When Krystol sent over her unbelievable before & after exterior photos we just had to share the gorgeousness. Here’s her letter:
I love your blog and I thought you might like our recent porch renovation. We’re trying to take our rancher to a french country cottage. First we the removed the porch railings and moved the posts a bit further apart. One of the posts was right in front of the door (not too welcoming!). Then we sheathed the existing posts in rough cut oak and added a second set of posts for a little extra oomph at the front door. We also added arches (carved from a single curved tree trunk section- go hubby!) and painted the house. Well, actually we limed it. This is an ancient process where agricultural lime is mixed with water, then applied to the brick. Instead of sealing in moisture like paint can, the lime allows the brick to breathe. Eventually it does wear away, but I like that “old” look. It is also totally eco friendly and cheap! A bag of lime is around $10 and it took about 8 to do our house. I think paint would have cost around $400 or more. The house trim is Farrow and Ball’s French Grey and the “new” front door is from the Habitat ReStore and we just added new hardware from Emtek. Oh and the seagrass rugs are from World Market. Anyway, like I said I love your blog. It’s an inspiration to all of us DIYers out here! I hope you enjoy the front photos. – Krystol
Here’s what Krystol started with:
Here’s the house in progress after getting limed:
And this is finished product with new posts and arches along with a new door and furnishings:
Isn’t that amazing? It doesn’t even look like the same house! And the fact that they limed the entire exterior themselves (for around $80!) and carved those arches from a single block of wood is incredibly envy inducing. Thanks so much for sending the gorgeous before and after photos our way Krystol! What do you guys think? What’s your favorite part? We can’t decide between those arches and that pretty limed brick…
I love the limed brick and the green color they used on the trim. Beautiful!! I am so impressed.
WOW!! That is an amazing transformation. Love it! Great job!
Amazing! I’m bummed that there’s not a blog link to this before and after. I’d love to know more about the liming process as it’s something that I’d like to do to our house. Great job, Krystol! You definately acheived the french cottage look you were after!
Sometimes the reader redesigns have a very “DIY” look, in not-so-good way. But this is GORGEOUS!
Y’all… that is CURB APPEAL INSANITY! Please tell us how they applied the lime? Do you spray it on or what? It looks fabulous… love the wood columns, the door… the whole 9 yards! Thanks for sharing!!! Keep it up and give that little bambino a pat for me!!
You take type S hydrated lime from the home improvement store, mix it in a bucket until it’s about pancake batter consistency, and then you can roll/spray/paint it on. It WILL dry the heck out of your hands, so apply olive oil to your skin before you start, and it looks transparent when wet and gets more translucent when dry, so don’t freak out after your first coat. I always need three coats. The lime will last in the bucket two months, easy, so don’t worry if you have to take a break between coats to get it all looking nice.
that is a FANTASTIC redo…very inspiring!!!
Wow, what a fabulous makeover! I love that they used lime instead of paint.
Oh…I LOVE what they did!Talk about a beautiful transformation…and they carved the arches themselves out of a tree. That just takes the project to a whole new level!
I think you youn’uns should lime your casa?? No?
Hey Linda,
Unfortunately due to the mold here in Richmond many painted/limed brick houses have a nice coat of green mold and mildew (and need to be scrubbed down with bleach a few times a year), so in the interest of our home’s blissful zero maintenance exterior we’re resisting the urge to lime the heck out of it!
xo,
s
It looks amazing! Take it from someone who did a complete exterior makeover, that nothing is more satisfying than finally driving up to a house you love to come home to! Congrats — you did an amazing job!!!
I’m in love with the front door! It makes everything feel so open…great job!!
these posts are my fave! and it totally makes me want to paint, i mean lime, my brick house!
WOW. WOW. WOW!
I love the white brick, and I think what they’ve done here makes the house look really inviting and friendly.
WOW! This is absolutely amazing. It looks like a house you would see in Ojai, California. Where is this one? So wonderful!
UH-MAZING!! I am so impressed and inspired!! Thanks for sharing with all of us!
I have been searching for a fix for our ugly ’70s brick….I think I just found my solution. Perhaps, you could share the how to?
Hey Ginger, Karrie, and Darby,
Here’s hoping that Krystol drops in with more detailed liming info, but in the meantime you can google around for terms like “how to lime wash” for a tutorial (there might even be some how-to videos on You Tube)! Here’s one link we dug up with a formula for water to lime if you scroll down a bit: http://www.earthpigments.com/Lime/Lime-Wash.cfm
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
That is GORGEOUS!!! I would not be surprised if that ended up on the front cover of a magazine. I love it! And the fact that you were able to do it resourseful is amazing. Great job!
SO FABULOUS!!!!!
That is freakin awesome!
Wow! It has such a beautiful country appeal to it now! I think the archways are my favorite. Fantastic transformation! bravo! :)
Lovely. Looks like a brand new home. I had never heard of the lime idea before but I love it.
This is amazing! Wonderful vision of how the house could look different!
Wow! What a transformation! I love the arches!! They give so much character and charm and I love how thick and rustic they look! I also love your flower pot arrangement at the door. Hey, it’s the little things too! =) Awesome work.
Wow! I didn’t think the porch and house looked half bad before, but the after pictures are gorgeous. I just love it.
My favorite part is the subtle grey-green they chose for their trim. Beautiful!
Oh…my….gawd! How fabulous is that transformation? I have been trying to work up the courage to paint my non-descript little red brick ranch house, but I keep going back and forth. If I do it, it would be the only one on the block that is painted (or in this case, now that I know about it, limed) — and as I plan on selling in about five years, I worry about re-sell. (Realtors say that you should try and blend into the neighborhood. Blech.)
It is all gorgeous. But that door is so pretty. I love that it totally matches the windows. Very beautiful redo!
I love the door and window trim color. I also love the door itself. Krystol, please share the color when you check back here!
Hey Rebekah,
Krystol included the trim/door color in her letter (Farrow and Ball’s French Grey). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
That door really makes the house breathe. I also like the puppy out front–
wow! its sooo coool! we have a horrible front porch as well and its so awsome how this post was posted! our house is ugly stucko thats peeling. would the lime-ing work over stucko, (if we of course pressure washed off the peeling stuff?)
beautiful job!
Oh wow, that is beautiful! They really did a tremendous job! :)
Lime Wash is actually a type of White Wash. We live in a historic district where White Wash (Lime or any lime/chalk variation) is strictly forbidden. Pure Lime wash can be susceptible to mold. White Wash, like Kalsomine should be resistant to most algae and mold. White Wash is actually anti-bacterial, and according to Wikipedia, is used often in Dairies and industrial kitchens to ward off bacteria.
Wow! The “after” looks like it could be in a magazine! The arches and colors are beautiful, and the new door is perfect for what they want to achieve – but makes me think that they must live in a VERY safe neighborhood. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with that much exposure in my city-ish neighborhood!
This is amazing. Does anybody know how long the liming lasts? The post mentions that it eventually wears off…
wow, it looks great!!! so nice and clean and bright! :-)
Thud. Yes, that was the sound of my jaw dropping and hitting the ground. Amazing home makeover!!
gorgeous! however I am a fan of red brick…
I’d really love to see more pictures of this one!
ab fab!! but the only lime I know about goes in my cocktail!! Learn sumthin’ new every day!!
oh man. i LOVE that. beautiful!
I live in Richmond too, and I read that this wouldn’t hold up in an RVA climate. What area of the world does Kristol live in, did she say?
Those windows and the raw wood are dreamy!!
Oh wow, I’d love to do this to our brick rancher. I love the look of painted brick but the expense is kind of high. You mentioned the humidity in VA being a problem…do you know where Krystol lives? We have mold growing on our bricks it has been so humid here in Alabama lately. Love the door and trim color too and the arches, and just EVERYTHING!
Hey Carol and Samantha,
We don’t know where Krystol lives but here’s hoping she pops in the spill the beans!
xo,
s
INCREDIBLE! We’re getting ready to buy our first grown up home soon and this is getting added to projects to do after moving in list!
Wow! This is seriously amazing!! I can’t believe they did the entire exterior for $80! So awesome! Makes me wish I had a brick house just so I could lime it :)
And those arches are beautiful!
FYI…I found a “match” to the Farrow and Ball’s French Gray using http://www.colorcharts.org.
SW Svelt Sage is about 92% accurate.
Cool beans. Thanks for the tip Hailey!
xo,
s
Wow, beautiful! They did a great job.
Great job Krystol!
I would love to know more about how the roof was supported while the arches were installed. My front porch is in need of TLC!
STUNNING! This doesn’t even look like the same house. Absolutely LOVE the carved beams and no one else will ever have the same ones-very nice touch. I’ve been toying with putting house numbers at the bottom of my front door and now that I see it here I’m doing it – tonight! Thanks for sharing.
The door does it for me. I love how it opens everything up. Great choice. How do you like living with a glass front door? We moved into a house with one and the only down side for me is that I can’t peep out at solicitors while deciding if I should answer the door or not.
Ok,
When you said “rambler to French countryside” I was a little skeptical, but wow! I love the arches, and I think the house numbers on the bottom of the door is fun!
WOW….best reader redesign to date!!!! Hats off Krystol.