After what seems like an eternity, Longview Ranch's makeover is finally complete: new patio poured, new patio roof structure built, roof torn off and new roof applied, and new paint everywhere.
I get happier with the results every day.
Remember the gorgeous aqua (below) I wanted to paint the house?
Well, we finally compromised on a color that is a teeny bit greener and a little bit grayer, but still satisfies my need for that 1956 retro vibe. It's our own custom color, dubbed "Perfect Green" by the skilled mixer who helped us at Sherwin Williams. It's surprisingly difficult to capture the nuance of this color with my camera, but trust me, it's great, and it plays well with the roman brick around the house.
The new white fascia boards provide much better contrast and all that bright, white paint everywhere looks clean and fresh.
Potted plants and furniture have found their way back onto the deck but the patio area was the last finished and it's still waiting for new furniture and more pots.
The triple columns (replacing an awkward, ugly steel pole) and the reworked lightwell with skylights are beautiful improvements.
Because of the anticipated work on the house we held off major re-planting of the vulnerable new back yard beds, and just a few plants now grace the patio.
As the rains return, I'll be gradually adding the plants that have been patiently waiting in the wings for their turn, many since this past spring.
After all our agonizing over color, I have to conclude that "Perfect Green" may not be the optimum background color for many of our plants. We have a lot of bright green and yellow-green leaves and I'll like it as a background color better when it's also backing deep green leaves like those of
Podocarpus salignus, or
Podocarpus macrophylla, my new must-have species for the protected patio.
For now, adding the final touch of 50s perfection to the front garden is a trio of new flamingos. As described by Loree in a
recent blog post on
danger garden, they're now in honor of Dulcy Mahar, Portland's late, beloved garden columnist and defender of their delightfully tacky whimsey.
And that's great company to be in.
I'm so excited to see these pictures! If your paint color doesn't photograph well then it must be amazing in person because it looks damn good on your blog! Your patio is simply dreamy, I think of all the agaves you good grow there under cover. And your flamingos are simply marvelous ....
ReplyDeleteWow, Jane, your house color looks wonderful. It must feel great to have it done. Love the flamingos too. Hopefully you can get the plants in before fall sets in.
ReplyDeleteI agree; your patio area is great. It's wonderful to be able to sit in the garden in the rain! I vote for the paint color too.
ReplyDeleteLooks gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteOMG...I bet if feels AMAZING to come home to a freshly-painted house! I love the skylight idea...anything to bring some light into dark corners is a good thing in my book :-) I'm dreaming of the day we can repaint our house...I LOATHE the color! I super-jealous of your deck and patio...oh, to have so much space!
ReplyDeleteYou're right: the color looks different in every photograph, but it probably does that with changing light conditions as well. That seems like a good thing, don't you think? Ditto to all comments above, and congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThat lightwell is way cool. You did a lovely job.
ReplyDeleteEspecially beautiful front entry. It will be fascinating to discover which plants work best with the new paint. That's always one of the best parts of getting your house painted... !
ReplyDeleteMy girlfriend loves that color! I should be sharing these photos with her. She would probably like our "future" house to be painted that way. Hehe. Btw, I like the fact that you also considered the colors of your plants outside and how they would match the house paint. You're really into matching colors, aren't you? :D
ReplyDelete