Rich in our nations history, Annapolis has played host to all aspects of our American experience. Walking through the city's narrow streets and gazing upon buildings erected in the 1700's, one gets a feeling of having stepped into a chapter of a Charles Dickens novel.
If you find yourself lucky enough to purchase a home in this historical city, you may have some questions as to how to keep your home looking historical when it comes to paint color selection. In fact, chances are you will be limited, by law, as to what colors you can and cannot paint your home in downtown Annapolis.
What color should you paint your historic home? How was color used 300 years ago? Take a look at the photo below. This is a prime example of what homes would have been painted like in that era.
The first thing you may notice is the lack of any contrasting color on the trim of the house. This is a classic colonial look. Paint was more of a necessity to protect the home as opposed to today where we use it for aesthetic purposes. In those times, paint colors were few and far between, unlike the tremendous, unlimited color palettes of today.
Classic colonial paint colors included modest earth tone colors such as white, creamy yellow, almond, ochre, reddish brown, dark brown, beige, taupe and muted green. These colors were common because the pigments for the dyes came from natural resources such as plants, soil and minerals.
Southfork Painting Co., has done extensive research on historical paint colors and have teamed up with Benjamin Moore to make embracing true historical colors throughout your home a reality.
Historically Accurate
Together with preservationists at the The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Benjamin Moore’s chemists and color experts examined 18th-century wallpaper, original paint samples and historical documents to accurately recreate colors found in early American design.
Bassett Hall Green CW-480, shown on the walls of this stairwell, with risers in Geddy Gray CW-720, reflect how the traditional paint colors of the Williamsburg® Paint Color Collection can combine distinct colors for a fresh and sophisticated look.
Authentic Powder Room as it looked in colonial times.
Southfork Painting Co., has painted many historic homes in Annapolis Maryland, utilizing our extensive knowledge of color palettes of the colonial time period. If you or someone you know is about to have the interior or exterior of a historic home painted, please call us at 410-897-7151 or visit our website at www.southforkpainting.com
Southfork Painting Co., house painters Annapolis Maryland and Anne Arundel County Maryland. MHIC #92230. Fully insured.