Choosing an exterior paint color

This is where I need help.  I cannot choose a paint color for the exterior, and siding will be here on Saturday.  Presently, the existing house is a drab tan.  It's not awful, but I just don't like the sandy color.  I love my juicy red front door that I repainted weeks ago--that's not going anywhere.  But what about the rest of the house?

View from the front gate.  Those bare trees are pretty much all pecans behind the house.

I have always adored a pure white farmhouse, but I fear that will be too stark.  The front of the house is shielded by a grove of live oaks, but the side and back are clearly seen from the surrounding pastures (and that is what surrounds us on three sides--hay and corn--with a pecan orchard behind us to the north).  I don't want my house to be a glaring white structure from the road.

I am leaning towards a lighter shade of grey or maybe I will stick with the white that I love.  I am open to suggestions.  I do intend to use quite a bit of white on the walls in the main living spaces inside, so I am also inclined at least to consider a real color on the exterior rather than a light neutral.  It's not like I have a homeowners' association that is dictating my house color any more.

I need help!  Sound off with any suggestions.  Pictures are below.  Please excuse the construction mess.  (That has been my most commonly used phrase over the last few weeks, I think.)

Existing house with the addition behind.  It's a simple bungalow-style home with minimal detail--a very simple version of a craftsman home.  All my interior mouldings are simple 1x4, 1x6 or 1x8 boards with no detailing.  The kitchen will have all shaker style cabinetry.  We have kept our new windows in line with the original windows and will keep a simple exterior as well.

Southwest side of the house from the horse pasture.  There is still another 600 feet behind where I stood to take this picture before you actually get to the road.

The southwest corner of the house.

Another view from the south.

That live oak in the center beyond the scraggly trees is the tree directly in front of the house.  This is what our house looks like from the highway.  People who have lived in our town for 40+ years had no idea there was a house back there.  Some even argue with me, insisting that they have driven past a hundred times and there is not a house there.  I assure them that my house has been here since at least the 1940s when it was moved from a location somewhere in town.  I like being that obscure.  That is one thing that keeps me from wanting a color like blue or yellow or even white.  I don't want my house color to make us stand out from the highway.

Again, look for the live oaks in the middle and the house is there with them.  The pasture in the foreground will be all hay come spring.  The brown pasture was corn last year.  I'm not sure if it will be again this year.  This is a view from the west.

View from the road on the south side of the property.  

Roofing and windows

We finally had a few days without rain and with temperatures above 40, so the roof supports and rafters started going up.  (It was still crazy windy--as it has been seemingly since the day we moved in--but that didn't seem to slow anyone down too much.)  This is still the heavy-lifting phase, so I really don't have much to do with it except for design input and running to the store when we run out of something.  My husband and father-in-law are running this part of the show for sure.  I have lost track of the hours that my father-in-law has spent over here working on our house at this point.  We think he will finally take a break now that shingles are up.

The peak of the roof doesn't look that high from a distance, but when you look out of one of those second story windows, you realize that it is a long way down.  I think I calculated that the peak is about 30 feet up, hence the giant lift that was rented to get the roof decking and shingles up to the second story.

The lift was also very helpful for getting windows up to the second floor.

Picture Update 1/24/14

View from what will be the girls' rooms.

Now, the roof is completely open and ready to be extended to meet the new structure.  I think I already posted pictures of the "After" for this part but thought I'd share what it looked like inside.

Love that blown-in insulation AKA rat nest.

Speaking of rat nests... How about this rat nest of electrical wires just sticking up in my attic--no junction boxes.  Nice.  Can you say, "Fire hazard"?

Live wires.  No caps.  Buried in insulation.  Yes, Previous Owner was an absolute genius and so all about doing great, quality work--not at all just trying to make things look "nice" but really burying some serious issues.  Every time my husband tried to properly cap these off, the television and dining room light would go off.

Can you say, "retro"?

Enough about the nasty attic and scary wiring...  How about the fact that my entire downstairs is now framed up?

It’s so cold!

Typically, I love cold weather.  I love winter clothes and stylish winter coats.  I love the snow and having to turn on the heater or light a fire.  I love seeing my breath in the cold winter air.  I love skiing in Colorado with temps in the 30s, 40s, single digits—anything.  I often complain about how short our winter is in my neck of the woods.  This year, I have made no such complaint.  It seems like it has been cold and wet for weeks on end now, and I’m ready for that to end—mostly. 

Now, understand that when I say “cold”, I am saying that in Texas terms.  I know that my winter has nothing on Boston, Cheyenne, Toronto or even Seattle or Nashville.  I’m simply saying that I have discovered that I just don’t appreciate Texas winters in the city where it’s all concrete and buildings.  Evidently, that is what has kept me warm all these years.  The Weather Channel keeps telling me that it is only a degree or two cooler here than it is at my old house in the suburbs.  I beg to differ.  The wind never quits here, and there are no structures to block said wind nor is there any concrete around except under my carport. 

I have discovered that though my closet is loaded with clothes for all seasons, I still do not have enough to keep out the chill.  In the past, I have waited with anticipation for the days when the local weather man would predict temperatures in the 50s or 60s so that I could finally pull out a long sleeve shirt and playful scarf and not worry about sweating to death.  Now, I can’t find enough things to pile on.  I find myself shopping for cute fleece pullovers for daily use rather than just to pack on ski trips.  Those who know me are likely scoffing at this because surely in the vast wardrobe that I possess there must be plenty of things to wear.  However, those who know me ought also know that when I say I have nothing warm to wear, it really just means there’s nothing cute to wear.  It might be time to find a way to carve out some wardrobe renovation into this overall renovation budget.  In the meantime, my front porch speaks for all of us… Brrr!

By the way, I actually started writing this a couple of weeks ago but never finished.  It warmed up for a couple of days, but today, we are “iced in” (by Texas terms, anyway).  Basically, that means that it rained and we have not gone above freezing since last night.  There may be ice on some bridges and overpasses, but it can’t be too bad.  I can, however, attest to the fact that the north side of my carport and the front half of my front porch are presently like ice rinks, and the net on our trampoline is now frozen mesh.  By Sunday it will be in the upper 60s.  God bless Texas!

I can't believe we are doing this!

Really. I really can't believe we are doing this. Last night, after a full day of construction, my husband told me how much fun he was having building our house. It's true. I think that's why I can't believe we are doing this. Building is super fun for us. It's what we love doing.

Our suburban house had been almost completely remodeled because this is what we do for fun. When planning ahead to the weekend, the question never was "Where do you want to go?"  It was "What project do you want to take on?" Our kitchen remodel started because it was going to rain all of July 4th this canceling all the fun outdoor parties we planned to attend. Since parties got rained out, we decided to rip out our old kitchen. This is our fun. 

We have joked several times since embarking on this adventure that we will never run out of projects out here. To many, that probably sounds exhausting. To us, it gives our active, creative minds a nearly constant outlet. 

Friends and family keep remarking on how quickly we are moving on this project. I guess it seems so to them. For us, however, this has been growing in our minds for months ever since we first saw the property online. We have gone through entire notebooks of graph paper dreaming, designing and redesigning what we would love to create here. I have Pinterest boards galore full of ideas and plans. We go to sleep and wake up to thoughts of layout, framing, placement of electrical outlets, staircase measurements, furniture layout, porch dimensions... The list goes on. I think we even dream about these things. 

We literally are living our dreams. Wow. 

I have no explanation for why God has allowed us to do this, but I know that it is 100% His doing. I can look back over the last year and a half and see where He allowed twists and turns, ups and downs in our paths that lead us to this point. All those twists, those ups and downs, were not necessarily pleasant, but I can at least glimpse what He was doing. I hope I learned what He wanted me to learn, and I pray He guides us to use this blessing He has bestowed on us to His glory. 

And now, all that to say, we really are making great progress. Some new pictures are below. The roof from the original house has been extended to meet the new structure. The porch outside the dining room and master bedroom has been framed and the structure of the second story overhang that will house my girls' rooms is on its way to completion. By the end of this 3-day weekend, I hope to see some walls up on the second floor. Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we will see the roof going up next weekend.

The structure for the downstairs porch/upstairs extension is in place.  The goal is for the entire porch to be screened in with doors coming out between the two center posts.

A closer view of the porch.

My own little Treehouse Master

My son, who recently became a teenager, has spent several afternoons and weekends helping Dad and Grandpa on the addition--not to mention years of tagging along with Dad to job sites--so he knows his way around construction. He's also an avid artist and project designer. (He has developed and created some pretty impressive costumes, models, etc. in his short, creative life.)

The other day, amidst a gorgeous turn in the weather, he and my youngest got it in their minds that they needed a treehouse. They scouted the property and had set their eyes on a lone, hundred-year-old pecan in the east pasture. It's a lovely tree, but it's all alone and surrounded by a valuable hay pasture. Our north pasture has a small grove of pecans that we convinced him would work much better. Once convinced, he got to work. 

I was inside and thought he was only outside coming up with plans. The next thing I knew, my youngest was coming in to tell me to come check out their progress. He had borrowed tools from Dad and took extra wood from the build site. By nightfall, he had the frame and some of the cross braces for a large platform. It's Sunday afternoon now, and instead of watching the AFC championship game (which I am recording for him), he is back at work and has framed up more supports, including that for a trapdoor entry. 

I love seeing proof that he has learned as he has watched us work. He took great care with his level, square and tape measure to ensure the integrity of his structure. I love even more how satisfied he is with his work. I keep wanting to jump in and offer design help or other input, but rather than inserting myself into the project, I'm trying to offer only a little coaching on safety measures and leaving the rest up to him and his sisters. They are so cool!

Picture update -- We are making progress!

Many have asked to see pictures of our progress.  It seems to change everyday since my husband and father-in-law spend every available moment working on something.

The master bath will occupy the north corner of this structure.  We will extend the structure on this side to include a giant walk-in closet accessed fromt the Master Bathroom.

Master bedroom in the corner.  The open space will be the dining room.  An 8-foot porch will extend the space with French doors leading from both the master bedroom and the dining room.

Master bedroom on the left.  Master bathroom on the right.

Floor joists and decking started going up.

Roof of the existing house was opened up and the new beam went in.

View from what will be the deck outside the Master Bedroom.

Master bedroom.  French doors will fill that open space on the left.

View from the Dining Room porch.

Dining room is framed up.  House is wrapped to try to protect the wood from rain.