Embracing My Home’s Exterior Color
Back in October when we bought our house, we were not sure we liked the exterior color and planned on painting it.
Now that we have lived in the house for 5 months, we have come to embrace the exterior color. We have found that the teal green adds to the relaxing casual vibe of a lake house. It also camouflages a lot of the ickies…like mildew. :-) When I look around at the other lighter and more neutral color homes around the lake, I can see signs of mildew on them. With the teal, it is hidden, it is there…you just don’t see it. That is one big reason we decided to keep the color, less power washing, more time spent relaxing and having fun.
You know that I love the color turquoise, well, I have found that it goes very nicely with the teal green. I am now enjoying finding items to decorate the deck that will accent the teal exterior.
The previous owner of the house left us deck furniture. Two sets of tables, lounge chairs and…
…planters that line the deck filled with pansies that have survived all winter long.
I like all of it, but what I needed to get and get them pronto… was doormats. 4 of them, one in front of each of the sliding glass doors where we enter from the lake side of the house. With our yard being framed on two sides with pine trees, a lot of dirt, leaves and pine straw comes in with us on our shoes or our bare feet. Not to mention, pollen. That was crazy awful for about 2 weeks. It left a thick yellow layer on everything and even after washing it off, it was back within hours.
Good doormats to wipe the soles of our shoes to lessen what we bring into the house were needed. I wanted nice doormats that were not $80 a piece, but that were stylish not just utilitarian, so I would not have to be sweeping the floors twice a day.
When I was at Pier 1 a few weeks ago, I found this Medallion Doormat. It goes perfectly with the teal exterior and my need to add pops of color all around my house. (That’s Trax right inside the door. He is my daughter’s cat who is staying with us for a few weeks. You can always find him in a sunny spot.)
The doormats have become my inspiration for my outdoor decorating color scheme.
I don’t have Hunter boots that you see used on lots of blogs to stage a mudroom photo, but I now have this ceramic turquoise Rain Boot Planter right outside my studioffice door where I can see it all the time. Isn’t it cute? I planted white Diamond Delight (euphorbia graminea) in it. It likes full to partial sun.
I also added this set of easy-to-move-around side tables right outside my studioffice door. We have lots of outdoor seating, but were lacking in small tables on which to rest a drink or book. I planted Verbena in the Farmhouse Vase and Osteospermums in the ceramic planters that I already had. The tables have a label on them that says “inside/outside”. I placed them under the eave to protect them a bit when it rains. I plan to move them around as needed when we are entertaining or even set one by a chair on another part of the deck.
Another thing the deck was lacking was an exterior light by the door into my studioffice. Although it is beautiful on a starry night, it can also get rather dark at night and I don’t want big lights that will attract bugs.
I found the next best thing…A flat backed metal wall lantern and an LED Glass Flame Garden stake light that is powered by the sun. I put it in a planter.
….I filled the wall lantern with LED Candles that you can set on a timer or use a remote to turn them on and off.
I like the remote. I keep it on my desk so all I have to do is pick it up as I head outside.
A simple press of the ON button and the candles go on. Press OFF and like magic, they go off again. I don’t have to open the lantern door or even touch the candles to turn them on. You can also set them on timer mode. Ingenious!!! It even comes with a battery. :-) The light is very soft, but enough so I can see where I am going while not attracting bugs.
I have the flowers on the tables for now,
but I know I will be moving things around more as I see how we use the deck now that the warm weather is here.
Off the deck and out in the yard I have continued adding pops of color, not in decor, but with turquoise kayaks. I like everything to be color coordinated. :-)
What accent colors do you use around the exterior of your house? If you would like to add some, I have a $100 Pier 1 gift card to give away to one lucky reader.
Giveaway is Over.
CONGRATULATIONS TO: OLIVIA
I will be emailing you. :-)
