Choosing Historic Paint Colors

(Restoring Your Home to the Original Historic Paint Colors)

Do you live in a historic home? If so, your home has probably been painted several times over the years and the color no longer is typical of the period when your home was built. This is quite commonplace as people began experimenting with different exterior paint colors for their homes. In some places where the homes were built typically the same, they were painted as a way to give the home a bit of individuality.

Producing a Appropriate Historical Color Scheme

If it is important to you that your home is the color it was originally, there are ways this can be accomplished. There are historical societies that have researched the colors of certain period homes. The style and year it was built allows them to find the typical color of the era.

Many people hire heritage consultants who take samples of paint from several different areas of your home. The paint is examined using a microscope and the various aspects are considered. They have to take into consideration the paint has faded somewhat over the years and there are usually several layers. This is all used to come up with a color available today that matches the original color of the home.

Still another method is called the "bull's eye method". This is often a way the homeowner can find the color themselves. The way this is done is by finding a spot on the home that does not receive a lot of sun. This helps to find the original color that was not subject to extreme fading by the sun.

The spot you choose should also be an area that may have been difficult for whoever painted the home to remove the paint to the bare wood. By finding the spot where all the layers have been applied over the years, you can use the "bull's eye method" to find the original color.

Use sand paper to sand all the paint in approximately a four inch circle. This should expose every layer of paint that has been used on the house. You need to do this on every part of the house that you think would have been a different color. The trim, porches and shutters would have been different than the rest of the house.

One extremely important aspect of finding the correct color using this method is to remember if your home was originally painted by a good painter; the final coat you see may be the undercoat - not the original color. Another thing is these homes were often painted with lead-based paint. This can be dangerous so you will need to find out what you will have to do to remove this paint if it is indeed lead-based. The EPA has laws governing this process.

What is the Style of Your Home?

The style of your home will determine the colors that were originally used. If you have a Greek Revival home such as some of the mansions that are native to the deep South, your home most likely was white. These homes usually have several columns across the front. Arches were typically held up by these columns.

Is your home a Victorian home? They often had many decorations on the front including lacework constructed from wood, small cone shaped replicas of towers and some had shingles with a pattern. These homes were usually painted using greens the color of moss, a dark mulberry or a ginger color.

A Colonial home is usually found along the Gulf coast, the East coast or the Southwest. These homes are either one or two story and have windows on each side that are identical to each other. Colors used for the Colonial homes were earthy colors. For example, umber, ochre, indigo and red were some of the more popular during this time.

A Federal home may be found in the port cities that were doing very well from about 1780 to 1830. The houses may resemble boxes and have fan shaped windows near the front door. The colors used for these homes were soft blue, a sage green, cream colors and even a pumpkin color.

Another period home is the Colonial Revival which was popular from 1900 to 1940. The home had windows with many panes and the roof was gabled. The colors these homes were painted were a gray-brown, grays and medium colors of blue.

Yes, The Exterior Paint Color Influences Performance

When painting the exterior of your home, the color can either make the home look great or in a couple of years time, it can look like it needs painted again. The color chosen needs to be able to retain the original look for some time.

The paint we use today has improved dramatically over paint used many years ago, but the color that you choose will absorb UV light. This will determine how long the paint lasts. Dark colors, for example, absorb more UV rays than lighter colors. Because they absorb more UV light they also have problems with chalking and moisture. This can cause darker colors to fade faster and need repainted more often than lighter colors.

Should you decide to use organic colors, you should be aware they will fade faster than if you had used inorganic colors. The earth tones are more apt to last longer when used for exterior painting. The pigments do not break down like the ones in greens, blues and reds.

Is it Essential to Use the Historical Paint Color?

Many owners of historical homes want to have their homes look as close to original as possible. This means painting them the same color they were painted when they were built. If this is important to you, then by all means do so. However, if you are set on using a particular color, there is no reason why you should not.

The color of your home should be a choice you can make based on your personal preferences. After all, it is your home. The many colors available today give us an amazing array from which to choose when looking for the perfect color for our homes. If you want your historical home to look the same as it did when it was originally built, use the historical paint colors.