We have been working hard to give the outside of the main farmhouse a fresh new look. Its amazing what a difference a lick of paint here and there makes!
When we started, the farmhouse had traditional murky-yellow bricks round the windows, which clashed with the rest of the house. One side of the house was cracked and stained concrete-coloured render, which added to the brown murky look. The oak-framed sunroom was faded and water-stained, and yes, also murky brown.
The 'before' photo:
We chose to first paint the yellow bricks to match the roof tiles, which are slate from Penrhyn quarry. Penrhyn slate has a really unique purple colour that you can see all over this part of Wales. After bringing home about a million grey colour cards to find the perfect match, it turned out that one called "Welsh Slate" was the clear winner. Who would have thought it would be that easy!
Here are the windows done (although, reaching the yellow bricks on the chimney is a challenge for another day!). We think it has toned into the house much nicer.
Whilst I was painting inside the front porch, I discovered some very faint pencil hand-writing. It is very hard to make out - the top may say "Bryn Jones, Aug 10 1957", and I can make out a few other odd words but nothing for definite. So, I put my investigator hat on, and went to ask our neighbour who grew up in this farmhouse in the 50's. She recognised it as her father's writing - and believed that it was his notes regarding who he needed to contact about various lost sheep. He was the "Setiwr" in those days, a Patrol Shepherd which was an official role which acted as the guardian of the sheep. Of course, sheep belonging to each farmer don't stay put and they mingle with other flocks up in the mountains. Any disputes regarding sheep ownership between the local farmers got settled by the Setiwr, who's word was final. It was amazing to uncover this little bit of history - I am glad I didn't paint over it!
Anyway, back to the painting; we then painted the side of the house in another lighter grey that blended nicely between the roof tiles and the more charcoal-coloured granite of the other walls. This colour was called "Vintage Boot".
In the photo above, you can also see our final brave step (after much deliberation, and a virtual painting session on photoshop) of painting the sunroom frame black. The whole house needed some contrast, to cut through the greys and browns. It looks much smarter now and the plants and flowers that will grow up it will 'pop' against the black.
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