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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Here We Go Again!


Help!

Here we go again...forgive me as I asked this once before and got lots of great suggestions but now I have another problem.

I'm so glad it's winter...this way I don't have to make my mind up right away and I can really THINK on this
 for a few more months.

Here's my dilema.

I want to paint the house this spring.
So what's the problem you ask?

See the tree in the top picture?
See that rust color on the right side?
It's RUST.

We have VERY rusty water here in the country and everything the water from the sprinklers hits turns orange/red.
If you take a close look at the top picture and look REALLY hard you'll see that the bottom of the porch pillars and the down spouts have already gotten stained after ONE summer!

Our windows are white vinyl and the trim around them are white aluminum so we can't paint them so that 
means I have to find a paint color for the house that will look nice with snowy white trim.

Almost forgot...the roof is a medium brown.

I would LOVE to paint the cottage all white but here in 
Kansas it's windy and the over-spay from the sprinklers
heads towards the house and you know what that means.

Now we have another problem.

The picket fence.

The picket fence is a work in progress...we still have more to put up.


Unfortunately a lot of the fence will be down-wind to the sprinklers so that sweet cottage white picket fence
is out of the question.
To me...nothing looks worse than that horrid rust
stain on a pretty white house or fence.

SO...

I'm thinking that I'm going to have to stain the fence a brown color :(

I had to do that at our Victorian home because of the same problem and when I was done it looked like it had
been there forever.

Picket fence at our Victorian home I stained brown. See the rust on that tree?

Here's a picture of the picket fence as it was going up and you can also see the color of the roof.


 I'd LOVE to paint my house a soft buttery yellow or white...typical farmhouse cottage colors but I'm 
afraid it won't work for us.


So...now I have to figure out what color to paint the house to go with the white trim and then figure a stain color for the fence that will 
have that wonderful cottage look that I want. 

What do you think?

Do you have any suggestions or even pictures that I could see?

I would LOVE to see what you have to say...any 
and all suggestions will be GREATLY 
appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

I hope your day has been a good one so far.
Maura :)


21 comments:

Chris at Red Gate Farm said...

Maura,

I should send you a picture of a little cottage style house next to our newest project (the peach palace). It is a pretty aqua color (although i'd probably go a shade or too lighter) with a coral/rust colored trim and white too... it's really very cute. It could work for you and could even blend some of the "rust" in for you!

Let me know if you'd like a picture or two... I took a couple just because this little house is soooo cute and cottagey.

~Chris

Missouri Gal said...

Hi Maura, I love yellow white white trim. How about just letting the grass die and have a white fence and yellow home?

Finding Pam said...

Can you change the direction of your sprinklers? Why don't you just use soaker hoses along the beds?

I adore the blue house, but I am sure that yellow would be beautiful. I would like to see you keep the white fence, but then you are the one that must paint it every couple of years. Blue and white are such beautiful country colors. Look to your interior colors to find some inspration.

good luck I know it will be great.

Country Gal said...

I dont know what color would be good, sorry, over here there is a paint called Tremclad that can go over rust and protect from the rust and the color, maybe you could google it and find out if it comes in a color you like and wether you can use it on your type of house material! Your little home is adorable ! Have a good day !

Staci@LifeAtCobbleHillFarm said...

Maura, this is something I'm struggling with myself. We are re-painting this spring and I like our all-white home, however, it shows EVERYTHING. If I stay white I'm thinking of light gray shutters and barn red front and back doors. I'm toying with a nice light yellow as well. For your home it really is too bad about the rust because I think it would be really cute in a yellow with all the white trim. I'm sorry, I'm so indecisive about my own I'm not much help with yours!!
Staci

Verde Farm said...

I really love the blue Maura but I kept seeing yellow. Maybe a bit more than the soft buttery shade. I love yellow houses with white trim and the brown roof with stained fence would be great compliments. I have lived in yellow houses my whole life. I’ll send you a pic of my last house if i can find it for you to think on. It’s a cheery color and would be so great. I also love the blue though and you could maybe go with a little lighter shade of blue. Whatever you decide--it will look wonderful. It’s such a cute cottage to begin with :)
Hugs, Mini Me

Julie said...

As I was reading your post I just keep thinking how cute your house would be in yellow but then I came to the end, but I still think yellow with the white and the brown fence would look so cute!

Anonymous said...

Hi Maura, I have to think about this!!I just love pale yellow. That would look so nice with your picket fence.Have a great day.

Kathy

Kritter Keeper at Farm Tails said...

hi maura, love the soaker hose idea but if for some reason you cannot do that i think the second house on this site is a good color. your fence would blend in nicely which allows the landscaping to contrast. check it out. has yellow tones but a more quieter color with more depth. this second home has a lot of trim like yours so it is a good comparison.

http://massrealestatevoice.com/local/Massachusetts/Hopkinton/Canterbury

Catherine Holman said...

Maura,
How about red? Check out this link:http://www.firstresidence.com/
or google red cottage images.
Cathie

Beatnheart said...

Soaker hose!! That would solve some of the problem. is your house wooden slats? What about a “wood Look” color. It is so cute the way it is any color would be great. Hope your keepin cozy. C

Brenda Pruitt said...

I'd probably go with the flow, and paint it whatever the rust keeps turning it anyway!
Brenda

Stella said...

I vote for yellow with a wood stained picket fence. I can just see it.

Maura @ Kisiwa Creek Photography said...

Goodness THANK YOU for all your suggestions and ideas....I REALLY appreciate it! Looks like yellow is the most popular and I can certainly can see our cottage painted a pretty shade of sunshine. The comments about the soaker hose is a great idea and something I figured we'd do for the flower garden along the front of the house but the grass and lilac grove along the house will need watering too. I'm still working on that one but so far I can't see any way around staining the fence brown...as much as I hate the idea. There's still plenty of time to think on this so we'll see what other options there are available for us. THANK YOU again for all your input. Enjoy your weekend!

Bobbie said...

As I'm looking at your cottage, I'm convinced that any color is going to look great. I was sent here through Verde Farms, and so glad to be here. How beautiful. Now this is my idea of heaven on earth. Lilacs- my FAVE. Love the picket fence ~ And all the animals.

From Beyond My Kitchen Window said...

Popping over to see the other recipient of the chicken councils vote at Verde Farm. Love your blog and can't wait to visit often. My house (picture on my blog)is buttery yellow with bright white trim and deep green shutters and front door. I know there is a rust problem ,but isn't there something you can add to paint that resists mildew and rust. I know we have very hard water and our toilet get rusty very quickly. I have to use a special product to clean them. Anyway what ever you choose will look lovely I'm sure. Enjoyed my visit.

John Going Gently said...

that colour is just perfect against the snow
couldnt be better!!!
and love the song ( though the singing is NOT as good asmine)
x

Leslie said...

I am seeing Yellow too... They say that people are happier in Yellow houses. : )
We are having our siding painted this year too.. still not sure on a color choice myself. Our house is 70's yellow and I am thinking that I want beige, black and white.

Have a great weekend.

Genny said...

I absolutely love the blue now, but I think a barn red would be beautiful too. Those two colors really say cottage to me. Your lilacs are just gorgeous. We had lilacs all around the house when I was growing up and smelling them takes me right back to my childhood.

Inger said...

I'm a little late, visiting from Verde Farms at the chicken's recommendation. I love the yellow as well, but the rust made me think of a special color red that you see on most of the old farm houses in Sweden. It's a deep red, called Falu red, and originally it was made from something from the copper mines of Falun, Sweden. All trim must be white and it looks so country and lovely to me. You have a lovely place and lilacs are so wonderful -- on of my favorites.

Scufty said...

A little bit late but I can see that you're not painting yet anyway! lol lol My idea would be - why fight things? Why not do the house in a beautiful, rich rust color? There are some incredible autumn colors that wouldn't show the rust and would work beautifully with the white. And for the fence, why not just a clear stain or wood preservative that would be water repellant and not allow the rust to penetrate it? I know whatever you decide will be gorgeous - you have a great knack of decorating and your home will reflect that outside, too, just like it does inside! Enjoy the snow....we have about 3 1/2 feet of straight fallen snow in our yard and the snow banks are almost too high for me to add to them - BUT it's snowing again so guess I'll have to! Good luck with your decision and I'll be back soon! Love you...Scufty

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