New House.... New Hope (Pennsylvania, that is!)

 When I look back at my blog posts so many of them have to do with color.  How color affects our mood, how easy it is to use color to update your home and your MOOD!

THIS POST IS NO DIFFERENT - Color affects my mindset.  For all who know me, I LOVE street art!  This is my street art... for now!

Recently moving to "our bucket list town" of New Hope, Pennsylvania part of me wanted to examine what do I want from this house...  how can it be an expression of who we are?

We have been coming to New Hope and her sister town of Lambertville for decades now; spending weekends riding our bikes along the Delaware River on the towpath, visiting galleries, meeting artists, finding great coffee and food; we have always felt a "pull" to this area.  The art and culture here envelopes the every breath!  

So, how did I want to start my next chapter here?  

I wanted to drive up to my new home and feel like, wow, I LIVE HERE!

I want to show you how easy it is to add color to the outside of your house, giving it a personality of it's own!  I work from home (since Dec. 2019) my office is situated in the front room, window facing the street.  This allows me to see my new neighbors walking by with their dogs, or friends. 

I am kind of thrilled at how many of their heads I have turned with this update!  

Here are the BEFORE images... beautiful stone front, landscaping needs some loving care...

Here are the AFTER images!

A strong pop of navy blue... classic yet artistic

We tried a few colors, starting with the Historic colors offered by Ben Moore - I need to follow my own advise that I offer friends and clients... paint a sample on the area you will be painting to look at the color at all times of the day; morning, noon and night to be sure you "like" it.

We ended up with 2061-10 Deep Royal - described by Ben Moore as : A dark, distinguished navy that verges on black

We took out the center boxwood in front of my office window and purchased a beautiful ceramic planter.  With the help of Donna @Gaspers she was able to guide us to the right plants to put in here... perennials and deer resistant with "pops of color" . Donna told us to put crushed water bottles in the bottom, cover with landscape fabric and then special gold potting soil to give the plants the best chance to make it thru the Fall and Winter... the bottles in the bottom help so the planter will drain and not fill with water and crack in the cold of the season.

  

Don't be afraid to try something new!  A new color, add a planter, flowers.. anything and everything that will make you feel good!  You have nothing to loose! Like a good friend of mine would say "WHY NOT"  (thanks amanda  - @indoorfangs  best spin instructor; kept me sane during Covid and still does!)