What Are the Best Exterior Paint Colors for Historic Homes?

If you own a historic home in Bloomington or anywhere else, you want it to look the best it can be. Historic homes are beautiful and that’s likely why you decided to purchase one. It’s up to you to keep it looking great now and for years to come.

One of the best ways to make sure your historic home keeps its wow factor for you, your visitors, and for passersby is to keep it freshly painted with an exterior paint color that is right for it.

Many owners of historic homes choose paint colors that would have been available to homeowners at the time the home was built, while others choose a bright, modern color to make their home stand out.

No matter what colors you choose, a few coats of fresh paint will revitalize your home and will make you love it even more than you already do now. If you’re wondering how to choose the best color for the exterior painting of your historic home, read on. This informative post will guide you in the right direction to make your home look more amazing than ever.

Bloomington Historic Homes

Anyone who lives in or near Bloomington, Indiana knows that the area is full of historic homes.

Bloomington was founded in 1818 by a group of settlers from other parts of our growing nation. One of the oldest known homes in the area is the Millen House (also known as the Raintree House), built by a farmer in 1845; today it is part of Indiana University and sits on its campus.

The Millen House is designed in Greek Revival style, but the vast majority of the historic homes in this area were built later; homes in this area built before 1936 can be considered historic. That means that in Bloomington, there are also historic homes in Early Victorian, Later Victorian, Second Empire/Mansard, Stick Style, and Queen Anne style as well.

The Best Exterior Paint Color for Historic Homes

The best exterior paint color for your historic home is the one that you like best. After all, it’s your house, and you’re the one who will be living in it, so the color is up to you.

There are three main approaches when choosing paint color options for historic homes.

Historically Accurate

First, some people choose historically accurate paint colors for their historic homes. If you are a purist when it comes to restoring your historic home, this may be the best route for you.

You may be able to determine the original color of your home by using a paint scraper to remove the last few layers; then, you can use your discovery to ask your home painting service to match it.

Historically Appropriate

Many historic homeowners are not purists and therefore find that historically appropriate paint color is good enough. You’ll have to do some research to learn what color palettes were popular at the time your home was constructed. Long ago, people rarely used bright colors to paint their homes; earth tones were the norm, but even these evolved with the different eras and design styles.

Homeowner’s Choice

Of course, you can paint your home any color that you want. There is no hard and fast rule that says that you must paint your home specific colors that match any time period. You can dive in and make your historic home purple or orange or both if you’d like.

However, take your time choosing; once you select an exterior paint color for your home, you’ll be stuck with it for a few years on the short end, or for a few decades on the long end.

Happy Painting

Nothing makes an old home shine more than a new coat of paint. If you’re thinking of painting your historic home in Bloomington, we’d love to help.

We have years of experience in painting for historic homes, and we’d be more than happy to not only give you our advice on your choice of exterior paint color but to put that paint on for you as well. Give us a call today. We can’t wait to hear from you!