A guide to color, styles and architectural periods

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This guide provides general descriptions of architectural styles of houses and buildings found across America, with the eras and colors associated with those styles. Styles overlapped in time and many colors, used interchangeably both on interiors and exteriors, were popular in more than one era.

These descriptions and color lists serve as a springboard to possible color schemes for a building’s major exterior or interior features, as well as lesser architectural details, including accents, decorative stenciling and overlays.

Using this guide and the Historic Colors of America paint chart, homeowners and professionals can create the effect of a given historic period while applying variations to suit personal tastes.

 

Colonial

MID 1600's -1780

The early colonists arriving in the New World from Europe brought with them the prevailing architectural styles and building practices of their native countries. Most colonial dwellings built during the 1600’s might be classified as folk houses if they did not so strongly reflect the distinctive traditions of their countries of origin. Old World practices persisted in Colonial empires well beyond the end of European rule.

Original Colonial styles were built primarily along the east coast, gulf coast and portions of the southwest. They were built before the era of industrialization, and unaltered examples have a characteristic “handmade” quality in such details as doors, windows, brickwork or siding. The most characteristic Colonial house is usually a one or two-story box, two rooms deep with symmetrical windows. Many examples of colonial houses survive today and are among the most popular styles of American building.

 

Colonial colors


Shaker
Red 

English
Bartlett

Bold Bolection

Parsnip
   

Ginger Root 

Rawhide  
 

Cogswell Cedar


Tailor’s
Buff 

Newport Indigo

Langdon
Dove

Portobello  

Chocolate 
 

Pumpkin
 

Blonde
Lace

Wainscot Green

pettingill Sage

Tankard
Gray

Quincy Granite

Knightley
Straw

Meetinghouse 
Blue

Blue Winged 
Teal

Burnished
Pewter 

Otis
Madeira

Vinal
Haven

Asian
Jute 

Lexington
Blue 

Phillips Green 

Milkweed 
 

Liberty 
 

Polished Pewter

Georgian Yellow

Standish
Blue 

Warren Tavern 

Pitch
Pine

Burnt
Umber 

Redrock Canyon

Farmhouse Ochre
 

Tory
Blue 

Sayward Pine 

Nankeen
 

Wooden
Nutmeg 

Wooly
Thyme

Grassy
Meadow

 

Federal

1780 - 1830

The Federal style was the dominant style of the new Republic. During this period the population tripled in size and expanded to the west and south. The style was mostly concentrated in prosperous port cities of the eastern seaboard in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New York, South Carolina and Georgia. Diversity of spatial planning found in interiors of the period reflected the style of Robert Adam, the gifted English architect who also popularized design elements such as swags, garlands and urns.

Symmetry, lightness and delicacy characterize the Federal or Adam style. One of the earliest examples of this style was the ceiling in the Mount Vernon dining room, executed for George Washington in 1775. In general, Federal houses may be rectilinear and boxlike, with perhaps an elliptical fanlight over the front door and sidelights flanking the door. Door trim may include thin columns or pilasters and curved or octagonal projections may reveal the shape of interior rooms. Also characteristic are curving steps and windows
recessed within arches. The roof is often concealed behind a balustrade.

 

federal colors


Stagecoach
 

Barrett Quince 

Lucinda
 

Bristol
Green 

Wild
Oats 

Pettingill
Sage

India
Trade 

York
Bisque 

Bulfinch
Blue 

Longfellow
 

Parsnip
 

Burnt
Umber

Pumpkin 
 

Lyman
Camellia 

Citadel
Blue 

Viscaya
 


Langdon
Dove 

Wooden
Nutmeg

Knightley
Straw 

Woodstock
Rose 

Meetinghouse
Blue

Green
Bonnet 

Jackson
Antique 

Quincy
Granite

Asian
Jute 

Mountain
Laurel 

Tory
Blue 

Wainscot
Green 

Phelps
Putty 

Vinal
Haven

Georgian
Yellow 

Rundlet
Peach 

Amelia


Grasshopper 


Bayberry
Wax 

Curry
 

Farmhouse
Ochre 

Tudor
Ice 

His.
Morning Dew

Boardman 
 

Sandy
Bluff 

Rain
Barrel

English
Bartlett 

Appleton 
 

Coral
Springs 

Jewett
White 

Flaxen
Field

 

 

Greek Revival

1825 - 1855

The Greek Revival period began and ended in this country with public buildings built in Philadelphia. One of the most familiar icons of American architecture is the full-colonnaded Greek Revival mansion of the southern states with its large veranda or living porch. The front-gabled house was popularized in the early nineteenth century and became the predominant form of urban houses in the northeast and Midwest well into the twentieth century.

The classical temple form with a portico across the entire front and the roof ridge running from front to back is employed for buildings of all kinds and sizes including cottages. Dormers are rare and roofs are generally gabled or of low pitch. The front door is typically surrounded by narrow sidelights with a row of transom lights above. The most common types of ornament are the anthemion and the Greek fret, wide pilasters and deep, heavy cornices. Wooden buildings were invariably painted white.

 

greek revival colors


Asian
Jute 

Jackson
Antique 

Phelps
Putty 

Wild
Oats

Amish
Green

Jewett
White

Quincy
Granite

Winter
Meadow

Brattle
Spruce

Langdon
Dove

Rain
Barrel

Yarmouth
Oyster

Canyon
Gold

Nankeen
 

Sandy
Bluff

Danish
Pine

Parsnip
 

Sayward
Pine

Flaxen
Field

Plymouth
Beige

Vinal
Haven

 

 


Victorian

1840 - 1900

The styles that were popular during the long reign of Britain’s Queen Victoria are generally referred to as “Victorian”. Growth of railroads and industrialization led to changes in mass productions and shipping of house components, while the development of mechanized saws and lathes let to a profusion of wooden ornament. The extravagant use of complex shapes and elaborate detailing are clearly reflected in these landmark houses.

Late Victorian styles of this period, also known as “Stick” and “Queen Ann”, became intertwined and tend to overlap each other. Characteristics such as multicolored walls, asymmetrical facades, and steeply pitched roofs are common features. Dwellings were built with every conceivable type of trim including wooden lacework, patterned shingles, porches and towers with conical roofs. Roofs are often complex with cross gables, conical turrets, dormers and decorative brackets beneath eaves. Finials and crestings were frequently used to decorate the roof ridges.

 

victorian colors


Beetroot
 

Knightley
Straw 

Biloxi
Blue 

Newbury
Moss 

Winter
Meadow 

Bargeboard
Brown

Madder
  

Asian
Jute 

Bowen
Blue 

Picholine 
 

Coastal
Sand 

Fieldstone
 

Covered
Bridge 

Georgian
Yellow 

Muted
Mulberry 

Amish
Green 

Britches
  

Vermont
Slate

Alden
Till 

Goldenrod 
 

Concord
Grape 

Baize
 

Toffee
 

Curry
 

Flowering
Chestnut

Farmhouse
Ochre 

Plum
Island 

Gedney
Green 

Ginger
Root 

Redrock
Canyon

Roseland
 

English
Bartlett 

Cottage
Green 

Pointed
Fir 

Maple
 

Cummings
Oak

Codman
Claret 

Gable
Green 

Marrett
Apple

Brattle
Spruce

Bean
Pot 

Wooly
Thyme

Stagecoach
 

Tailor’s
Buff 

Whispering
Willow

Winter
Balsam

Palomino
 

Richardson
Brick

Blonde
Lace 

Brookside
 

Moss
Glen

Brownstone
  

Portsmouth
Spice

Robin’s
Egg 

Veranda
Blue 

Sayward
Pine 

Burnt
Umber

Clementine 
   

Glacier
Bay 

Warren
Tavern 

Pettingill
Sage 

Hickory
Nut

Pumpkin
 

China
Aster 

Hazelwood 
 

Sturgis
Gray 

Wooden
Nutmeg

 

 

 

20th Century Eclecticism

1900 - 1955

By the end of the 19th century, two major trends, one moving toward precise copies of historical architecture, and the other moving away from traditional architectural forms, were evident in residential architecture. These two main architectural “camps,” traditional vs. modern, characterize much residential construction at the beginning of the 21st century with the traditional approach continuing to dominate the marketplace for new house construction.

Among the traditional architectural house styles of the early 20th century are styles reminiscent of the Georgian and Colonial Revival, southwestern colonial revival and the Elizabethian-inspired Tudor revival. Contrasted with these forms are modernist styles that reflected new ways of planning, being built with stuccos, brick and stone veneers. Paint colors tended to vary according to style. Features identified with the Tudor style often include dark trim colors of browns, maroons, deep olives and greens. Georgian and Colonial Revival houses were generally light: white, gray, gray-blue, gray-green, or yellow on the body, with white trim and window sashes and dark shutters and doors. Modernist house tended to be painted in light neutrals with dark sashes and bold accents of bright, primary colors.

 

20th Century Eclecticism colors


Codman
Claret 

Lucinda 
 

Seal
Blue 

Melville 
 

Yarmouth
Oyster 

Vinal
Haven

Andover
Cream 

Bulfinch
Blue 

Volute 
 

Venetian
Glass 

Parsnip
   

Monument
Gray

Pale
Organza 

Emily 
 

Asher
Benjamin 

Newbury
Moss 

Langdon
Dove 

Fieldstone
 

Emma 
 

Portsmouth
Blue 

Beauport
Aubergine

Gedney
Green 

Portobello
 

Gropius
Gray
   

Lady
Banksia 

Rocky
Hill 

Hawthorne
 

Pointed
Fir 

Hitching
Post

Jonquil
  

Winter
Harbor

Elise 
 

Jewett
White 

Tyson
Taupe

Appleton
 

Saxon
Blue

Cottage
Green

Plymouth
Beige

Quincy
Granite

 

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All photos courtesy of Historic New England.

NEED HELP? Looking for advice on caring for your old house? Become a Historic Homeowner member. Technical information and assistance on historic house maintenance, including paint color selection, is available to Historic Homeowner members of Historic New England. Please call (617) 227-3957, ext. 273 or visit www.historichomeowner.org for more information.             

The paint colors viewed on this site are for general representation only. All colors look different when viewed on a computer monitor. To view the actual color card please call our customer service at 1.800.225.1141 or contact your local dealer.

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