Taking On An Exterior Renovation For Our Historic Home: A Collaboration With James Hardie

This post is sponsored by James Hardie, but all opinions are my own.

Four years ago, we bought a 110-year-old home on Long Island that needed a whole lot of love. We were drawn to the home for its historic charm and even loved that it was a total fixer upper so we could put our personal stamp on every inch of it. We immediately got started on renovating the interior and have spent the better part of the last four years doing exactly that. Nearly everyone who has entered our home since renovating the inside has made a comment to the effect of, “It’s really hard to believe that this beautiful home exists inside THAT exterior.”

Well, now that our interior has been entirely spruced up, it feels good to refocus on the exterior. Last Spring, I started a garden in our side yard and as excited as I am about how it turned out, it made the rest of the exterior look even MORE dated. The garden has kind of had the same effect on the house as a professional singer’s voice has on my ego: just like I thought the exterior looked “OK” until the garden was created, I also think my shower-singing voice is good until I listen to an opera.

We knew the first place we had to start was the siding. As straightforward as that may sound, I found the idea of replacing the original 110-year-old siding to be quite intimidating. There was so much damage to it from termites, woodpeckers and well, from just being OLD, but I was not quite sure what to replace the siding with. I wanted a siding option that would feel updated, but still maintain the historic curb appeal of our home.

And then I came across James Hardie. To be honest, I had never heard of the brand, or fiber cement siding. It was not long before I was 1,000% sold on James Hardie as a brand, and fiber cement as our product of choice. As a non-combustible material, it made me feel safer living in an old home with old electric. Our woodpecker friends would stop visiting our wood siding, and termites would no longer be a worry.

But my favorite part? Hardie® fiber cement products also come in over 700 ColorPlus® Technology colors so, truly, you can imagine any color palette that your heart desires for your exterior. As a color lover, it’s easy to get lost on the James Hardie website exploring all of the ColorPlus® Technology options in the Hardie® fiber cement products.

The last question mark that remained in my mind was, “does it look good?” Since I was unfamiliar with fiber cement as a siding option, I did probably WAY too much research in this realm. Turns out, Hardie® siding and trim products are major head-turners. I ended up hopping down a rabbit hole and creating Pinterest boards with different siding combinations and options. You can check those out here.

As much as I love color, I wanted to extend the interior style of our home to our exterior. And while our interior may seem colorful to you, nearly all the walls are painted black or white. I love a classic neutral background inside my home, and I wanted the same for the exterior. The only question that remained for us was, “black or white?”

As we worked through our color options (and there are many, even within those “neutral” categories), there was one thing I was sure I wanted to change about our current exterior. One of the details of our historic home that made me fall in love with it is the original board and batten siding on the garage. I loved the idea of creating interest with texture on the exterior of our home, and quickly decided that I wanted to combine the home’s original lap siding look with board and batten. Whether we go with black or white, I know this combination of materials will be a showstopping look for the exterior.

I hope you will join us on our journey to make our home’s exterior reflect our personal style as much as the interior. We are beyond excited to have found James Hardie and their line of Hardie® fiber cement siding and trim products. I finally feel confident that we can update and modernize our home, while still paying respect to its historic roots. And with a vast array of color and material options, going with exterior solutions by James Hardie felt like a no-brainer.

I am beyond excited to see that Kate Pearce Vintage style come to life on our exterior, so our home can finally shine on both the inside and out. Be sure to head on over to check out the James Hardie site, too. Their website is as impressive as their products and is loaded with articles, quizzes and resources to help you find your exterior style, too. Click here to check out their Style Finder.

Just be prepared to fall down that rabbit hole. (Don’t worry, it’s fun down there).