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If you’ve ever done any kind of redecorating work, you’ve probably experienced the phenomenon I like to call “remodel brain.” Here’s how it works: Say, for example, it’s time for a new roof. Until that moment, you’ve probably never really thought about roofs (What are they even made of, anyway?). But now that you have to pick one, all you see—everywhere—are roofs. Oh, there’s a nice black one, you say to yourself as you’re driving around town—and then you pull over so you can grab a quick photo.
This goes for anything you’re thinking about updating: cabinets, toilets, gardens. You’re tearing photos out of magazines, snapping pictures in the powder room at a dinner party, calling across the street to a total stranger to ask about the mulch in her yard. You’re obsessed.
I had a particularly embarrassing “remodel brain” incident a few years back when my husband and I were trying to pick a new paint color for our home’s exterior. I was walking our dog and came upon a house that was the perfect shade of gray. I tried to take a photo from the sidewalk, but I wasn’t quite capturing the hue—so I slowly crept up onto the yard to get a closer look. As I held up my phone to take the shot, crouching down low to capture just the right light, the homeowner—who, I failed to notice, was sitting on the porch—asked, “Can I help you?”
In this edition of 5280 Home, we have an extremely helpful story about choosing exterior paint colors that I wish I’d read before that fateful day. (In case you’re interested, we eventually picked Sherwin Williams’ Woodsmoke Gray stain.) In fact, the issue is full of excellent ideas for all the warm-weather home projects that are likely knocking around in your mind—whether you’re updating your front porch, retooling the kitchen, or planting a side yard. Tuck this magazine under your arm this summer and you’ll save yourself lots of awkward encounters—we promise.
A final note: This will be my last issue as editor of 5280 Home. I’ve decided to take a smaller role at the magazine so I can spend more time with my family (and, yes, tackle all those redesign projects I’ve been dreaming about). It has been such a thrill building and editing this publication over the past three years; I’m excited to watch it continue to thrive and inspire.
