Exterior trim does need re staining from time to time and our trims time had come for a freshening up – it was a year or two overdue as a matter a fact. We had chosen quite a dark trim colour when we built the house and the darker colours do tend to fade quicker than the paler shades – even so, we were happy with the look and really didn’t want to change it very much. The new colour just has more brown than the previous stain – so many of the browns and greens mimic each other in different lighting – this one still reads as a green at different times of day but less so than before.

The garage doors have a southern exposure and are metal, they faded even faster than the cedar trim – I was jokingly referring to them as having a much loved and worn Ralph Lauren look but knew they really needed to be stained – pronto!

The photos will show the difference….first a before shot,

and after,

The entry before,

and after,

The new colour is Benjamin Moore – Durango 2137-30. Fresh and all done for another few years! We still have the much loved and worn Ralph Lauren look but now it is only on the cedar shakes that cover the walls – the shakes take on a patina all their own in different areas, depending upon how the sun, rain & wind hit them ~ it is a comfortable look that we like. The shakes on the roof have an all over weathered grey appearance ~ like the houses of Nantucket Island have on their walls, which is the look I love and wanted to create here but our weather patterns are just not the same as the Atlantic Coast. So this is our West Coast natural shingle style!