House in Progress Diary

The green in your photo is not from the period. If it was green, it would have been a much more attractive muted tone. Maybe something in the range of Benjamin Moore's Historic Colors, like their HC-121 of HC-122 types of greens.

The stucco color was most likely a "buff". There is a wide range of colors that fits into the "buff" category. For example, a yellow-tan, a light gray-tan, a yellow-tan with a tinge of red, a taupe-gray, etc, etc.. But NOT yellow.

Buff is defined as "the color of un-tanned buffalo hide" (like chamois).

The availabily at the time of only natural pigments and oxides for paint dictated the very muted color palette of the period. "Earth tones" is another way to describe the palette.

By the way, don't forget to shellac all your interior wood. Bullseye orange (amber) shellac---no stain, no varnish. that's the way it was originally. Floors too.

Marty

Follow-up: the stucco you see may indeed not be painted, but what you see on the surface is likely not the original stucco. There is probably at least one skim coat, or several wash coats, on top of the original stucco.

Marty

Marty, you've definitely got the multi-layer thing right on the money! :) There are so many layers of stucco that the owners had to build extra "sills" for the windows so that they would stick out past the stucco.

The outside of wall of the house that is currently INside (that add-on back room) is painted sky blue. THAT is definitely not the original color of the house. It was done after the back room was enclosed.

I suspect that the house was originally white. It's now a very very dirty white. It will have to be scrubbed.

Both my current house and my former house were a very light yellow (or buff) stucco and both also had mid-gray painted storm windows and forest green screens. Kind of a neat way to change the look of the house by season, I think. I still have a few of the storms & screens (although the balance of the windows now sport fine aluminum storms). When I get my green screens up, I'll post a picture on my website.....the color combo isn't nearly as alarming as your mock-up :-)

My stucco also has many layers. The most recent, a slurry put on by a PO who was about to loose the house in a reposession. Obviously, he didn't use the best quality materials.....and I'm paying the price in an oh-so-attractive paint peel. So of course, I'm anxious to see how you approach yours.....