A guide to color, styles and architectural periods

< Previous page   •   back to index   •   next page >

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

 

buy sample jars ONLINE

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.

< Previous page   •   back to index   •   next page >