Good-bye Green

 Photographing the new tree in the front yard put me over the edge and I needed to get rid of those green shutters. I have disliked the color of the shutters since the first time I pulled into the driveway. Saturday afternoon I grabbed my favorite screwdriver and my sturdy ladder and headed out. It was surprisingly easy to remove the lightweight shutters. Dale came out to help and they are safely stacked in the garage awaiting my decision about paint. Do I paint them and put them back up? What color do I paint them? I want less contrast...a lighter color. I like black shutters but most of the neighbors have black. I don't love and need shutters...so less contrast would make them less prominent, right? I have done some on line research; was considering tan/beige but now I am leaning toward white. I was some great examples of white shutters on white houses...adds texture without the contrast. I would gladly leave them off, but take a look. I can wash off some of the dirt and fill the screw holes, but I am thinking it will look like a house that used to have shutters. It may take a while to make this decision but the good news is that there are no longer dark green shutters on my house! There is still a green door going into the garage, but we won't talk about that yet.

Update:

After I posted this entry, I went outside with an extension brush, bucket of hot soapy water and a hose to clean the front side of the house. It made a huge difference getting rid of the dirt that built up under the shutters over the years but when it dried it is obvious that the rest of the siding has faded some in the sun. I expect that the shutters will reappear a much lighter color. I washed the shutters and researched spray paint. It's an outdoor job so depending on the weather it may be late fall or spring when it is completed. That's ok with me. I am just so glad to have most of the green gone.

The tree spade truck difficulties backing up the front yard and spun their tires in the grass. Obviously I will be working on grass seed again this spring too. I am also very anxious to get some foundation plantings; bushes, grasses, flowers etc in front of the house below the bedroom windows. All in good time!