The following is a sneak preview adapted from a chapter in an upcoming book on historic paint by preservationist and author Ken Roginski, exploring the history, science, and practical challenges of choosing appropriate colors for historic buildings.
Anyone who has stood before a wall of paint chips searching for the “right” color for a historic house knows how quickly a seemingly simple decision can become complicated. Paint manufacturers offer collections labeled Historic, Heritage, or Colonial, but an important question remains: How historic are historic paint colors?
The answer is more complicated than the label on the paint chip suggests.
The Challenge of Reconstructing Historic Color
Determining exactly how a building appeared decades or centuries ago can be surprisingly difficult. Historic records are incomplete, early paint charts are inconsistent, and relatively few buildings retain untouched examples of their original finishes. Even when original paint survives, paint itself is unstable. Sunlight, weather, aging, dirt, and chemical changes in ingredients can substantially alter its appearance over time.