Owning a historic home can bring a high sense of pride while also coming with unique responsibilities and expectations. If you want to preserve any of the historic charm of the home, it is best to follow proper exterior maintenance techniques and stick to a historic color palette. Depending on where your home is located, your neighborhood regulations, and your personal preference, your home could look stunning with a historic paint color.
How do you know when to use a historic color over a modern one? If you don’t have an HOA does that mean you have the freedom to use a bright and bold color? Let’s take a look at considerations that play into choosing a paint color for historic homes.
Check With Your HOA Or Local Historical Society
Some neighborhoods have historical societies that are dedicated to preserving historical buildings and landmarks. The historical society will work with the owners of historical homes to determine how best to preserve them and keep their charm. Other areas will have a homeowners association (HOA) that regulates what homeowners can do around and on their property. The HOA may not approve non-historical paint colors or modern paint colors, depending on the surrounding homes and landscape.
Before you choose an exterior paint color, you must check with these societies to ensure your home is in compliance with historic regulations. Working with these groups will give you a clear picture of what paint colors are considered historic and how to proceed with the painting process.
What Paint Colors Are Considered Historic?
Depending on the paint brand, they may often have lines of historic paint colors that have been used throughout the years. Sherwin-Williams, Behr, and Benjamin Moore all have historical exterior color collections to help you choose the most appropriate paint color.
Here are some common historic paint colors to choose from:
- Off-whites
- Rich reds
- Beige
- Cool blue
- Brown
- Victorian Greens
- Colonial or Classic Yellow
If you are still not sure what paints will fit your historic home, you can look at photos of the home in its early years or records of the home’s original features. Repeat these processes and paint selections if you want to truly honor the old appeal of the home.
When To Use A Historic Paint Color
When you paint your home a historically appropriate color, it will increase your property value and visual appeal. Keeping to the correct color scheme will help you and others appreciate its authenticity. If you are someone who appreciates past generations and the architecture of different times, you will want to stick to a historic paint color.
Preserving Architectural Integrity
Historic homes were built with a color scheme in mind, so when you are looking to keep the architectural integrity, choosing a proper paint color will help onlookers immediately recognize the type of home they are looking at. Victorian homes look best with multi-colored exteriors in bold colors. Colonial-era homes will lean toward muted tones.
When To Use Modern Paint Colors
In a home that isn’t under strict regulations, you have more freedom with colors, exterior elements, and landscaping. Modern paint colors can often enhance older architecture while putting a modern twist on the home. Honoring the historic character of a home is still possible with modern tones if you keep accent colors that are true to the historic period. As mentioned above, many popular paint brands have stunning paint options that fit your historic theme and have modern elements. Quality paints will appear bright and shiny even if they are a historic color.
Exterior Home Painting From Our Professionals
American Town Painting focuses on exterior and interior painting for homes in Utah. Our team has been perfecting our painting skills for many years so that we can help improve the aesthetics of your home with quality paint. American Town Painting helps eliminate the stress of getting straight lines or damaging your furniture with paint splatters.
Proper exterior painting is crucial to the longevity of your home, especially if you live in a hot weather climate. Working with a professional painter will ensure longevity, brilliance, and sticking to historic color palettes. American Town Painting works with all of our clients to determine how you want your home to look and feel. Reach out to us to get an estimate or schedule your paint project today.