Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1843-07-07
From the Ne,c Hampshire Sentinel
OUTSIDE COLORING OF HOUSES.

Mr.. Downing in his late excellent book
upon domestic architecture, says the color
of buildings may very properly be made to
increase their expression Of truthtulness. -
Thus barn or stable being regarded en-
tirely in useful point of view, may have a
quiet, unobtrusive tone of color, while a
cottage should be Of a cheerful mellow hue,
harmonisng with the yerdure of the coun-
try. A mansion may very properly have a
graver color than cottage, to be Ill unison
with its greater dignity and extent There
is one color, however, says he, frequently
employed by house painters, which we feel
bound to protest against most heartily, as
entirely unsuitable, and in bad taste. This
is ,ohite, which is so universally applied to
our wooden houses Of every size and des-
cription. The glaring nature OF this color,
when seen in contrast with the soft green
of foliage, renders it extremely unpleasant
TO an eye attuned to harmony of coloring,
and nothing but its very great prevalence in
the United States could render even men Of
some taste so needless of its bad effect. No
painter of landscape, that has possessed a
name, was ever guilty of displaying in his
pictures garing white house, but, on the
contrary, the buildings introduced by the
great masters, have uniformly mellow soft
tened shade Of color, in exquisite keeping
with the surrounding objects. To render
the effect still worse, our modern builders
paint their Venetian window shutters a
bright green A cool dark green would be
in better taste, and more agreeable TO the
eye, both from the interior aud the exterior.
Upon this same subject Noedule Price,
whose name is high authority, says in his
Essays on the Picturesque" the one of the
most charming effects of sunshine, is its CIV
ing to objects not merely light, but that mel
low golden hue so beautiful in itself, aud
which when diffused as in fine evening
over the whole landscape, creates that rich
hue and harmony so enchanting i'll nature
and in claude In any scene, whether real
or painted, where such harmony prevails,
the least discrepancy in color would disturb
the eye: but if we suppose single object
of a glaring white to be introduced, the
whole attention, in spite of all our efforts to
the contrary, will be drawn to that point if
many such objects be scattered about, the
eye will be distracted among them. Again
when the sun breaks out in CLEANS, there is
SohethiuS tndt ucIiRWS anu surprises, III
seeing an object, before only visible, lighted
up in splendor, and then gradually sinking
into shade f: but whitened object is already
lighted up; it remains so when every thing
else is retired into obscurity it still forces
itself into notice. still impudenty stares you
in the face. An object Of sober tint, sud-
denly gilded by the sun, is like a serious
countenance lighted up by a smile a whit
ened object, like the eternal grin of a fool.
There may be some sarcasm in the tune of
these remarks, but that they are strictly true
every fine colorist will admit
The colors recommended by Mr.. Down
ing as most suitable for the exterior of houses,
are shades of gray, fawn and drab colors.-
These colors, besides being in so much
better taste, are much more economical
than white which consideration if nothing
else, we trust, will before long induce their
general use in our country.