Sunday, August 7, 2016

color

So, I'm thinking it's officially a Victorian carriage house.


After a century without, I hope the two get along with one another.  It's likely a close match to what was there originally, although the photo below is all we have to go on.  And, as far as we know, it never housed horses, but rather a chauffeur and an automobile that featured prominently in all the social pages (although, cruelly, they never mention what kind)!



The photo was strategically taken, as all but the front is awaiting paint (and the front is awaiting additional coats in places), and only about half of the sashes are glazed.  Still, it's gratifying, even if moving the big ladder is still a bit agonizing.

So, do we think the fascia should be green, or blackish purple like the doors?  It's the only placement I can't seem to commit to...  In the oldest photo of the house the trim does seem to be darkest around the topmost moldings (which are actually the built in gutters).  But I haven't made it up there to scrape and see for myself.  As an aside, we're certain the sashes were originally Indian red, and there's evidence of early bronze green and purplish black, hence our choices.  As for locations of said colors, nothing seems to add up in that department.  Keep in mind, the first floor brick is dark red, and the upper shingles have always been dark brown.  By 1920, the entirety of the house's trim had been colonial revivalized in mustard, at that point the sashes may have still been red, or may have already been painted black.  All the careful scraping in the world won't tell you what was what color when.  Oy!


10 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks, we love it. At least now I have a photo to prove that purple, green and red is a valid color combination!

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  2. Have you ever had the exterior paint on your house professionally analyzed?

    They should be able to tell you exactly what was what when the house was new.

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    1. It's one of those if money were no object projects... There are just too many other issues (and individual trim elements that would have to be removed) to tackle. I suppose that's the one benefit of not scraping back to bare wood, whatever remains will be waiting.

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    2. At least we're sure of the shingle, brick and roof colors, meaning the overall tone of the house has remained the same. The red sash we're also sure of, but there was just too little contrast with the brick for us to keep it. The real debate will be when we rebuild the porch; keeping the brown tones of the original cedar shakes, or matching the new asphalt to the slate?

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  3. Wow, that looks great! I really like the angled battens that mimic the gable details on the house. I'm a huge fan of outbuildings that match the main house.

    As far as color, I'd lean towards the dark color, since I feel like this style looks good with multiple contrasting colors, but if it were me, I'd probably paint part of each side each color and see what you like better. Doing mockups is about the only way I end up actually figuring out what I like.

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    1. I knew there was a reason I kept this blog. That is nothing short of brilliant, thanks!

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  4. That turned out beautifully!!!!! Love those colors!

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    1. Thanks, we love them (although they're fairly tame). I really wish we could afford to get them up on the house though!

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