This post series is sponsored by Lowe’s
The Evergreen house exterior has been one of our favorite transformations to date! Check out this amazing before and after, all made possible with wonderful, affordable and easy to source products from Lowe’s!
I collected some of your frequently asked questions about this exterior makeover project on my Insta stories, and here are the answers to some of your burning questions:
- What are the house paint colors and how is the dark color holding up?
- Can I put tile outside in colder climates?
- Why a pergola instead of a full porch?
- How expensive is it to install pavers? Do you think someone could DIY install these?
- Did you replace all the windows in the house?
- Where did you get the brass house numbers?
Okay, ready to jump in?
Q: What are the house paint colors and how is the dark color holding up?
From day one of this home rehab project, I was pretty excited about doing a two-toned exterior, but I first envisioned more of a mid-tone gray green. Once we got the samples up though (I can’t stress the importance of samples enough!!), I realized a mid-tone color really washed out the exterior and the landscaping – everything looked just BLAH! We needed some high contrast! It sounds pretty silly, but I had a dream that we painted the exterior a dark, almost black color and it looked so great in my dream that I literally changed the color on the day the painters came!! Such a last minute switch, but it was the best call!
We picked Nocturnal Green from Valspar for Lowe’s for the board and batten siding (made from HardiPlank and Board) and Gilded Linen for the stucco. The Valspar Duramax paint is specifically formulated to hold up to extreme exterior conditions and the manager at the paint desk, who was very helpful, told us this would be our best option! So far so good.
Q: Can I put tile outside in colder climates?
Since Arizona doesn’t ever really freeze, we were able to install this tile, but as long as the tile you choose is rated for outdoor use, you can install it on slab outside anywhere in the country! Like the brick tile I bought at Lowe’s on clearance for my kitchen walls? Totally rated for outdoor use too! I bought a bunch for the exterior of my own house!
Here are some tips for choosing and installing tile that is suitable for outside use in colder temperatures:
- Look for a tile rated for outdoor use with a little more texture to help with slip-resistance. Our tile at the Evergreen house was slightly textured, but I would say it was about the same as concrete when it was wet.
- Porcelain tile absorbs less water than ceramic tile and it is more durable.
- Before installing the tile on your slab, give the concrete a really good cleaning with a pressure washer. (I like this one!) You might also want to consider painting on a waterproofing sealer like this one, especially if you live in a colder climate. This helps with expansion/cracking.
- Use a thinset mortar and a grout that are both rated for outdoor use!
Q: Why a pergola instead of a full porch?
Our front porch is east facing and the front of the house never really gets that INTENSE afternoon sun. The house had a full porch before when we first bought the house and it really darkened the living room a lot. The pergola offers shade but still allows sun to get inside. If the house were west facing, we definitely would have put a full roof on the porch. Side note: Here is the stain and sealer we used for the wood on the fence and pergola! I went with the Autumn Brown color, which I thought looked great with the siding color.
Q: How expensive is it to install pavers? Do you think someone could DIY install these?
In my experience, the labor cost for installing pavers is about the same as hiring out floor tile installation. In Arizona, it’s usually $3-5 per square foot. We ordered about 700 sq feet of these beautiful brick pavers, so the total with material and installation for our front walk and side patio came out to about $3000. That said, with the material costs coming in closer to $400, if you are comfortable with using a tile saw for cuts and a couple of days of labor, laying pavers is most definitely a DIY option and is an easy way to save money! Here is a really great tutorial that will help give you a sense of what’s involved.
Q: Did you replace all the windows in the house?
We replaced all of the windows in the house but the the two steel corner windows, which we painted black with this amazing spray paint. We both wanted to save money and keep some of the original charm of this historic home! We had to have a glass company come and repair and replace some of the broken panes but for the most part, the original windows looked and worked great! We chose these Jeld-Wen windows for the rest of the house and I really liked them!
(PS Here are some sources for our outdoor living area on the side porch!
Safavieh Wood Patio Set // Patio Life Pot Hangers // Kaleen Outdoor Rug
All Things Teak Dining Chairs // Safavieh Outdoor Dining Table // Pennington White Terracotta Planter
Portfolio Ellicott Galvanized Outdoor Sconce // All Things Cedar Trellis (similar) // Dark Gray Bench (similar)
I/O Black & White Lumbar Pillow (similar) // Jordan Sisal Pillow (similar)
Round Black Table // Safavieh Gray Side Chair Set
I/O White Fringe Lumbar Pillow (similar) // Majestic Home Goods Black & White Striped Pillow
Concrete Look Garden Stool (similar) // Mayne Black Resin Planter (similar) // Terracotta Bowl (similar)
Q: Where did you get the brass house numbers?
I knew as soon as the board and batten siding was painted dark that I really wanted brass house numbers, but I didn’t want to spend more than $100 on them! I found these modern house numbers for just a few dollars each and used this Satin Bronze spray paint with built in primer to paint them the prettiest color of brassy gold before mounting them to the wall. My tip with spray paint is always to do many light coats with drying time in between coats. I love how the brass numbers pop against the inky black paint color of the siding!
Do you have any other questions for me? I’d love to answer them here in the comments. As a recap, here are all the posts on the Evergreen exterior projects. A huge thank you to our sponsor, Lowe’s for helping us bring this exterior to life!
Love the look! I had a front door that sat sideways, out of sight, so I added a pergola to give a better sense of where the front door was. It worked out very well. What I have a problem with is that your front landscaping has the been placed way too close to the house with no acknowledgment of expected growth. When you plant that close, you also create a highway for insects to explore your home and you create potentially damp areas with air circulation impeded.
Thanks for the feedback Rita! We planted dwarf variety hedges, with the plan for them to stay small.
I love how it turned out, Jenny! I’ve always wondered about the dark roof – I live in SoCal, inland where we have such looong hot dry summers. Our last house had charcoal shingles and even with great insulation it was SO hot compared to our current much lighter shingles. So, wondering if your choice was for looks & appeal, or if the cost of electricity for AC is seriously low out in AZ!
I’m surprised to hear that it changed your bill a lot! We haven’t noticed any of those same issues here. There might be something else going on with your home. You can hire an efficiency consultant that walk around with heat sensors to find out the source of the problem! Worth looking into! xo
So pretty! That new grass is so lush and green!
How much was it to re-sod the lawn? It is on my list of projects so just wanting to get a general idea of what goes into it.
Thanks!
I also have a question about the beautiful grass. It’s a lot of grass! Was anything less water-thirsty considered in the design plan?
We’re on flood irrigation with this house, so grass worked for us!
We spent about $800 on sod and threw out seed for most of the backyard!
I love everything about this home! It looks absolutely stunning! I do have a question about the gate/fence in the back yard. What kind of latch/lock system did you use? I am doing something similar and want something sleek and unobtrusive looking.
We just used a regular gate latch. You just have to reach up and over to open.
Can you share the types of plants you used along the front porch and in front of the dining area windows? Will they stay small or grow to be hedges?
Also, what front door did you choose? Did you also make it a Dutch?
So inspired by your pergola as well!! Keep the reveals coming please! You rock Juniper Home
The plants along the front are Boxwoods and Arborvitae dwarf varity. They need to be cut back but will stay smaller and do really well here!
The front door is original! Not a dutch.
Thank you!
You guys really knocked this entire renovation out of the park. I LOVE these smaller houses with creative solutions that stick to a budget.
Keep up the great work!
Everything looks great! Would you mind sharing the source for your exterior door hardware? Thanks so much!
Looks amazing! Did you paint the windows, or were they an iron color to begin with?
They are steel, but we did end up painting them black!
Lve the moody green and the wood tones together. Gorgeous reveal, quaint and homey.
Pleasure to go through such wonderful work!!
Love, love this entire reno! The dark color here is A+. Question: did you spray paint the new windows with the black spray paint as well? How does that hold up long term?
Hi Liz,
We bought the new windows in a black finish, so we only sprayed the original corner windows. Hope that helps!
Oh, my goodness! What an incredible transformation! Would you please share your source for those fun white rocking chairs? Thank you!
They’re linked here! Also from Lowes!
I keep coming back to this reveal (yard and kitchen especially!!) and I am going to do these ceramic tiles on my own front porch! They come in 3 colors (cement, concrete, and foundation). Do you happen to remember what 2 colors you chose?
Love love everything, absolutely stunning. We are in the middle of adding a pergola onto the house similar to this and wondering what you did about gutters? Do you have any information on how it attaches to the house? Thank you!
Hi there! Considering this look for my Crasftsman Bungalow in the Bay Area. (almost exact front porch specs!) Curios though, we are a North facing home, and the side that would be painted the darker color gets all the afternoon sun. Does the paint color make a significant difference to the temprature inside your house? We currently have no AC (natural marine layer rolls in every night from the coast) But we do use a wall unit from time to time during heat waves. Thanks!
Hello! How do you find the dark paint absorbs heat? I love your choice but am concerned the dark color will hotbox my house …
In the photo with all the paint samples, can you tell me which color each sample is please? The color you chose sounds like a deep dark green but looks almost blue which is what I am going for.