How to Choose Colours for your Period Property

How do you choose colours for your period property? Every age has used colour to adorn interiors.

We know this from illustrations, accounts and old paint layers. Much research has been done into historic colours and there is a wealth of advice now available to recreate period schemes. Until the early C20th these colours were all made with natural, earth and mineral pigments. The discovery of crude oil changed all this as petro-chemicals and colourants were developed. Today modern paints can simulate old colours but they are not able to replicate the appearance of old paints.

If you want all the benefits of period colours we offer the answer!  We can help you find the perfect colour for you period property. Here are some rules of thumb from Edward, an experienced, architectural historian for decorating in period styles and some personal colour selections to guide you.  If you use our Hand Painted Fan Deck or Hand Painted A5 Colour Box you will find an interesting description of all our paint colours and a reference to the suitability of each colour to each historic period of architecture.

Breathable Paint for your Period Property

No other paint range is completely derived from natural pigment, used by artists for centuries. As there is no plastic in our wall paint it does not form a film on the surface of the wall so is super breathable and perfect for use over lime plaster. To find out more about what is in our tins, take a look at our ‘Lifting the Lid‘ campaign which goes into greater detail about the make up of natural paint v mainstream paint.

For your walls use our natural wall Emulsion paint which has a matt, wonderfully chalky finish for your walls and ceilings.  It is easy to apply, has excellent coverage but is extremely durable.  As there is no plastic in our paint it does not form a film on the surface of the wall so it is super breathable and perfect for use over lime plaster.

If you are painting woodwork use our Water-Based Eggshell on wooden panelling and other wood or ironwork, including radiators.  Natural water based eggshell paints are the highest quality paints for protection and they are easy to apply, dry quickly and uniquely allow historic woodwork to breathe.

Medieval (15th Century)

Stick to white!  Select a white that is tinted with a small amount of earth pigments or black – if you would like deeper colour in your medieval home, introduce it in the fabrics and textiles you use.

• Plain White through to Dove – shown on our colour card.  Go down the chart from Plain White to Fine White and then up from Rose Tinted White through to Dove.

Tudor (16th Century)

Only very well-to-do Tudor houses would have used coloured paints, often in the form of stencilled or polychrome decoration.  So best to keep to the off-whites here and again bring in richness with fabric and furnishings.  Emulsion can be used to give the effect of lime wash and soft distemper as long as the surface is correctly prepared.  Exposed timber beams can be painted in with the walls and ceiling, though traditionally they are best left unpainted and well waxed.

• Plain White through to French Grey – shown on our colour card.  Go down the chart from Plain White to Milk White and then up from Fine White to French Grey.

Stuart (17th Century)

The age of coloured walls dawns in this period as rooms were finished in panelling and plaster.  Remember that pigments varied in price a great deal and so the vast majority of colouring would have been done with ‘cheap’ pigments – naturally coloured earths and black (from burning oil or wood).  For richer schemes the browns predominate and blue starts to make an appearanve in the richest interiors and paint was often used to imitate the appearance and colouring of different marbles and expensive woods.

• Plain White through to Lead colour
• Avoid our greener blues, we recommend the blues from Garter Blue through to Azurite
• Browns/Beige – we recommend Lute through to London Brown.

Georgian (18th Century) – George I and II

Panelling remains ubiqutous in the early C18th and would always have been painted in linseed oil paint.  The colours generally relied on what became known as the ‘common colours‘ though richer interiors would often be green.  As timber gave way to plaster, cheaper water-based paints could be used and a wider palette employed.  Panelling was painted one colour floor to ceiling.  As the style changed to plaster walls with timber mouldings, we find the beginning of the use of off-whites to pick out the mouldings.

• ‘Common colours’: Plain white through to Inferior Grey
• ‘Fancy colours’: Drab Green, Granite Green, Eau de Nile
• ‘Timber colours’: Lute through to London Brown, Sang de Boeuf

Georgian (18th Century) – George III

The Adam brothers turned out to be the poster boys for the late C18th and by dividing up every surface with ornament they introduced the opportunity to use a great range of colours even in one room. As they were used selectively they could be expensive and so a truly polychromatic palette evolves. As you would expect, off-white is still widely used (mainly for raised ornament) but coloured blue and green grounds abound and the concept of colour balance comes to the fore. Adam, Wyatt and others realised that the colours opposite each other on the colour wheel balanced each other and this can be seen as the secret of the harmony they achieved in their colour schemes.

• Whites : Plain white through to French Grey
• Wash Stop and Fine Grey and Inferior Grey are good grey choices
• Aerial tint through to Verdigris
• Avoid our bolder greens – look at Pea Green through to Warm Stone
• Rich reds & purples – Etruscan Brown through to Lavender

Regency (Early 19th Century)

The last George, as regent and then monarch, set fashionable decorating alight – he could not stop and the height of his love of the exotic can be seen in the Brighton Pavilion! This was the era of the specialist house painter and paints were expected to deliver colour as well as the effects of all sorts of rare and costly veneers, marbles and bronze. The mainstream would have adopted the colour palette that came out of this and certain novel colours became fashionable as advances in paint chemistry made them affordable (yellows are the classic example). Rooms were painted more architecturally, as the prevailing sensibility favoured the antique credentials of Grecian rather than Roman culture.

• Plain White through to Fawn
• Greys: Clay, Ash Grey, Lead Colour, Inferior Grey
• Aerial tint, Welsh Blew, Sky Blue, Sea Green, Ethereal Blue, Cerullian Blue, French Blue
• Greeny blues look at Aquatic through to Verdigris
• Greens – Invisible Green, Tea Green through to Celadon
• Warm Stone through to Ochre, Nicaragua  through to Lilac Pink.

Victorian (19th Century)

The classicism that had gripped Britain since the mid C17th gradually wore off in Victoria’s reign as our country’s empire builders realised the potency of promoting our own national styles rather than those of the Mediterranean. The colourpalette developed with it and it is fair to say it lost a little of its gaiety and took on a more solid caste. Paint chemists continued to make a wider range of colours commercially available and our expanding empire introduced a wealth of different exotic styles – each with their own palette. We became readier to use weighty colour everywhere so that even ceilings could be seen as ‘continued walls’ and painted with dark shades.

• Whiting through to Milk White, Silver White through to Mouse Grey, Slate
• Blues – Aerial Tint, French Blue through to Aquatic
• Greens – Light Olive Green, Invisible Green, Tea Green through to Celadon
• Warmer hues – Brimstone through to Clove
• Bolder tones – London Brown through to Laylock.

Modern (20th Century)

What goes around comes around. Victoria died and after a brief period of excess a new reality set in, peppered with world events and economic fluctuation. In a strange way the colours used in decoration reflected this through the decades, moving from the earthy tones of arts and crafts to the paired back brave new world tones of Art Deco and Modernism. In this period (c.1930) we created the first plastics from the by-products of refining crude oil for fuels. This gradually enabled the commercial development of paints by chemical companies rather than traditional paint makers. The availability of colours ballooned to give us the choice we have today, though we have retained our love of off-whites, derived ultimately from our default palette – white with a little cheap (earth) pigment!

• Plain White through to Dove, Wash Stop through to Lead colour
• Aerial Tint through to Ethereal Blue, Pomona through to Ochre,
• Buff through to Lilac Pink.

Contemporary

Anything goes! See our blogs on how to use colour in different contemporary spaces, and how to use our much loved colour groups like greens and pinks.

‘How to Decorate with Pinks‘, ‘5 Glorious Green Interior Colour Ideas’, or ‘How to Decorate with Trending Earthy Colours’ 

Need more help from one of our experts? We offer a bespoke colour consultancy service, perfect for a large historic renovation. Due to popular demand we have expanded our incredible In-Home Consultancy service. We now have 6 incredibly talented colour consultants meaning our geographical reach has extended and booking is far more convenient for you. Our consultants have all been trained by the ‘colour man’ himself, Edward Bulmer, and aside from having expert design flair and colour know-how, they are passionate about creating healthier interiors which are kind to both our people and our planet. 

Our goal with a consultancy service is to guide at all stages and allow the process of making your house into a home, as easy and stress free as possible. Whether it’s choosing colours to complement your fabrics and style, to paint quantities and finish, our consultants have a wealth of knowledge and expertise to create a bespoke palette for you.