Lately we’ve been seriously considering painting the exterior of our brick house white, but a few concerns keep holding us back. In this post we walk through the pros and cons we’ve been weighing (yes, we’ve been debating this for years), share a few new things we’ve learned, and ask for your opinion: would you paint this brick house white? We also cover why Sherry stepped away from veganism, how our TV provider unexpectedly dropped us and forced a rethink of our cable-cutting setup, and — good news — how we managed to save more money in the end.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify — or listen using the player below. Use this page to find any links, notes, or photos we reference. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
- If you missed Sherry’s earlier experiment with veganism last fall, check out Episode #66: Are Meal Delivery Kits Really Worth It? for background.
- After moving away from strict vegan eating, Sherry’s go-to meals and snacks include: scrambled or hard-boiled eggs, taco bowls (extra meat, avocado, cheese, salsa, sour cream), Cobb or chicken salads with blue cheese or tzatziki, chicken salad eaten straight from the bowl, turkey & cheese roll-ups, fresh broccoli with spinach-artichoke dip, string cheese, kalamata olives, roasted almonds, turkey slices rolled with Laughing Cow spread, and simple mozzarella, basil & balsamic. She also still enjoys Bai beverages as a low-carb option—Pineapple is her favorite.
- Curious about how we cut the cable? Listen to Episode #46: The New Home Habit That’s Saving Us Nearly $1000 or read our blog post on cutting the cable for details on our setup, savings, and lessons learned.
- We also shared tips on how to hide TV wires and recommend Sling as an affordable streaming option; we use the Sling Blue plan at $24.99/month (Sling Orange is available for $19.99).
Painting Our House
Below is the current view of our home and a backyard shot with a peek of the new cafe lights. We’re weighing pros and cons of painting brick white — from curb appeal and modern style to maintenance, cost, and how it could change the character of the house.
- Special thanks to Elsie at A Beautiful Mess and Gwen at The Makerista for sharing their experiences maintaining a painted white exterior. Their projects helped shape our thinking about upkeep and design.
We’re Digging
- We added Fiet Electric 48ft indoor/outdoor string lights over the back patio. We ordered two sets but used one; the second set will go to the beach house. They hang from a single anchor point on our porch.
- The lights are currently powered by a white outdoor extension cord and secured with white Ook hooks for a clean look. For shorter runs, the 14ft Smith & Hawken string lights from Target are a solid option.
- Sherry’s daily snack: Barney Butter almond butter single-serve packs — perfect for a 3pm pick-me-up.
If you want to revisit items we’ve recommended in past episodes, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging across our episodes.
Finally, thanks to Annie Selke’s BED101 for sponsoring this episode. Enter to win a full “Load It On” luxury bedding set at AnnieSelke.com/Giveaway — the prize is exclusive to Young House Love listeners.
Thanks for listening and for weighing in — tell us what you’d do about painting a brick house white. We’re still undecided and would love your perspective.
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