This Italianate Victorian house has subtle paint colors.
Italianate Victorian houses, generally built between 1860 and 1880, are so well-known for their fancy trim and colorful exteriors that they are often called "painted ladies." If you're lucky enough to live in one of these splendid reminders of a whimsical and elaborate time, you have a lot of options when it comes to renovating or simply maintaining the house's paint. Some people will prefer keeping such a house in period colors, replicating as closely as possible the colors that would have been used when the house was new, while others will enjoy experimenting with modern colors.
White Doors
Italianate homes, which are found most often north of the Mason-Dixon line, are distinguished by their rectangular shape, tall windows and gently sloping roofs. Because the main building was made of brick, stone or stucco, trim and doors were painted in colors that popped out in contrast to the earthier color of the walls. In some cases, such as at the famous Vanderbilt home known as The Breakers in Rhode Island, or at Blandwood Mansion, the oldest Italianate house in the United States, the front door was simply painted white, in order to allow the house's grandness to speak for itself.
Dark Painted Doors
Other homes, including Evergreens, a house in Amherst, Mass., have deeply colored doors in the dark shades popular with American homeowners during this period. At Evergreens, the door is painted a deep red, in contrast to very light colored stone and green window trim. Sutherlin House, located in Virginia, is also made of light stone and has a dark mauve front door that is complemented by lavender trim. Brickwork homes often had blue or yellow doors and trim to contrast with the red brick.
Natural Wood Doors
Some Italianate Victorian houses also have left the front doors unpainted, preferring to create contrast between the natural color of the wood and the building materials. Front doors that have large, curved windows in them are often left unpainted but stained in a rich reddish-brown or dark brown color. In cases in which the doors were left plain, there is usually elaborate trim painted in brighter colors, including yellow and pink, elsewhere on the house.
Bright Doors
Today any colors can work on an Italianate Victorian home, especially on the door, which often sets the stage for selecting trim colors. Many of the painted ladies in New Orleans and San Francisco are painted in bright colors including pink, purple, green and red with wildly contrasting trim. One home in New Orleans has nine different colors on it, and the owner regularly repaints, allowing for a different door color or new trim color every year. If you like a particular color and want it on the door of your Victorian, the only thing to worry about is how many and which trim colors you'll want to go with it.
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