Anyone who has ever done a renovation with a budget knows that you really can't do it all. Not even close. Projects must be prioritized. We'd tried to be smart about our list (i.e. wait on getting light fixtures and keep originals so we could spend on things like countertops - something you can't easily change). One thing that we ended up cutting out was putting shutters on the driveway side of the house -- certainly not a necessity and something that could easily be added later. That side of the house has always looked unfinished and messy to me. #1 - Josh insisted upon keeping the scraggly azaleas ("Whit, I think we can make the side look like Augusta with the pine trees and azaleas!" he's said enthusiastically a number of times) #2 - I wish we'd spent a little bit of extra $ and done the entire side stucco instead of having the addition portion siding and the original stucco. Oh well, it's probably not something many people even notice. Right?
2 years after living here, Josh and I decided to save up and add shutters to 4 of the windows on the side.
BEFORE:
I headed to my favorite Sherwin-Williams store and gathered my supplies.
For 8 long hours over a few weekends I primed both sides of all 8 shutters. Some of the time I had a little helper
I underestimated how much work it would be to paint louvered shutters. Especially with a 3 month old baby. (That's not a typo, we started this at the beginning of July) Painting all those little slats is not for the impatient. I finally called Gephart Hill (our favorite builders) and begged them to help me paint and install them. Finally, a few months later they are up.
AFTER: We both think it's really helped that side look much more cohesive and dressed it up a bit.
BEFORE:
AFTER: Now it's making me want to add shutters to windows in the back too. . .
What do you think? Does it help that side?
XO,
Whit
