Our client wanted to update his country home after his recent marriage.  The house had been painted gray with charcol trim.

before

Our client’s new wife is from the East Coast, and wanted a more contempory look.  Plus, the house needed staining, and the old alkyd stain supported quite a bit of mildew growth.

She selected a couple of greens for the siding with a white accent on the trim. We put some samples on the house, and after a while she chose Benjamin Moore “Salamander 2050-10″ for the bulk of the siding, with the upper sections and bays going “Kennebunkport Green HC-123.”  

Careful Painting elected to use the new Benjamin Moore Arborcoat to convey sharper colors and also to eliminate the midew problem.  Arborcoat is an evironmentally friendly  waterborne stain which outperforms other acrylic and alkyd (oil) stains.

The white accent really helps the greens to pop!

Jolene and I are excited about a new wallcovering material which we installed in the new Occupational Clinic at 710 South Division Street in Northfield. Stoneybrook paper comes in many colors and is simple for an experienced paperhanger to install. I have been hanging wallpaper since about 1989.

Jolene was able to find a color to go with the new carpet. While it does cost a little more than other wallpapers, this “torn” paper effect has real depth, will cover problem walls, and is very easy to repair. No more seams to deal with, either.

Because it is hand made to order, Stoneybrook paper must be ordered about a month in advance of installation. Careful Painting sells and installs Stoneybrook papers in the Northfield, Rochester and Mankato areas.

This summer the Careful Painting crew scraped and painted a garage for John Tymoczko and Alison Unger at Fourth and Elm Streets. We also touched-up over at Wayne Carver’s house at 203 Maple.

Reed Whittemore lived in the house at Fourth and Elm during some of the years he taught English at Carleton College in Northfield. He edited the Carleton Miscellany in the attic above the garage that we repainted for John and Alison. According to Alison and Professor Carver there was a ladder up to the garret which Professor Whittemore would pull up when he didn’t want to be disturbed in his writing and editing.

Here is a poem that Reed Whittemore wrote about the house at 319 Elm Street in Northfield, Minnesota, relevant as ever….

Andrew Bresnahan priming dormer windows facing South onto Fourth Street.

The Northfield home of Susan Dunhaupt and Dick Brown is looking refreshingly lighter these days as the Careful Painting crew nears completion on the exterior project. The couple had decided to give the home a facelift some time ago, and began the transformation by painting the porch, but then called upon Mark and his crew to finish the job.
I met with Susan to match up the color they had chosen with a durable exterior paint, and then helped select a red to accent the roof and a cream for the trim. The new light yellow complements the home’s red roof nicely, and is a refreshing change from the former green, as seen below from the backyard.

The Careful Painting crew recently completed work on the Jurries’ home, where they ended by adding decorative detail to the kitchen soffits. Jolene used the technique of rosemaling once again, in a pattern designed to fit with the homeowners’ decor.

In fact, the Jurries own an antique bellows, decorated with rosemaling, that they display in their home. Several furniture pieces also feature similar painted decoration.

Outside, the new paint color looks as though it were made for the house, the warmer hue complementing the Jurries’ colorful landscape nicely.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one impressed by Jolene’s artistry in the work she did on the Larson-Anderson home. Northfield News featured her photo on the front cover of their June 22 edition, above. Since joining Careful Painting in February, Jolene has shown excellent skill in craftsmanship, especially with detail work such as the Rosemaling project.

Having earned her degree in the arts — specializing in painting — from the University of Minnesota in 2003, Jolene has quite a bit of experience with the art form. She also does commissioned portraits and caricatures for clients. Originally from New Prague, Jolene now resides in Le Center with husband Jason and daughter Lana.

The Northfield home of Susan and Don Jurries will soon have a new look, thanks to Careful Painting. Mark and his crew of four have been busy scraping and masking the exterior and interior, getting the home ready for paint. The outside will feature Benjamin Moore’s Bradstreet Beige, while the owners have chosen Danville Tan for the living room, both of which complement the home’s limestone accents and dark wood trim.

The Jurries purchased the home eleven years ago from Don’s mom and sister. It was originally built for St. Olaf music professor Abrahamson in 1939.

The Norwegian painting tradition of Rosemaling is a perfect fit in the Northfield community, home to St. Olaf College and the beloved Ole Store Cafe, among others. Careful Painting first practiced the technique back in March, with crew member Jolene Robertson painting a chair for display at the local Home and Garden Show. Since that time, Jolene has used Rosemaling at home to embellish a table, but is now taking it to the next level by decorating a home with the fanciful swirls and strokes.

Ann Larson and Bruce Anderson’s Northfield home — on St. Olaf Avenue, nonetheless — was due for some touch-up work, which is where Careful Painting came in. After talking with owner Mark Lange, the couple agreed to embellish their front porch with Rosemaling, so Jolene and fellow employee Cassy Simon immediately began sketching out ideas. Jolene started painting this morning, using four different exterior colors from Young’s Paint Center in Dundas. The design features various flowers and swirls to add a bit of decorative whimsy to the home. Both Jolene and Cassy have studied fine arts, Jolene graduating from the U of M and Cassy from UW-River Falls.

The Careful Painting crew has been busy scraping, priming, caulking, and painting the Northfield home of University of Minnesota professor “Chick” Woodward. The home features beautiful details, such as the corbel below, which is highlighted with the decoration of several colors.

While working there today, the painters were joined by this friendly moth, who found his way into a paint can and decided to stick around.