A French-Inspired Exterior Makeover for Our 1970s Fort Hunt Home

After moving into our home in June 2023, we spent the first year getting settled and making the interior feel like our own. Once we felt comfortable inside, it was finally time to tackle the exterior updates I had been envisioning since the day we moved in.

The house originally had light brown vinyl siding with brick along the bottom and black shutters. While it had great bones, the exterior felt dated and didn’t reflect the style I wanted for our home.

Modernizing the exterior of a home can completely transform its curb appeal and overall feel. Sometimes it only takes a few thoughtful updates — like paint and lighting — to give a house an entirely new personality.

Here’s how we gave our 1970s Fort Hunt home a chic, French-inspired facelift.

My Vision

From the beginning, the lines of the house reminded me of a French château. I started saving inspiration on Pinterest and quickly developed a vision for the exterior.

I wanted the home to feel classic and timeless, with a soft off-white exterior paired with green-gray shutters. To complete the look, I planned to add shutter tie-backs and updated exterior lighting for a more polished and elegant feel.

Choosing the Colors

Choosing the paint colors turned out to be the most challenging part of the project.

I initially started with a few of my go-to off-white paint colors, including Benjamin Moore White Dove. After testing several samples directly on the brick, I ultimately landed on Benjamin Moore Dune White. It was the perfect creamy off-white — soft and warm without feeling too stark against the brick.

For the shutters, we decided to keep the existing louvered style and simply repaint them. They were still in great shape and exactly the style I wanted, so replacing them felt unnecessary.

My first choice for the shutter color was Benjamin Moore Duxbury Gray, but once the garage and front door were painted, I realized it wasn’t quite the right fit. I pivoted to Benjamin Moore Escape Gray and immediately knew it was the better choice.

If you look closely, you’ll notice the garage and front door are still a slightly different color — that’s one small project still on my to-do list to repaint myself.

The Process

For this project, I worked with my go-to contractors (who thankfully never get frustrated when I change my mind mid-project).

We started by power washing the entire house to properly prep the surfaces. After that, latex paint was applied to the vinyl siding, and the brick was painted using my favorite masonry paint from Romabio.

Romabio is designed specifically for masonry and limewash finishes, and it provides beautiful coverage while still allowing the brick to breathe.

The Final Touches

Once the painting was complete, we added a few finishing details to bring the entire look together.

We replaced the exterior light fixtures and installed decorative shutter tie-backs — a small detail that helped reinforce the French château–inspired aesthetic I had in mind.

These finishing touches elevated the entire exterior and made the home feel much more intentional and polished.

A Simple Exterior Update With Big Impact

This project was a reminder that you don’t always need a full renovation to dramatically improve a home’s curb appeal. Thoughtful color choices, quality paint, and a few well-chosen details can completely transform the look and feel of a home.

For us, this update turned a dated exterior into something timeless — and much closer to the vision I had when we first moved in.

✨ If you live in Fort Hunt or the surrounding Alexandria area and are thinking about updating your home — or buying one with renovation potential — I always love talking about ways to transform a property while maintaining its character.