Painting Your Old House

Symbol of the American Dream for the urban middle class, The Foursquare house generally maintains a light earth toned body color with off- white trim. A darker accent color is often used to highlight shingled gable ends and window sash. This style of home was built during the period when Colonial Revival and Craftsman Bungalows were fashionable. Take cues from your house’s porch details to paint it in an appropriate scheme.

Home to many immigrant families, Cleveland Doubles were often painted in hues that followed the concurrent trends toward Colonial Revival whites and grays or the green and brown earth tones associated with Bungalows. Doubles’ signature shingled gables should be painted the darkest shade on the house – either dark green or red. Trim colors should be white or off-white and the sash may be painted dark green or black. Front doors often employ varnished hardwood surfaces to accentuate the entry from the structure’s simple geometric lines.

The Colonial Revival style marked a return to classical symmetry and the lighter paint colors that were used in the early nineteenth century. The body is typically painted a lighter shade of ocher, yellow, tan, gray, gray-blue or gray-green. Trim should be painted off white or vellum.

The major distinction of the Colonial Revival paint scheme is the sash color, which should always be the same as the trim. Doors and shutters should be painted in dark greens or black.

Blending inspiration from Asian motifs with the look of hand-crafted woodwork and metals, Bungalow houses showcased colors found in nature. Body hues like browns, olives, tans, and dirty grays are typical. The trim color should have a subtle, but harmonious contrast to the body. Window sash and entry doors are usually the darkest color on the house.

Greek Revival houses recall the stylistic elements of Greek and Roman temples; like pediment fronts, columns and symmetry. The style is best suited to stone colors (grays, blue grays, tans), ochre based colors (straw and yellows), whites and off whites. This limited palette was common in the early nineteenth century when paint pigments were hand-ground in linseed oil to create a paint. Typically the body, trim and sash are painted white or very light color with doors and shutters accented with dark green.

Like Second Empire structures, Italianate style dwellings were derived from masonry prototypes in the Italian countryside. As a result, body colors should mimic light stone shades from grays to beiges. Italianate trim should be differentiated from the main color of the house and the sash are typically painted in dark greens or browns. If the body is light, the trim, cornices, brackets etc., should be painted several shades darker of the same color. Conversely, if the body color is deeper, the trim should be a lighter shade of the body color, though still keeping the sash dark.

Built as the crowning achievement of Victorians’ obsession with detail, Queen Anne houses were built on a grand scale with machine-made ornamentation. Most houses of this style were painted in one or two earth tone body colors to accent multiple types of siding. One trim color was used throughout to frame the structure’s decorative elements. Window sash should be painted a dark shade so as not to attract attention from the other architectural details.

The war was over and Americans were ready to settle down and enjoy suburban living. The Ranch, with its wide façade and smaller footprint, was often painted a bright and sunny color. Trim was typically edged in white. These whites often had a golden cast to them until titanium dioxide paint was developed. Yellows, blues, grays and browns were common body colors. Lacking complex architectural detail, slab entry doors with geometric windows drew attention to themselves with bright colors like yellow, turquoise, and terra cotta.

Though most of America’s Second Empire dwellings are wood frame construction, they were built to mimic a popular French style built of masonry. As a result, the most historically accurate body colors tend to be stone grays, ochre yellows and buff browns. Trim work, including window casings, brackets and cornices should be light brown, terra cotta or even olive green. Window sash, doors and shutters are often accented in the darkest shades of green, brown or red.

Emphasizing a fascination with our European past, Tudor style houses instantly transport us back to 16th century England. Utilizing natural building materials like stucco and half-timbering, the Tudor should be painted in warm, earthy tones. Both trim and sash should be painted in dark shades of browns, occasionally reds or dark olive greens.