while looking for ways to make it functional for their family. To start, they freshened up the exterior with a gorgeous coat of 23 Swiss Coffee (our most popular white color!) for the entire exterior with just a few special details called out in 407 Carbon.
Bringing a clean bright look to the house visually expands the width of the building and pulls it forward towards the street while setting off the lush lawn and natural surrounding landscaping.
It's tempting to paint every unique architectural detail with a trim or accent color, but often these details actually show better with less color allowing the lines and materials to speak for themselves.
To expand the kitchen and living space inside, the owners enclosed the long canopy roof adding a restful stone porch and wide french doors to accommodate easy flow between indoor cooking and outdoor entertaining.
Painting all of the exterior elements white gives the house an expansive look for sure, but it also provides beautiful curb appeal where the landscaped yard and natural surroundings truly capture a moment in time that makes life feel simple again.
Create impactful moments with simple exterior color palettes and simple objects that complement the landscaping and feature natural materials.
And let detached buildings share a bit of their own character to create a sense of purpose and time. This barn is painted in Swiss Coffee and Carbon like the house, but features natural stone that's echoed in the walkway to the main house.
