Victorian homes, usually built in the mid to early 1800s were painted a certain color inside. You very rarely saw a Victorian home with just one or two colors. Instead, most of these homes used 3 different color combinations. The main color was usually 60% of the surfaces in the home, the secondary color was usually 30% of the surface color and the last color was usually spent on items such as accents like door molds, accent walls and accessories @ 10%. Not only were these color combinations used inside the home, but they were usually brought to the exterior of the home as well. You can use the same colors on the inside as well as the outside, or you can use different percentages depending on your taste and how you want the home to look and feel. If you want a copycat feel from the outside, then stick with the 60, 30, 10 rule inside as well as out. If you want to go a little different, switch the percentages around to see what you get or change the colors entirely inside vs. outside.
Back in the 1800s colors were sparser than they are today. Today you literally have millions and millions of colors and shades to choose from, which will allow you to paint a 3 color home inside and out, but will give you better options that not only look good together, but colors that you like as well. If you want to go for a more traditional color combination, you can do so by using color combinations that include mustard yellow, plum, lavender, black, browns like walnut, deep burgundy reds and aborigine. But, again, this is a whole new era for paint, so if you want to go more modern, by all means! Just make sure the three colors you use go together.
The 60, 30, 10 rule is a good formula to follow, since it was the same one they used in the 1800s and 1900s, it’s a good quality standard to stick to. Color schemes back then were primarily based on equally spaced colors on a color wheel. Here are a few 3 color combo ideas so you can see exactly what we mean by a 3 color combo on a color wheel:
– Blue 60, Burgundy 30, Tan 10.
– Slate Gray 30, Khaki 60, Stone 10.
– Toffee 30, Hazy Blue 10, Emerald Green 60
– Caramel 60, Dark Olive 10, Daredevil Red 30
Some of these colors might seem a little odd at first, but once you get the percentages down and you see the color on paper, you begin to realize the color tone of these Victorian homes. Be sure before buying any paints and doing House Painting in Morristown that you get a few color swatches and see them side by side. You could even get a blank slate and do your 60, 30, 10 percentages to see how well the colors match up together, but really there is no wrong answer here.
Beyond just hiring a Residential Painter in Morristown, you also need to pick fabric colors and patterns as well as any printed wallpaper you want to have in the home. Just remember to use the 60, 30, 10 rule when picking out other colors. The background color of the fabric for stools, chairs and couches should be the main 60% color of your house paint. So for example, if you chose slate gray, khaki and stone as mentioned above, your background on the fabric should be khaki. The designs or patterns on the fabric should then be the next most prominent color (the 30%) so for this combo above it would be slate gray. The last color would be stone since it’s the last 10% of the color wheel.
Private Spaces vs. Public Spaces
In most cases when you have a private home you want inviting soft colors and hues such as creamy yellows, dulled reds, and vibrant blues. On the other hand, if you have a public location like a library or museum, you would want to use rich deep colors like greens, burgundy and black. The main reason for darker colors in a public area was to help hide dust, soil and dirt, so you could really use either or when it comes to your home and choosing colors.
It should also be mentioned that you don’t have to go this alone. Many of the paint brands these days actually have a Victorian line that will give you a three color spread so that you don’t have to pick your own colors. Instead, you can choose from pre-chosen colors that they have chosen.