Toronto home owners, Young and Chris, had a vision when buying their house over a year ago. They felt the front facade was lacking in stylish curb appeal and needed some serious help. They could see the potential and decided to undergo the changes this past spring. As you can see, the before and afters are remarkable, so I had to ask Young about the process…
Why did you decide to change the exterior?
We moved into our house last year and we hated the front porch’s style and current state. It was apparent that it would eventually have to be replaced as it was very old (most likely original- 100+ years), caked on with layers of paint and was deteriorating. There was no saving it either, as it had been painted over so many times with layers of paint. We designed a new porch with a vision in mind, to be a more modern and updated while balancing out the old but without taking away it’s character. This is more our aesthetic taste.
What elements did you change or renovate?
First, the entire porch was ripped out! Demolished. Gone! We hired a contractor to build the porch with our design in mind. Cedar wood was used on all surface areas, where pressure treated wood accessorized the hidden areas to help keep costs down. In addition to cost savings, we sanded and stained the porch ourselves. We decided on creating a contrast between the stain and natural cedar planks. We used a Benjamin Moore stain called Arborcoat Silver Grey in transparent for the main areas, and offset it with a semi transparent beige colour for the rest. Once the staining was complete, the trim on the house needed some TLC, so we accented that with a dark charcoal bluish grey.
What was your budget?
We had a contractor quote, baring in mind that we would do the staining and painting of the facade. The budget sat around $4-5K for the porch labour and materials, as well as, replacing the fascia on front of the house.
Words of advice?
When prepping your porch before staining, sand, sand, sand! It’s never enough. Also, splurge on a good quality top coat that will seal the stain and last longer over time.
And plan ahead. Make sure you have a vision, both colours and design, so you know what you are working towards. That really helped the whole process!
Thank you to Young and Chris for sharing your story and showing off all your hardwork. You definitely have serious curb appeal now!