EF Advertising Group, Inc.

Are You Going To Paint It?

Color Concept Illustrations by Ron Fichthorn

We think, based on the evidence of the trim and some of the exterior wood work that the house was originally a dark leaf green, with white trim or just dark green. It appears that it never strayed from that color scheme until it was sided with white aluminum in the 1960's. We're not positive that it was originally always that color and we still need to do some additional investigative work. The interior of the house was gutted and only minor representations of wall paper and paint remain.

As we waited for the title on the home to clear, we researched the paint combinations that were available at the time. It's not hard research, but you need to be cautious. Just like today, many of these homes were painted in a kaleidoscope of colors, but many followed a certain theme to blend into the neighborhood. One of the best sources for an accurate history of Victorian Paint is Roger Moss and Gail Winker's book on Victorian Exterior Decoration (ISBN 0-0850-23313-5). This book is a wonderful resource. Most Victorian homes, depending on the time period, were painted in earth tones such as burnt sienna, olives and brownstone. Yellows, reds and grays were also used. White was rarely used.

Below are eight color combinations we created to display on the house. This doesn't mean that the final result will be one of these eight, these are just concepts. At the time we created these, we still had much to learn about paint and the myths that surround painting an old Victorian house. We do know that its current paint will change.

Color Concepts 1 and 2

Color Concepts 3 and 4

Color Concepts 5 and 6