Instant Curb Appeal with DIY Shutters

Y’all know that we have been working on the exterior of our house for the entire three years that we have lived here.  We’ve been taking it one slow step at a time.

Very soon, I am planning on showing you how we painted our exterior brick and what our house looks like now.  We still have a lot to do, but we are getting there!

One side of our house that I have been dying to add a little curb appeal is the side next to our driveway.  It’s the side that everyone sees when they drive up to our house.

This is what this side of our house looked like when we bought the house three years ago…

DSC_0265

I knew immediately when we bought the house that I wanted to paint the brick.  Notice the beautiful green mold on the brick?  Yuck!  We power washed that off before we painted.

IMG_0348

We finally painted the exterior last year, and we used Valspar Duramax (exterior)paint from Lowe’s and had it tinted the same color as Benjamin Moore’s White Dove.

 

phone 033

Painting the exterior brick made a HUGE difference in the look of our home.  It made old, ugly brick look fresh and new!photo(23)

Of course, I wanted to make some shutters for these windows.

We used pressure treated 1×6 pieces of pine (about 54 inches long) to fit the size of our windows.

DSC_0601

The horizontal slats of wood on the front are pressure treated 1×4’s.  We used construction adhesive and finish nails to attach the horizontal piece to the vertical slats.

DSC_0600

We painted the shutters with an exterior Valspar Signature paint in my favorite color, Ebony Fields.  It’s kind of a brownish-grayish-black.photo(24)

Here are the supplies we got at Lowe’s to hang the shutters…

photo(25)

 

First, we decided where we wanted to hang the shutters, marked the spot, and used a drill to create a starter hole in the brick.

photo(21)

Next, we used the masonry bit and concrete anchors to attach the shutter to the brick.  We only needed two anchors, one on the top and one on the bottom.

photo(20)

It started getting late when we were hanging the last shutters. Smile

photo(19)

The next day, I went to Lowe’s Garden Center and picked up some beautiful knock out roses and hostas.

DSC_0571

I also got this beautiful bush to hide some of the “uglies” on our exterior.  It’s not quite big enough yet to cover them, but it will be eventually.

DSC_0569

And I love my beautiful white azalea that I planted.

DSC_0586

I am so happy with how cheerful this side of our house looks now!  It will be even more beautiful over the years as these plants continue to grow and get even bigger.

1

Just some paint, shutters, and landscaping has made a huge difference in the curb appeal of our home!  I love pulling up in our driveway now. Smile

page

What do you think?  Do you like my brick better painted?

 

This project was sponsored by Lowes as part of their monthly Lowes Creative Ideas Team.  For more inspiration, check out the Lowes Creative Ideas magazine in print or on your tablet.

Summer Blogger Badge Subscribe Banner

49 Comments

  1. I love it! I’m not a fan of the color of brick you had so I love it painted! Can’t wait to see the rest of the house!

  2. It makes a big difference! I’m not crazy about brick except on walkways (OK, Monticello might be an exception to my dislike, but it also has a good dose of white on it). A couple of years ago when we visited family in the South, my oldest son asked what was with all the brick buildings? I told him, “Look at the soil!”

  3. WOW! What a difference some paint makes! You just always keep amazing me and inspiring me with all you do!

  4. It looks great!! The paint and Shutters (I love) has transformed your home into wonderful curb appeal! Thanks for sharing.

  5. It’s amazing the difference some paint makes! It looks 20 years newer and way more “Tracey”!

  6. I love the new look. We too have made shutters that way and had them cover a garage window that was broken and not necessary.
    Our shutters look like they are closed over the entire window. It looks really cute and hardly cost anything. We also put a small window box underneath and planted flowers to give it a cheerful look. Your home is lovely, keep updated us as you do more and more work on it. :-)
    Love,
    ~Ellen

  7. You know I love painted brick, and I think your shutters are great! Isn’t it wonderful how small changes can add up to BIG differences??

    Hope you’re having a great week! I keep thinking of you and Cy. Hope his new job is going well. Love you!

  8. What’s the front look like? Nice effort… I’m not totally sold, believe it or not, I kinda like beautiful green moss growing on old brick. Is your house a ranch style? I like the Georgians painted brick, but ranch style houses kinda need to stay “ranchy” IMHO. ;)

    1. Dee,
      It is a ranch, but we added an addition to the side. That is part of the reason we painted the brick to make the addition look cohesive with the rest of the house. We have plans for a future gabled roof front porch and a two car garage on the other side as well. Lots of work still to do! :)

  9. We have a brik house and are wanting to paint it also. This is a great post for us to refer back to ! Your home looks awesome!!

  10. i have been waiting for forever to see what your painted brick will look like! it looks anazing! our house is painted brick, too, but we’re getting ready to lighten it up and paint it again. i can’t believe how polarizing this issue is! i think your house looks so updated and fresh! ignore the negativity–you’ve got great taste!

  11. Wow! It looks like a different house. Beautiful! I especially like the addition of the shutters and the color you painted them. They are like jewelry for your house. :)

  12. I love painted brick. Most people either love it or hate it. I’m working on my husband. I’d love to paint our brick. I think your house looks great and I can’t wait to hear your process on painting the brick.

  13. I have been begging my husband to let me paint our ugly brick front on our new house. The soon to be previous owners had stucco done on the other three sides but left the face of the house brick. Trust me my brick is far uglier.. Yours was nice, but I just love painted brick exteriors. I think it really has to be the right tone/shade of color in the brick to last through the decades and not looked dated. Secretly I have been getting quotes to have the remainder of the house done in stucco if he won’t let me paint the brick. I am curious to see if over the years you feel like this adds more maintenance to your home or not.

  14. Hi Traci! Your home looks amazing with the brick painted and the new shutters. Can’t wait to see the rest of it. Our house is half brick and half siding. I want to paint the brick and siding to give it a more cohesive look, but whoa boy is it going to be a doozy to paint. So happy for your blessing of Cy’s new job!!! GOD is sooo good and HE fixes our problems before we know we have one. GOD bless you and your family!!! Love, Carlie

  15. I LOVE it painted white. We’re in the process of doing the same thing to our new house. Did you do a post on the painting of it? How many coats did it take you all?

  16. Ohh I LOVE it!! Black and white is my absolute favorite and so classic!! Knock out roses are also a personal fav for a brown thumb like myself :) Looks absolutely wonderful!!

  17. Job well done – I love how crisp everything looks now, yet still cozy and cottage-y. My house is a white colonial with black shutters & a red front door, and we also love having knockout roses in our landscaping. Keep working hard, the results are clearing paying off!

  18. Change in house w/ ext paint is amazing; also love the shutters & their simplicity. Do you have to prime the brick? How many coats? Thx for your answers.

  19. I love the look of your new “Old Kentucky Home”. I have to caution you though…knock out roses love full sun and hostas love full shade. The hostas will brown out and look withered from about June on if not in the shade. Just a little gardening tip! ;)

  20. The painted bricks make a huge difference. I love the change you did with the middle window from the original as well. And then we get to the shutters, I think they add just enough color to mix things up a bit. I think they make a huge difference.

  21. Ohhh my goodness! I absolutely love the painted brick. It is crazy how much more fresh and new it looks from good ol white paint and flowers! Great transformation :)

  22. Your house looks beautiful. Painted brick is definitely a southern thing and I love all things southern!! I want to change the shutters at my Lakehouse to the kind you made. I have been reading your blog for a year now and have gotten lots of good ideas from you. I have learned so much about cottage style from you and am hoping to remake my Lakehouse in that style!

  23. It was so good to meet and visit with you on Sunday at the game! We certainly have a lot in common. Love your home – inside and out! Would like to buy a house to remodel and paint the brick – if my present house ever sells. Isn’t it amazing how different the electric meter looks painted?! I’ll be following your blog from now on.

  24. I have always loved brick homes, starting as a child from the three little pigs story. I always associated brick homes with safety and security. Now that I have a brick home, I hate my brick color and some of the issues that it has. I would love it if my bricks were the colors of yours, mine are all the crayon color “brick red”. I love color, but I can’t decide on what I want. I do NOT want any white, every house in my neighborhood is either brick or white. Your place looks great! Love the tip on the shutters. Going to make myself some!

  25. A for effort but I’m not a fan of painted brick. It takes an essentially maintenance free home into the of homes that require a lot more work. I love the look of the craftmanship of brick. I refinish wood instead of painting that too. But, as I said, Kudos for the hard work and great intentions. It shows the home is well cared for.

  26. I want to paint my brick house that we just bought. Can you give me few tips on how to paint it and with what? Is it better to spray paint it or roll it? Thank you

  27. Wow! I ve been trying for years to convince my husband to paint our old brick! I can t wait to show him this. We ve been in our home over 30 years! You did a great job and thanks for the tips! Wish me luck!!

    1. Awesome! I LOVE our painted brick! Did you see the two posts on my blog with a lot of different painted brick homes? Just search for “painted brick homes” in my search box for lots of inspiration. :) xoxo

  28. We just painted our 1950’s ranch brick house. We are also adding an addition to the back and wanted to blend everything. Could you send a picture of the front? We need to add shutters to our house as well. Thanks! Love the color and shutters!

    1. Hi Lucy! They have held up really well. We’ve had them a few years, and just this year, because we are selling our house, we had to touch up a couple of shutters on the left side of our house, but that is it. Not bad at all!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *