Entries by Robert Schweitzer

The Real “Greek” of the Greek Revival

American architects love to use columns, we’ve been using them since it seems the country was founded. In the early 19 century we had the Greek revival, in the late 19th century we had the colonial revival, and the 20th century we had a number of different colonial and classic revivals. All of these styles […]

Color of the year for 2017

    Pantone’s “Color of the Year” for 2017 is Greenery — “a fresh and zesty yyellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew.” For American architecture the best “green periods” were the second half of the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century. […]

Thinking about color for all seasons

     Seasonal Color Thinking about house colors for all seasons. This picture recently sent from a client illustrates the necessity of thinking about how your house will look in all seasons. In many parts of the country that’s four distinct periods. Even in the Southwest and Deep South there are at least two seasons. […]

Colorful Leon, Spain Museum

The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, AKA the MUSAC, is a contemporary art museum in the city of León, Spain. The building is celebrated for its avant-garde architecture, and it has been awarded a number of prizes incuding the 2007 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture.  Designed by the architectural studio of Luis M. Mansilla and Emilio Tuñón, the multicolored panels that adorn […]

Shingle Style Historic Homes

This past year I’ve had a large number of clients with what architectural historians call “Shingle Style” homes. These were generally built in the latter part of the 19th century and the first few years of the 20th. This influx got me thinking of what color choices people in that time period had. In my […]

Chicago Award Winner

I received an email this past week from a former client who lives in Chicago. They informed me that their house, on which I consulted, had won an award. They were the winners of the 2014 “Chicago’s Finest Painted Ladies.” This award is issued annually by the Chicago Paint and Coatings Association.  As soon as […]

Oswego, NY “Paint It” program

  The “Paint Oswego” program is one arm of a multi-faceted revitalization effort for the City of Oswego in upstate New York. The Oswego Renaissance Association offers many services, such as matching grants to homeowners for exterior improvements, streetscape and park improvement funds. The goal of the Paint Oswego program is to provide Oswegonians with an […]

Mobile, Alabama Home Tour 2014

  Mobile, Alabama Historic Homes Tour Sponsored by the Historic Mobile Preservation Society Held annually in March for the past 45 years, it provides an opportunity to see inside some of the lovely older homes in the city.  This year’s 8 homes were centered around historic Washington Square in the Oakleigh Garden Historic District.  The […]

Interesting old photo

I was looking through some old photos I had bought at an antique store and came across this one. It is dated 1905, and from the cloths the couple have on that seems about right. What is interesting, from a house color perspective, is the dark columns on the porch. Even though this is gray-scale […]