Colour Palette

Colour has always been interesting and important to me. Colour is a big part of architecture. Some have historical connotations or specific meanings. For instance, George Washington was able to boast the height of fashion in the late 18th century because his parlour at Mount Vernon was painted Prussian Blue, an expensive pigment that had to be imported from Berlin. 

Not to be outdone, Thomas Jefferson painted his dining room in Monticello Chrome Yellow, which when introduced, cost twice as much as Prussian Blue.

It's not that something is good just because it's expensive, but that there is an added layer to the story because colour is so important to architecture. It was important to Washington and Jefferson to be fashionable and show off wealth to the world as the US was getting established, and they did that partly through paint. After all, everything we see is just a combination of colours and I believe in being purposeful in selecting colour. I'm a little obsessive about it, but I want the colours at the house to be purposeful and help tell the story, be period appropriate and highlight certain features. The colours will trigger meaning or memories of the house or other places that the visitor may not necessarily be aware of. That's good architecture.

As Mom and Dad get the painting started, I thought I would post the colour palette and say why the colours were chosen. Some colours are yet to be determined, and I have posted more than once before that many rooms will eventually be wallpapered (with William Morris papers all designed in the late 19th century and still produced with the original wood blocks and in original colours), but for now I've decided to paint everything and then add the wallpaper over time. 

Farrow and Ball is the paint manufacturer. They got started in England in the 1930's to fill a gap in the paint market to provide authentic colours and finishes for the National Trust who was looking for authentic colours for the restoration of their properties. Some of the colours they sell are centuries old and can't be found anywhere else, plus they have a much higher saturation of pigment which gives the colours greater depth. The soft and earthy colours change according to changing light during the day.

This colour is called Blackened. It is what you get when pure white paint is blackened by lamp soot, which is what all interior white paint turned into before electricity. Sounds familiar, so it is the colour for all interior and exterior trim, except for the kitchen.

This colour was picked out by Mom and Dad for their bedroom. It's a great colour and they couldn't have made a better choice. It is called Calluna, which is the Latin name for Heather, which is a nice reference to our ancestral home Scotland. The hills surrounding Joyce's croft cottage in Inverness-shire are covered in this colour.

The exterior window sashes and doors will be painted in Carriage Green. Some are already done. It is typically used in high gloss, as it is at the house and is known as a smart, bright traditional front door colour in England.

This next one is called String. It is actually the colour of natural string and has been used for centuries in England as an off-white. This is what the kitchen walls are now painted in.

This colour is French Gray. This is the kitchen colour for the cabinets, wainscot, doors, window frames and trim. It looks muddy here but is actually a cheery blue/green. It was a popular colour in 19th century French wallpaper.

Hardwick White will be used on the drywall in the back hall, above the wainscot. It is only found in Hardwick Hall, in Derbyshire, coincidentally near where Carol and Neil live. I picked it because it's a great colour but the story behind it is fun.

This next colour is called Mouses Back, described as a drab or dark stone colour. It will likely be used in the Parlour and will look great with Blackened trim. It was popular in the early 18th century.

In the back hall the original cedar shingles of the north and east exterior walls of the kitchen are still there. Many were place there by my grandfather when he rebuilt the cellar hatch in the late 70's. They are the only original shingles left of the old house. Some are painted, and some have been replaced, so the theory is to paint the shingles the same colour that they were for decades up until the house was painted green around 1980. I took my colour deck with me to the Island and Mom and Dad and I found a chip of the old yellow, and matched it to this colour. It is called Print Room Yellow, is 18th century, and was found in a print room in a manor house in England, likely bright to make reading prints easier.

This colour is called Railings and will be used on all softwood floors, including all of the stairs, the second floor floors, the main floor bathroom and back hall. The newel post and railing at the basement stair will also be this colour. It is a dark bronze, sort of a warm black, the colour of worn black paint over iron. Ironwork became widely used in England all through the 19th century for railings, bridges and structures. Iron fences were typically painted many bright colours. When Queen Victoria's husband Albert died in 1861, the Queen was sent into a deep mourning depression that lasted the rest of her life, and out of respect, just about everything with colour was painted black, including iron railings. The colour stuck and that's why ironwork today is typically black.

Mom, Dad and I also matched this next colour as Island sandstone. it will be used to paint the stucco that will eventually be installed on the foundation. It's coincidentally called Red Earth.

This last colour is called Skylight and will be used for all ceilings in the house. It is a Georgian tradition to paint ceilings with a white that has a touch of blue in it. It makes spaces brighter and creates an illusion of natural light, like a pale sky.

That's it for colour selections so far. I like each space in the house to have it's own identity, since this is a house from a period when every room was self contained and separated by doors for the purpose of compartmentalizing heat, so as time goes on I'll pick colours for the dining room, upstairs hall and bedrooms. When you are in the house, you won't necessarily make the specific historical connections, but some colours may be somehow familiar and will complete the feeling of home, in the same way that comfort food makes you feel good.