Intricate use of multiple colors can be difficult. Click to enlarge.
Home on Pennsylvania Avenue in Ocean Grove , just painted, used new historic red and bright yellow from Benjamin Moore. Blogfinger photo ©
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @blogfinger
Major paint manufacturers offer color charts that are called “historic Victorian.” The HPC in Ocean Grove seems to pay heed mostly to the Benjamin Moore company. Choices from the historic charts of other companies might get rejected at the HPC. Perhaps you have wondered about the purple house as you enter the Grove. That was an approved color, but evidently the HPC later said that it was a mistake.
Those of you who have wrestled with color decisions for your OG home know that there are a wide array of choices, but perhaps you don’t know that the paint companies are always adding new colors.
A lot of the paint company decisions are based on archeological information. The chemical makeup of historic home colors used in the 19th century resulted in a limited choice, but now you can get many approved colors available in latex paints.
Some homeowners use 14 or more different colors. Of course that sort of paint job can be expensive.
Delicate painting of decorative trim requires a steady hand and a bucket loader. 113 Mt. Hermon Way. Blogfinger photo . Joan Corbo painter. Click to enlarge.
Some people think of the San Francisco “painted ladies” when they think of Victorian colors, but, as Ocean Grove designer J. Cortese has said, the “new look” are darker hues. And we have learned that the “painted ladies” pastels would not be approved in the Grove.
33 Main Avenue design by J. Cortese. Blogfinger photo ©
The quote below is from a 2015 Blogfinger post.
“This purple house (above) is at 33 Main Avenue. Some people love the colors while others hate them. We spoke to J. Cortese about this restoration project which he designed, color consulted and construction managed. J. uses historic colors, but he also enjoys the unexpected, changing over recently to darker “rich” colors in the Grove. He says that all his colors are approved and chosen from historic color charts. He thinks that darker colors are “more historic.”
Yellow seems to be more popular recently. Some of you are familial with the spectacular restoration at the Founders Park end of Seaview Avenue (26 Lake Avenue, a yellow Bersheeba Award winner). Link below:
BF post on spectacular yellow home
And then there are colors which most people in town don’t like, but either they were done that way without permission, or the HPC made a mistake. Do you think that the Mary’s’ Place blue color (see below) ought to be considered historic? Is a blue roof historic? Does the HPC practice favoritism?
And do you recall the orange house on Mt. Hermon Way? That owner went ahead with it even though that orange is not historic. The owner argued that 19th century homeowners were allowed to pick any colors they wanted —–the palette was very limited;—-all the colors then were dreary. So the orange house owner said that our modern choices should also be whatever we want. And, she argued, that the orange house would make her happy, so how about the “pursuit of happiness” promised in our Declaration of Independence–definitely some colorful patriotic reasoning.
Mary’s Place. 12/15. Main Avenue Ocean Grove. Blogfinger photo. Is the blue roof OK? The other blue on the siding looks darker now. Blogfinger photo 12/15. ©
KEITH URBAN with a song about the color blue—“Blue Ain’t Your Color” (This song was nominated for two 2017 Grammy awards.)
Unfortunately, historical accounts of paint colors were often lacking even when repainting was mentioned in the press. One of the few examples was the Alabtross which was described in 1910 as being “light buff, the trim in white, the shutters in moss green, the sash in Venetian red, and the veranda ceiling in pea green.”
Elizabeth Fell had two colors on her house, now Centennial Cottage, and on others that she built at 36 and 38 Abbott according to their contracts. The name of the Red Swiss Cottage that stood on Ocean Pathway near Central betrayed its coloration.
Many houses in OG had wooden shingle roofs that were a source of concern when there was a fire in the neighborhood. A supposedly “fireproof paint” was sold for these that might have been available in various hues and thus another factor in color schemes. The rise of fire-resistant composition shingles in the 20th century eliminated most of these.
The Historical Society is sponsoring a lecture on house colors on June 9th.
The mention of Mary’s roof is not about Doug’s color opinion. It is about favoritism and inconsistency in color approvals by the HPC.
And the post is not about architectural details such as balusters. Please stick to the topics at hand, or the editor will get out the e-scissors.
I think the blue roof is kind of slate looking, I have no problem with it! I wish they had gone a bit more flamboyant with the trim, the railings are quite long, would have looked great with some fancy sawn flat balusters, but costly!
Tom. Thanks for that clarification. We did not say whether the HPC approved the orange or not.
Maybe the new HPC guidelines will mandate coffee at their meetings. Maybe you slipped that orange by them while they smoking something colorful.
And, as you know, that house is no longer orange. Somebody less flamboyant than you took over.
In Asbury they are painting art on some home exteriors. If OG continues to slide regarding historic preservation, a colorful free for all might add a bit more life to the town. After all, orange is the new drab.
Point of clarification: If the orange house on Mt Hermon Way in this article refers to 64 MHW – that color variation was approved by the HPC. I still have the letter. Although, I have to admit, it was late at night (10:30ish) and I think they were tired.
Sue: You did not answer our question about the roof. Would you be allowed to put a blue roof on your house?
We have no interest in the color per se. Our concern is that the HPC rules be applied fairly for everyone.
I believe Mary’s Place is painted HC-155 (Newburyport Blue), which is the same color I have on my OG house. I get many complements on my house and used it on an accent wall behind my TV (in another house).
There are over 170 colors in the Benjamin Moore historic collection, and that adds to the variety of our town. Research in Williamsburg is suggesting that historic colors were likely darker than our take, as they have faded over time.