The Historic Preservation League of Oregon Presents...
Selecting Historic Paint Colors

Although it is possible to determine your house's original colors and reproduce them in a new paint job, attempting an exact match poses a number of problems. Consider this: bad taste is not limited to modern times, and the original owners of your historic home might have had unusual or downright awful color sense. Furthermore, because paint manufacturing technology has changed over the last century, and because tastes change over time, you may find that exact color reproductions are unappealing. Finally, because paint colors change due to sunlight exposure, pollution, or even age, determining the exact original colors often requires a detailed and highly technical analysis. However, it is possible -- and relatively easy -- to combine information on the history of paint colors with a bit of on-the-spot sleuthing to come up with paint colors that are appropriate for the style and period of your building and also appealing to twenty-first century tastes.

Finding your building's original colors:

Assuming that your building still has at least some of its original siding, and assuming that earlier painters did not scour off every last fleck of paint before repainting, it is possible to get a general understanding of the color history of your building. Find a place on your building that is relatively sheltered from direct sunlight and not exposed to pollution sources (away from prevailing winds, idling tailpipes, splashed mud, mildew-prone areas, and heavily trafficked areas). Using either a scalpel or a piece of sandpaper, carefully scrape away or sand off layers of paint. You should end up with a small divot with slightly sloping sides that reveal a series of paint layers. This is the history of paints and primers that were used on this part of your building. To get a complete picture of the palette, you will need to do this on the trim, doors, window sashes, and any area that might have been painted a different color. Take samples from more than one spot on each area to double-check that all of the paint layers are represented.

Interpreting the layers of paint can be tricky. Remember that some of the layers are primer, that paint gets dirty and changes color over time, and that earlier painters might have sanded off some layers of paint in your particular sample area (which is why it's wise to check more than one area). Buildings ought to get painted every ten to twenty years, so by counting the layers it may be possible to estimate whether most of the paint history is represented in your sample areas. If you are interested in exactly matching the original colors, you will need to submit paint samples to a laboratory that specializes in paint analysis; such labs determine the composition of the paint and its original color fairly accurately. However, few homeowners are interested the high degree of accuracy usually reserved for house museums. By understanding color preferences of different architectural periods and then correlating those preferences with a self-guided paint analysis, many homeowners are able to make educated decisions on paint colors.

A Brief History of Paint Technology

Pre-mixed paints, selected from mass-produced color cards, are a relatively new invention. Before the re-sealing paint can was invented in 1877, paints were mixed as needed in order to avoid their drying out. Instead of heading to the hardware store to stock up on color chips, homeowners in search of a new paint job would enlist the services of a professional painter who could mix up a batch of paint and color it with his selection of ground pigments. While taste-makers like the architect A.J. Downing wrote ample instructions on the tasteful application of colors, the exact tone or shade of each color was left to the individual painter's eye and skill. People in isolated areas that were unlikely to have the services of a professional painter mixed their own paints.

Once it became possible to store paint and to reproduce colors reliably - shortly after the Civil War - paint manufacturers cropped up and began producing paint cards of their own color offerings. Reprints of these cards can be found in Roger Moss' book (listed below). In an attempt to create a market for their new ready-mixed product, post-Civil War paint companies offered richer colors in a wider range than had been available before. Where a traveling painter was limited to the pigments that he could tote to each worksite, a stationary manufacturer was able to create a wide-ranging palette of colors.

Paint technology has changed dramatically over the course of the twentieth century. Whites have become whiter, colors more brilliant, and the spectrum of available colors much broader. The stark white décor of the 1980s would not have been possible in the 1910s simply because early whites relied on lead and zinc oxides, both of which are more yellowish than modern titanium-based pure whites. Likewise the artificial-looking candy colors of the 1950s - many of these relied on wartime advances in chemistry.

Color Preferences over the Years

Colonial Revival or Classical Revival styles (throughout this country's history)

These styles are based on the marble architecture of Greece and Rome. While we now know that those monuments were originally painted with many colors and patterns, people originally took them at face value and replicated their white stone exteriors. These revival styles are therefore usually white, pale yellow, or pale stone gray. Trim color was white - yellowish, or off-white, not our modern stark white - and shutters were often dark green or black to replicate aged bronze shutters of Italian Renaissance buildings.

Victorian era (late nineteenth century)

During this period, there was a lot of interest in variety in colors, shapes, and patterns. Popular colors were rich, intense, and fairly strong, and contrasting colors were used to bring out different architectural elements. The well-known "painted ladies" in San Francisco - Queen Anne row houses with eye-popping color combinations - are quite a bit more vibrant than historical Victorian-era paint jobs, however. Deep browns, saturated olives, yellow ochres, and rich brick reds would have been more likely color choices. While not brilliant, these colors were highly saturated and created a sumptuous, rich palette. Architectural elements such as window sash, trim, and carved ornaments would have been painted in contrasting colors - either darker or lighter - to draw attention to them. Because the roof is often very visible, shingle colors and patterns were likewise taken into consideration in selecting a palette.

Craftsman Era (late nineteenth - early twentieth century)

The Arts and Crafts movement emphasized harmony with nature, a return to the handmade, and rejection of machine-like precision. The houses of this period often enjoy a great degree of ornamentation, but the ornament was used to emphasize the structure and construction of the building rather than to adorn for the sake of adornment. Many of these houses have different siding on the first and second floors -wooden clapboards on the first floor, and wooden shingles on the second - although it was just as common to have only one material. Houses with different siding materials often received two different paint colors. These houses work best using the colors of nature; earth-browns, moss greens, sand yellows, and terra cotta reds. These colors were less saturated and more earthy than Victorian-era colors. In addition, while trim colors were used to bring out architectural details, they were chosen to complement the overall color scheme rather than to emphasize specific architectural elements.

It is very common for houses of this period to display a variety of styles or architectural references. Elements of Arts and Crafts, Colonial Revival, English Tudor Revival, Spanish Revival, or other styles crept in as the Craftsman style gradually fell out of fashion. Colonial Revival became one of the predominant styles, and white or yellow houses came into favor.

Post-War Period (1950s-1960s)

As mentioned above, postwar technology enabled the creation of newer, brighter colors. Cookie-cutter subdivisions of smaller ranch or split-level homes sprouted up across the country as veterans returned home and wartime rationing was pushed aside. These houses had almost no ornamentation (aside from non-functional shutters) and narrow window trim. Because the houses were small, they were often exact replicas of their neighbors, and had little ornamentation, they were often painted in brighter colors like coral, light blue, or sea foam green - colors made possible by advances in chemistry. Trim - what little of it there was - was almost always white; the exception being white houses, which often had dark trim.

Where to go from here

Entire books have been written about historic colors, so after having read the brief paragraphs above, you may be left with more questions than you began with. Not to worry. A number of paint suppliers offer pamphlets with "historical color palettes." Some are better than others; Sherwin-Williams separates colors into time periods (this simple organization is far less common than one would hope), and Benjamin Moore suggests color combinations and distinguishes between body and trim colors. There are many other paint manufacturers with excellent brochures as well. Be wary of color cards that fail to make these simple distinctions; it should be obvious by now that using historical Victorian-era paint colors on an equally historic Colonial Revival house would result in a decidedly non-historic appearance! In addition, body and trim colors are not necessarily interchangeable, and the combination of colors is an important aspect of creating an appropriate paint scheme.

Take the time to learn more about your house's architectural style and the period during which it was built. A Field Guide to American Houses is a good place to start, since it describes the various housing styles and gives a good background on each. A visit to your local library should be able to provide you with a additional books on specific architectural styles. One resource that is often overlooked is old decorating magazines. Such magazines abounded throughout the twentieth century, dispensing well-illustrated decorating advice. A good library should have copies of these magazines in its archives, which will enable you to see firsthand the decorating suggestions of a given period. Beware the current crop of magazines that focus on certain styles (especially Victorian and Craftsman); many over-romanticize the style and conveniently reinterpret it for today's advertisers. It's better to go straight to the source, and use books, magazines, postcards, and advertising flyers that were printed when your house was built.

Other Recommended Resources

McAlester, Virginia and Lee McAlester. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.
Moss, Roger W. and Gail Caskey Winkler. Victorian Exterior Decoration: How to Paint Your Nineteenth Century American House Historically. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1992.
Schwin, Lawrence. Old House Colors: An Expert's Guide to Painting Your Old (Or Not So Old) House. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 1990.

This information was created by the Historic Preservation League of Oregon and updated in April, 2002.
Historic Preservation League of Oregon
3534 SE Main Street Portland, OR 97214
503-243-1923

- Home -