THE EXTERIOR

The choice of material for the new horizontal siding that would start pale and then weather to a soft grey was first. I settled on western red cedar engineered siding, in extra-long planks, because it’s sustainable. The roof would be natural cedar shingles that would turn silver-grey, and the fir-framed windows would be painted Benjamin Moore’s Sandy Hook Gray. The new exterior doors would be natural fir preserved with Benjamin Moore’s Arborcoat Exterior Waterproofer.

I wanted to be eco-conscious in our choices of materials. There was a time when I would have rejected knotty cedar in favour of clear.

But I learned that the knots signal that these trees are renewable, which, of course, changes everything. Embracing those knots — knocking them back with a bleaching oil that is water-based and safe to use was the solution.

Going Canadian was a big factor in choosing materials and suppliers: B.C. western red cedar siding, B.C. fir windows from a Manitoba company, Loewen Windows, and B.C. cedar shingles give this house’s exterior a

“Made in Canada” label that

I like a lot. Benjamin Moore also provided technical expertise on how to treat all of the house’s wood surfaces.

Someone convinced me to go with a new cedar roof. I thought we should wait a year and think about it. Boy, was I wrong! The new roof has transformed the exterior. It’s magnificent, as you will see in the video.

As I write this, I’m still undecided about exterior lighting. I can point you to every barn sconce ever made, in every finish... and we’ll have a few. But those key front door fixtures are trickier.

In any case, the material will be aged black metal for the barn-style sconces. Those all-important hits of black in hardware and lighting will help ground the eye.