Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Historic Victorian Exterior Colors

A wide variety of colors suit a historic Victorian home's exterior.


Historic Victorian homes carry unique beauty. However, since many true Victorian-style homes are older and in need of touch-ups, you may find yourself in the process of choosing a color to repaint your home's exterior. Not all colors match well with the Victorian theme, but refreshing the exterior with a classic Victorian color can re-establish the cosmetic charm that may have been lost over the years.


Brown Schemes


Colors such as baguette, tan, sturdy brown, steady brown, and cardboard brown are all examples of classic Victorian exterior colors. These colors can be mixed and matched with siding, wood, trim, doors, shutters and porches in a variety of ways. This scheme works best with a Late Victorian Italianate style home.


Shades of Purple and Grey


With the romantic touch of purple, shades such as mink, rookwood, bitter chocolate, grey and quartersawn oak are examples of colors that work well for Victorian homes built with the Early Italianate era in mind. Since purple stands out more than the brown shades, it may be wise to choose only two or three combinations of colors for your home's exterior, but all of these colors complement each other in such a way that whichever few are chosen will match.


Leafy Variety


Colors such as mustard, tea, gold, pear and olive blend together for a colorful yet charming Victorian home exterior. Particularly with the Barber Villa style Victorian home, this contrast of colors will make the historic detailing stand out proudly, yet not too loudly. Remember that any colors you don't actually use in paint for the home can also be used in the decor surrounding your home.


Blue-Green Combination


Powdery-soft greens and blues, such as dusty blue, botanical green and soft aqua set the tone for a colorful yet historic exterior. White paint for the trim, doors and shutters may work best in making the blue-green paint stand out, but it is cosmetically safe to use a lighter blue or green instead of white for these highlights. If you have a lot of green bushes, trees and plants surrounding your home and porch, you may want to plant white flowers or use darker blue home accessories to brighten the main blue-green color of your home's exterior.









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