You don't need to paint rock surfaces on your Queen Anne home.
Ultimately the ideal colors for your Victorian Queen Anne home, circa 1870 to 1920, depend on your own taste and perhaps the scheme of your neighborhood. Depending on where you live, Queen Anne houses may be multicolored where each architectural feature -- be it towers, columns or shingles -- has its own hue. In some regions of the country, such Victorian homes may have a simpler color palette. Once you have decided on the ideal colors for your home, you can even match your flower garden and landscape to your paint scheme.
Simple Color Scheme
A simple color scheme for your Queen Anne home can still reflect the elaborate style of this form of Victorian architecture. By painting the sidings or body of the house one base coat, you can accentuate trim, brackets, shutters and columns with a secondary color. For example, the Carson Mansion in Eureka, California, has flat wall features that are painted a maize yellow, whereas all of the projecting elements are accentuated by forest green. The Ray Home in Gallatin, Missouri, has an Air Force blue base coat with white and dark blue for trim and ornamental features. Typical colors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were earth tones or lighter shades of yellow, blue, brown, red and green, but you are not limited to this palette.
Brick and Stone Homes
The City of Roanoke recommends that if your Queen Anne home has brick or stone faces, not to paint over them, as moisture can potentially build up in the substrate leading to mold problems. Plus, the original brick or stone features are part of the original character of your house. Instead, feature these hues and match them for the wooden portions of the house. For example, burgundy, medium brown, deep green and terra cotta colors match brick nicely. Burgundy, pastel yellow or violet complement rock surfaces, as does a shade darker or lighter than the rock medium.
All Colors of the Rainbow
If you would like your house to be a show-stopper, you can create a multicolored scheme by choosing five or more colors for the exterior. For example, Brian D. Coleman painted his Queen Anne's walls a deep green, shingles a burgundy, and his trim, ornaments and other features black, copper and gold. Recent owners of the William L. Vary House decided to paint the body a mustard color, the shingles a dark olive green, the trim purplish and copper red, the molding and ornaments a cobalt blue, the sash and storm a dark green and the porch a tan color. Both houses adopted color choices that reflect traditional hues from the late 19th century. If you prefer to use more vibrant colors, there is no reason you should hesitate.
Repeating History
It may be interesting to go back in time and find out what the original colors of your Queen Anne home were when it was first built. Access the public archives, the local library or city documents to see if you can unravel the mystery. At the very least, you may find out what the typical color scheme of Queen Anne homes were in your neighborhood or region. You don't necessarily have to replicate the color pattern perfectly. "Old-House Journal" explains that once you have a rough idea of the colors you would like to employ, to add them to a sketch of your home or an image of your home using computer software. Alternate the colors between body, trim and other features to see which scheme you prefer. For example, if you have chosen forest green, burgundy and tan for your colors, first try green on the body, burgundy on the trim and tan on the ornaments; then, try tan on the body, burgundy for the ornaments and green for the trim, and so on.
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