The front exterior of my pink dream house.
It’s no secret that pink, makes my heart sing. I’ve incorporated it in some capacity in every home I’ve ever owned. I suppose on some level, it’s the colour that most resonates with my overall disposition and outlook on life–rosy, harmonious, in perpetual search for inner peace.
Exterior Home Before
Although I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do with the interior of my new home, the exterior remained a mystery to me for quite some time.
I knew I wanted to highlight and celebrate the charming, covered porch and scalloped shakers and dormers. And since many of the hundred-year-old cedar shakes were nearing the end of their life span, I decided to look into a pre-painted cape cod wood siding option.
Originally, my plan was to move forward with a soft white exterior pallet–a pleasant, creamy colour made popular by Pinterest and social media. I looked into various shades of white, cream, and black, but quickly realized that the classic craftsman style of the home could handle something a little more interesting.
When my daughter’s grandmother was visiting and mentioned her deep-seated love for the colourful homes of Halifax, I knew that my new home was destined to be one of them! I began diving into my favourite shades of pink and finally landed on the same one I chose for the front door of my Lynwood property–Dulux Rose Petal. I should have known from the very beginning that my favourite colour would, once again, take centre stage. Lesson learned.
The original home came with a dark, fuchsia pink front door, equipped with an adorable letter pass through knocker. Although I’ve ordered a larger wood door with glass transom and sidelights, I still plan to incorporate the pink front door into my space. It’s too sweet to part with and it’s one of the reasons I fell in love with this character-filled home to begin with. I think it would make a punchy addition to my shed/ carriage house in the backyard, don’t you?
Lifting the house 2 feet provided me with an opportunity to make the foundation stand out with beautiful stone work. After looking around for the perfect stone I was delighted to come across a Canadian company called CSI - All Things Stone reached out to them. Their team helped walk me through a number of different options and helped me select the product to meet the performance needs and design aesthetics for my home. The stone I selected is from Cultured Stone®, and it is the Echo Ridge® color in the Dressed Fieldstone style. Besides the look of the stone, what I really love about Cultured Stone® is that they have been around for nearly 60 years and truly are the pioneers of manufactured stone veneer.
Another great thing about Cultured Stone is its versatility. It can be used indoors and outdoors, so if you want to continue the look throughout your home or add another element to your fireplace or feature walls, it can be easily done! The grey tones in the stone perfectly compliment the shade of pink on my Cape Cod Siding. The stone veneer suites the age and craftsman style home and mimics the look of the original stone foundations of that era.
Before we installed the stone, we prepped the exterior with DELTA®-DRY & LATH. The innovative 2 in 1 product combines the technology of the DELTA®-DRY rain screen with the fibreglass lath for a complete one step moisture control lath system. The DELTA®-DRY & LATH completely eliminates the need for metal lath, providing easier and safer handling for the installer, as metal lath sheets are tricky to handle and easily cut the installer, whereas the delta dry is a fibreglass lath that is on a light weight roll and can easily be installed in minutes.
As a home owner on the east coast of Canada, I am so happy to have the peace of mind of tried and tested rain screen and lath that allows for proper drainage and wall ventilation. With our up and down, wet and dry climate, it’s great to know my house is well protected!
15 inch house number from Modern House Numbers
The oversized house numbers pictured above, came from Modern House Numbers. You can customize the size and font style on there website to suit your home. I went with 15 inch horizontal Matte Brass number in the Back Bay font.
I’ve also received quite a few questions about my “Rose Gold” or Copper gutters. These are imitation copper gutters from Gentek. They have a few options for that Copper look, I went for a more muted aged look. There is a significant cost saving when doing imitation copper instead of real copper, but I also like that these gutters will remain as they are without any need to maintain or polish them. A copper gutter is a unique way to add a 3 colour to your home, if you are looking for that historic look.
FRONT PORCH
Since I had never designed a covered front porch before, I found myself taking afternoon drives through old south end neighbourhoods for a better sense of how exterior spaces were finished. What did the posts look like? How were the rails and balusters and pillars finished? I wanted a comfortable spot to enjoy my morning coffee, while paying homage to the charming history of my little pink house. In the end, I decided to leave the sides of the porch covered in the original shingles and use a wooden rail system for the front view. Opening up the front allowed more light to come in through my front window, and my motto has always been, the more light, the better!
Dressed Fieldstone by Cultured Stone in Echo Ridge
Adding four steps to the front of the house meant the walk up would be quite long. To create symmetry, I decide to run the rail across the front, have the steps go both ways, and create ledges on either side to allow for plants. This allowed more of the beautiful stonework to shine through and provided a balanced exterior. I completed the look with perennial shrubs, rhododendrons, azaleas and hydrangeas from Kents Garden Centre, and hanging faux hibiscus baskets from Décors Véronneau on the other side of the deck.
Front Porch After
Front Porch Before
Faux hanging plants are low maitenance stay in bloom all summer and don’t need to be watered!
Adding four steps to the front of the house meant the walk up would be quite long. To create symmetry, I decide to run the rail across the front, have the steps go both ways, and create ledges on either side to allow for plants. This allowed more of the beautiful stonework to shine through and provided a balanced exterior. I completed the look with perennial shrubs, rhododendrons, azaleas and hydrangeas from Kents Garden Centre, and hanging faux hibiscus baskets from Décors Véronneau on the other side of the deck.
Pressure treated wood was cut in strips to skirt the deck in and cover the exterior heat pump units.
BACK YARD
These over sized french doors were salvaged and reused for my back steps to the garden.
With the house higher from the ground then it once was, my backyard feels sunken in and private. Eventually I would love to create a low deck or stone patio for hosting summer family gatherings. In the meantime, I used inexpensive pea gravel and small stepping stones to provide a pathway through the lawn.
Stepping stones and pea gravel were an inexpensive solution for now.
No one will ever know my hanging baskets and trellis are faux, with all the lush plants I have surrounding my gardens.
The original chain link fence also provided limited privacy so I was excited to discover expandable trellis from Décors Véronneau that I could zip tie to the fence for instant, year- round privacy. The faux trellis is lush and realistic, and make the whole space feel cozy and secluded. I think one of the best things about summer is being able to spend uninterrupted time with your loved ones, and although the backyard isn’t finished yet, I love the things I’ve put in place to help make the exterior space feel more comfortable. Being a DIYer means I’ve learned to live with, and even enjoy, most stages of the renovation process–including the periods of transition when things aren’t always perfect. Plus, string lights, cozy blankets, potted plants, and cute pups always make a backyard look and feel more like home. I plan to curl up back here with my daughter and enjoy every single second of summer in Halifax!
Chain Link fence covered in Faux Trellis from Decors Veronneau
Check out the Cultured Stone installation video below and let me know what you think of the final look of my pink craftsman home!
BEFORE & AFTER
Back of house before
After extensions and changes made to the exterior of my home.
Read more about my budget saving Renovation Tips here.
xox
Rebekah
Check out the full before and after video on my youtube channel!
