The Evolution of the Poplar Cottage Exterior (so far...)
THE POPLAR COTTAGE
We’re 4-years into the “6 month…maybe 9 month” renovation that is the Poplar Cottage and the exterior has seen quite a transformation. Today I wanted to share pics throughout that timeline, from the day we bought the house through a new foundation, swapping out the windows, siding, the beginning of landscaping, etc etc. Admittedly we’re not 100% done with the exterior yet, but we’re close enough and progress is worth celebrating, too :) Let’s get into it…
windows + doors | pavers (in composer) | trim color: BM Simply White
Psst: see all blog posts on this house here
This renovation may not have been fast, but it sure is comprehensive. We’ve touched every square inch of this cottage and it is without a doubt the biggest project we’ve ever taken on. And that’s saying something considering it’s also the smallest house we’ve ever bought! Of course the scope has increased a lot over the years. We originally planned for a simple interior refresh of this 1bed/1bath/570sf house, but it turned into lifting the house 8’ in the air, pouring a new foundation (see what that cost here), and ripping off the unfinished attic and reframing a light and bright second story to end up with a 2bed/2bath/1,000sf-ish house. There have been new windows and doors, replacing the original siding with Alaskan Yellow Cedar shake (which I’m stilllllll working on 😅), and adding new decks. Phew! If this house isn’t the poster child for renovation scope creep, I don’t know what is ;)
Here’s a look at the exterior progressions over the years…
When our kids saw the before and during photos of the exterior a couple months ago, they asked why we ever touched the house in the first place. Ha! It sure was a cutie back before we made it a whole lot worse ;) But with the decks and most of the siding on and the start of the landscaping, it’s starting to look like a house again and hopefully our kids won’t ask us that again.
About the siding… Garett found this Alaskan Yellow Cedar shake siding (and trim pieces) on Facebook Marketplace, as one does ;) It should age to a beautiful gray, although it’s possible our particular climate may age it a little differently. Here are a few pieces of aged Alaskan Yellow Cedar that came in one of the bundles. Note that they were sitting in a yard near Seattle, which means they were hit with a TON more rain than our climate gets on the east side of the Cascade mountains.
Our original intent was to paint the siding. We opted for a lower grade of Alaskan Yellow Cedar with color variation, knots, and blemishes, thinking that it would all get covered paint. But the more we see the shake, the more we’re considering leaving it natural. I suspect we won’t be able to make up our minds and thus it’ll get to age and hopefully end up a beautiful patina’d gray. Or, of course, if it ends up a color we don’t like then we’ll paint it at that point.
So that’s the last 4 years of Poplar in pictures. This house may have been a pain in the butt from time to time, but we really do love it so and think she’s adorable :).
For anyone who finds themself in a similar never-ending project, I wanted to mention that we’ve found slower projects often turn out the best. You have time to craft the home, add details that you just can’t when you’re in a rush, really get a good feel for the house and love on it in a way that can only come with time. We’re renovating the Poplar Cottage for the long haul, like for another 100 years, so what’s a few extra months (or years) on the front end?! At least that’s what we’re telling ourselves ;) Yes, we’re excited to receive rental income on this cottage eventually in the future, but for now, we’re trying to do our best and enjoy the journey.
So when will this house actually be finished? We’re thinking by the end of the year. Hopefully ;)
xx
