Hi guys, here's a pic of the deck DH built this past summer. Our house is 100 years plus and the previous owners did some terrible things to it. We will be replacing the windows and the eaves next year and painting or replacing the siding (depends on the $) As you can see...I primed the shutters but didn't get around to painting them. Any suggestions from anyone on improvements/colour choices, etc would be greatly appreciated. I'm open to anything and everything!!! Just wanted to say that the shed will be moved and that big stupid black pipe will be torn off the side of the house.
:) Mel
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| deck80.bmp | 206.53 KB |
Comment Guidelines
We welcome your feedback on Houseandhome.com. H&H reserves the right to remove any unsuitable personal remarks made about the bloggers, hosts, homeowners and/or guests we feature. Please keep your comments focused on decorating, design, cooking and other lifestyle topics. Adopt a tone you would be willing to use in person and do not make slanderous remarks or use denigrating language. If you see a comment that you believe violates any of the guidelines outlined above, please click “Alert a Moderator.” Thank you.
Bumped up for the gorgeous colours DBD used
when it comes to paint vs stain on outdoor horizontal surfaces. That is the toughest place to get just about anything to survive very long nevermind when there is traffic on it. The other thing that can come into it is snow removal, and I doubt paints would take it.
One thing is for sure, if you go cheap with paint or don't prep properly, it just peels off in a couple of years. A good outdoor paint job will last years longer. Stains won't peel and tend to fade off which is why a lot of people like them better. You could easily use paint on all of the vertical surfaces without too much worry but that flat part of the deck is going to be something to really consider.
Meanwhile, I think that is also the reason to avoid dark colours (like a walnut) on the deck floor. If it were me, and seeing what work people end up doing, I'd try and stick close to the original colour of the wood so that at least when it does start to wear, it's not quite as glaring. Personally I probably wouldn't bother with a colour at all on the deck floor and if it's treated wood, it shouldn't need anything on it unless it's strictly for aesthetics. The railings etc. will hold colour better through.
I built a fence at my last house and was advised to use an oil stain by Sikkens. I stained it right away since I didn't use treated wood (lesson learned by the way and if there is a next time, it's cedar, and let it age). Anyway, when I left two years later that stuff was still perfect even on the top rail surface. When I moved here, I painted the fence (the pictures you saw) because it had already been painted (by me...this was my parents house...4 yrs earlier) and was peeling badly. By the next year, the top rail surface had vanished into dust while the rest is still fine. the railings in those stair pictures were painted at the same time and they seem fine however. I suspect because the wood is newer and not cupped like my fence is. Could be because it was easier for me to reach so I painted better too I suppose, but it just goes to show...
So maintanence is a huge consideration when you look at what you do on that deck. Some people just take for granted that they will be doing it every year or two and live with it. I'm very glad my front veranda is covered and has a vinyl type surface on it as I regard that sort of thing as a total pain.
I bet if you took a trip to the store you could pick up the stain colour charts and find a nice green (see I'm still pushing for the grey greens) and then make plans for the deck in general (floor same or different than railings) and then look at paints to coordinate on the rest of the house. For sure there are less stain choices than paint, so maybe you should start there. Otherwise consider what colours will go with the deck floor if you just leave it alone and let it age. That will save you so much work if you can live with it as it is and then you can choose paint vs stain for the look and feel rather than practical reasons.
LOL...yep DH helped...well he stood at the bottom of the ladder and held it while i climbed up and up and up and up and did the painting...lol...chicken ****...i mean DH is afraid of heights.....i have to say it didn't bother me at all
Thanks Foxxy. And...GEEZ!!! As usual jenjen...you are full of an amazing amount of important info and suggestions. I will use it accordingly. LOL. Holy crap!! 32 GALLONS!?!? I know you like painting..but tell me you had help? And the pic of your house is kinda hard to see on the monitor but it seems "fade-resistant" to me. Thanks again ladies, :) Mel
the other thing...my brother the painter told me to avoid BM in anyway shape or form...he also recommended Sherwin Williams and Sico stains...he really likes Sico stains....there is also a product that Sico makes called ''Formula 77''...it is a silicone based sealer...so if DH decides he doesn't want to stain either...you can use this...it doesn't yellow...fairly easy to apply only takes a couple of coats...but!!!....be sure this is the route you wanna go first...he said it is extremly difficult to remove....it basically almost creates like a hard coating on the wood...is not slippery and won't be damaged or stain from salt...which untreated wood will...hope that helps
ok Mel...here is the back of my house (one side of the back) stained in CIL walnut.....looks the same after 2 years
not mention an incredible memory...LOL...yup we stained our entire house in Walnut....we have a log house and let me tell you it took forever!!!....i have to say i agree with DH on the paint thing...i too prefer staining decks as opposed to painting...i'll try and get out onto my back deck...may need to borrow Lore's snowshoes...LOL...but i will take a pic of my house stained in Walnut...we did it 2 years ago...and it hasn't changed in colour at all...mind you it doesn't get walked on like a deck...whatever you do DO NOT i repeat DO NOT use any shade of Thompson's Water Seal...the stuff is utter garbage and a complete waste of time and money...i did it on my brand new $7000 deck only cuz DH wanted it done...i didn't want to do it...and now it's been taken off....i won't even begin to tell you how long it took me to get it off with a pressure washer and palm sander...and i still have some to take off.... :hairpull: ....but when we stained the house we used CIL... :D ...fence,siding and deck stain in semi transparant...costs about $20 a gallon i think...and we used 32 gallons :eek: to stain the house....LOL....but like i said the colour is still the same and still looks good....the house gets direct sunlight on all sides of the house at any given time of day....and strong winds....now to venture out and take a pic...brb!!!
I like wlanut as well but we found the dark colour faded quickly, as the deck was in full sun most of the day. There has to be stains that are more resistant to fading. jenjen has info on brand names of good stains, so maybe post to her directly and also others may be able to help. It is just we found dark walnut a lot of up keep.
DBD is better for mock ups so I will not attempt to try one LOL. :)
I love those colors DBD. I even showed them to Dh..at which time he informed me that although he likes those colours too...we WILL NOT be painting the deck. Instead we will be staining. I'm not sure what his problem is..but whatever. LOL So then I was thinking that my favorite stain is Walnut, so if I went walnut on the deck..maybe dark brown/walnut for the shutters...a fantastic shade of red for the door still...but what colour for trims?? I saw a house yesterday that had the same colour roof as ours, the siding was taupe, the trims white, shutters and front door dark brown and they had a decorative screen door (I plan on adding one too) which they had painted to match the shingle colour. So, since I'm not planning to paint the siding, what if I did the trims a taupey/brown? Does anyone have a colour suggestion?
Good God..its a darn good thing that painting is a whole 6 months away. That gives me plenty of time to decide..and undecide..and decide...and on and on and on...
:) Mel
Gee Foxxy you are good at doing searches...and fast too.
Here are DBD's colours. They all look great together.
the colours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
the chip I used was from Behr - Expressions and the chip is 8G.
The colours are:
Bedford Green 8G3 (darkest)
Afternoon Tea 8G2 (medium)
Ostrich Fern 8G1 (lightest)
I picked up the chip last summer so I assume it's still around. My paint wasn't Behr but for the dark green I wanted I couldn't find quite what I wanted at BM or the couple of other companies I checked and this one worked for me.
I thought I would try the colours I used around my house on yours. I love the colours of my fence and railings. They are a sort of khaki, blue, grey, green depending on what light hits it. it was recommended to me as I have a brown/red/orangish roof. I love the colour itself and the way the plants etc. show up against it. It's really a very soothing type combo.
I'm afraid I don't have the paint chip handy, but it was a colour from either Rona or HD, 3 to a card, and I used the two darkest on my fence and railing and intended to maybe to do the house in the lighter one (although it is probably too light given how it looks with sun hitting it...it does sort of show up on your eave and window trim in the picture). Somewhere on this site the chip and name are posted in a picture (which I must have deleted off my computer cuz I can't find it) though. All I remember is the names had 'tea' in them.
Anyway, here is a 'sort of' what they would look like on your house and how they look at my house. The fence pictures show how the medium colour looks totally different depending on the light as the body of my fence is all the same colour even though the pictures would suggest otherwise. The top of the fence is a much darker almost army green and is the same colour as the railing picture. I thought it was almost a black green when I was painting, but it doesn't read that way at all in daylight.
As for the door, I went with your idea of a red but just took a guess.
Ok Foxxy..now I'm confused...khaki-red?? Do you have an example for me?
Mel
Is that 's the khaki aroud the windows now, If so then leave it as I like it with the dark shutters and maybe look at some khaki-red for the front door. OK I know what you mean abou the roof now, you have shingles part way down. Got cha now LOL
Why thank you Foxxy. I like the idea of charcoal or black shutters too. And I get what you're saying about the candy cane thing. LOL So..what colour trim? I don't want to have too many colours going on. Orange/red roof, white siding, black shutters, reddish door...black trims too maybe? Or should I stick to the khaki that I adore? Also, you do see a lot of our roof..its a cottage style...when I get a chance I'll post a better pic.
:) Mel
Black shutters with a burgandy-ish door
I also would leave the siding alone (is it wood or aluminum?). I am not keen on any reddish tone for the shutters though. ( too candy cane lol) I think dark charcoal shutters would look nice and burgandy coloured doors.. To me the charcoal shutters with the white looks classic and the shingles, do not try and match up as with, as 2 story house you do not see much of them anyway. Any window boxes can be burgandy if you like, the same as the door and once filled with flowers you wo't see much of either. Jenjen had the name of a stain/sealer that is excellent for decks. Ask her to post it for you.
I think dark navy would look nice also with the white and a more pumpkin colour door.
Yeah..so I just took a gander at the pic I posted..and the red is WAY OFF!!! I'm sure you guys are all familliar with those reddish colour shingles...well I would like to match my door/shutter colour to that. So, if anyone can do a better mock-up..please feel free. :) Mel
Also, what do I do with the deck?? Paint? Stain? Right now its just plain pressure treated lumber. Thanks
Well, I downloaded that CBN thingy..and I am either really really bad at using it...or all the colours are the same?? It seems like I've tried dozens of reds, and they all look the same. Maybe its my screen?
Anyway, I was thinking that maybe we'll just leave the white siding white for the next few years, it was replaced about 6-7 years ago, so its in pretty good shape. I was thinking maybe I'd use a dark khaki kind of colour for the trims (almost like whats on there now :rolleyes: ) and then a brick red type shade for the shutters and the door. I'm going to try to post a pic of what I picture. Now, the red looks a bit pinkish and the siding looks off-white..but you will get the idea. Feedback welcomed.
:) Mel
kudos to the DH.
We have a taupe siding and red brick on our house...it doesn't look too bad...I'll post a pic of it later and you can see how it goes together.
Thanks Obella and Oreo. There will definitely be a path of some sort next year when we really get going on the landscaping. We have already planned a flagstone patio that will be situated at the bottom of the deck stairs but off to the left (looking at the pic). DH's Dad is a mason/stonemason, so we're hoping that he'll at the very least guide us through the building process.
Now..the colour suggestion is great. I was actually thinking about using a colour close to PP Patches for the exterior. I figured I might trim in off-white and then do shutters and door in black. The only thing I'm still a little worried about is the colour of the shingles...they are orangey/red. Do you think the green/black combination I have planned will go ok with those red shingles?? Another colour combination I like is a mixture of warm taupes, orangey reds, and browns.
Thanks again for your imput,
:) Mel
I'm going to add something else.......
how about a flagstone path to shed..to driveway, wherever...just can't see what's there.
the paint color, grasses and flagstone along with your beautiful new deck...and I'm sure you have a nice patio table etc...would be lovely.....
Holy...****, I'm so anxious for Spring already....not good...........
Nice deck!!! That is our next years project and landscaping.. I saw the nicest color the other day while driving home. It was this dark hunter green color.. Sounds yucky but wow it was stunning! Maybe I will take a picture and post it...
years ago, my sister and her husband painted their siding, and it has held up great and made such a difference in warming it up......
big job, but he's a perfectionist, so it was done right.
I would look into painting it a taupey grey,green color, do your door black and your shutters black with possibly a different shade of the taupe you use, on
the window frames.
If you get sun around your deck, I would plant, my new favorite, ornamental grasses.
They look beautiful in the winter too...they would hide the underneath of the deck...even in your window boxes they would look very nice.
I love that you don't have the typical aluminum screen door...covering up your main door.
ah, bet you can't wait to be having a cocktail on a warm summer night on your new deck, eh?
Thanks for the compliments. And..the color of the siding is white Obella. I can't stand it. I think its because the house is soo big and there's just too much white. Its everywhere!! The door is new too..so we haven't had a chance to paint it yet. Any ideas on colour choices? I'm thinking about an orange/red for the front door..something that matches the shingles. That's the only decision I've made so far. I want to add a window box on that window with the shutters..I love that cottagey feel. But I will definitely be painting the electrical conduit. That was a great idea Dreamer.
:) Mel
great deck.......
can't tell, what color is your siding?
Nice deck! I like your garland, too. I suggest you paint out the electrical conduit to the siding colour (leaving the meter box, of course!) . I finally did this in the summer over the protests of my DP- now of course he is in total agreement with my choice, it made that little eyesore "disappear".