Help Willa Choose Paint Colors

[Gothichome]

Willa, paint goes on a lot easier than it comes off. It's coming along though and what you have done so far looks great. I would suggest though, that if your going to paint, don't fuss the little bits of paint in the divots and stuff. Once sanded it will not show once you repainted.

[Willa]

Willa, paint goes on a lot easier than it comes off. It's coming along though and what you have done so far looks great. I would suggest though, that if your going to paint, don't fuss the little bits of paint in the divots and stuff. Once sanded it will not show once you repainted.

It's more the crusty residue that will need the stripper. The heated up paint gets a texture like old chewing gum, and while I drag that out of tight spots crusty bits get left behind. There are so many surfaces. Each of the crosspieces have three rounded edges and two grooves. I am not hung up on having pristine looking bare wood to repaint - only a smooth surface. If I repainted as is it would be smoothER than the old paint but with loads of chunks and lumps.

The original color seems to have been that dark oily green, followed by grey, some white, then the pale yellow/tan on top. Actually painting will seem like a breeze v.s. the de-painting which is a very laborious task. If all the planes were laid out end to end, including the inside of the box areas, it would be a surprising amount. I don't want to start math-ing up my brain though. It's worse than color algebra.

[Gothichome]

Willa, paint scraping is a zen thing. Gives you an opportunity to clear your mind and contemplate some thing profound. Like, were am I going to find better ladder shoes.

[Willa]

Now that the stripping and scraping is nearing the end, I am still fussing about paint combos. Manalto recommended a book about Victorian exterior colors - which they even have at my local library. I also found a photo of a house with similar porch detail on the local archives - and the corner post was painted a contrasting color ! More hard thinking ahead - but at least I'll get going with primer.

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[Manalto]

Interesting that the windows are not painted dark, which seems to have been the dominant practice at the time - and the policy of today's Victorian house color experts. This house, however, is a darker brick than yours, and the contrast is pleasing. On the other hand, dark windows would look good too. How's that for no-help-at-all?

[Willa]

Interesting that the windows are not painted dark, which seems to have been the dominant practice at the time - and the policy of today's Victorian house color experts. This house, however, is a darker brick than yours, and the contrast is pleasing. On the other hand, dark windows would look good too. How's that for no-help-at-all?

See - that's where I'm at, too ! At some point the windows here were painted with dark black-green closest to the brick, with the sashes being a brown/ochre. This is the bottom layer of paint. I do agree that black or almost black sashes make the glass area look larger, especially with the curtains open. The house with the similar porch may have been the local paint renegade - or maybe my house was. I am not wound up about 100% historical accuracy, but do lean towards historical sympathy.

The soft blue/green/grey primer is a more cottage-y look, which is sort of what the house is ? I'll know more about my feelings when all the porch detail is primed, so I am seeing more of a whole. I suppose that there is not one ultimate right answer for the paint scheme - there are many combos that would look pleasant.

That library book, plus a couple of others are on their way through the system. A few paint chip rounds ago I was matching paint swatches to photos in the "Painted Ladies" books from the 80's. There's a stubborn part of my brain that doesn't want to "steal" someone else's paint scheme, even though this makes little sense, even to me.

[Manalto]

I do agree that black or almost black sashes make the glass area look larger, especially with the curtains open.

When a dark color is used on windows, I like it to remain visible because it adds interest. Black or near-black disappears.

I am not wound up about 100% historical accuracy, but do lean towards historical sympathy.

Well said. I subscribe to the same policy with "permanent" (difficult/expensive to change) elements.

[Gothichome]

Willa, looking at your pics, it would seem your porch was originally stained a brown colour with what looks like a darker staining in the grooves. Would have looked up scale when new. I also see an ocra paint as the first coat of paint. My thoughts on colour selection would lean towards painting ocra once again and picking out the grooves in a darker Victorian green. You can then colour match the windows to co ordinate or compliment the porch by painting the window surrounds in ocra, the frames in what ever colour you do the groves in. You could also pick out the little key details on the tops of your windows with grove colour. No one could argue that it would not have been a proper period colour scheme. Just a thought.

[Willa]

Okay - I have painted the porch details, and gotten at least one coat on the ground floor windows on the north side.

I chose Benjamin Moore "Black Forest Green" for the sashes and back door:

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New London Burgundy to go on the window and front door surrounds and the corner porch post:

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Somerville Red to paint the exterior porch trim:

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Antique Rose for the inside of the boxes:

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[Willa]

And again - despite my hardest thinking and cross referencing - the results were unpredictable:

Viewed from the street, the New London Burgundy and Somerville Red are too close, and the Antique Rose inside the boxes - which looked like a frightening bubblegum pink next to the Wythe Blue ceiling - now look the same color as the Sommerville Red. Viewed from the front door looking out there is a strong contrast - but looking from the street it all looks a weird purple-y shade.

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I painted the front door with high gloss New London Burgundy - which looks significantly lighter than the trim - which is also New London Burgundy. Argh !

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I felt that there should burgundy next to the yellow brick, but I am not loving the dark green with this. I may switch to a true black for the sashes but leave the back door dark green, since that looks pretty good.

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I bought quarts of paint, so the only loss would be my time spent painting, as the cost was fairly small for the paint. I am thinking that painting the insides of the boxes a more toffee shade would look better. I had chosen a range of colors for the rest of the trim, including a lighter pink-grey, alight olive/lime and a grey. The New London Burgundy seemed the most flexible with regards to working with other colors v.s. a more red-burgundy which I was more inclined towards but was difficult with the pre-existing rust/black roofing shingle.

It doesn't feel horrible - but it doesn't feel quite right yet ?