Early Italianate Home,Romeo, Michigan
Italianate style homes often have extensive architectural detail. This can overwhelm not only the home owner with color choices but also the passer-by with wild splashes of color. In designing a color scheme for this home, I followed some of the standard Civil War era (1860s) paint placement ideas shown in period paint books and pamphlets that I own. Highlighting the cornice, the brackets, and the porch focuses the colors on the important details.
A porch and a Bay Tower
The front porch is an important feature on this home. It becomes the welcoming station for the family. Employing lighter period colors on the steps, decking and trim opens up the porch and makes it feel warm and inviting. The wonderful bay tower has a myriad of Italianate style details that beg to be highlighted. Painting it in highly contrasting colors brings out its unique nature and provides a spectacular focal point for the house. I took care not to overemphasize other areas of the house to allow this feature to dominate.
Goal & Solution
Goal
The family wanted their home to feel like it was 1860 outside with period colors and painted details from the era.
Solution
Green, particularly darker greens were becoming popular just before the Civil War, so we build a scheme around that. All the colors for this home were taken from an 1860 historic period paint catalog.
