Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1847-07-23

On the Color Of Country Houses.
From the Horticulturist.

From the Horticultural.
Charles Dickens, in that unlucky visit to "A
merica in which he was treated like spoiled
child, and left in the hunor that often follows
too lavish bestowal of sugar plums on spoiled
children made now and then a remark in hi
characteristic vein of subtle perception. Speak
ing of some of our wooden vllages-the hous
cs az bright as the grcenest blinds and the whit
est weather boarding can make them, he SAT-
it was quite impossible to believe them real, sub
stantial habtations. They looked I" as if the,
had been put up on Saturday night, and were to
be taken down on Monday morning !"
There is no wonder that any tourist, accus.
toned to the quiet and harmonious color Of
buildings in an English landscape, should be
country dwellings. Brown, the celebrated Eng.
lish landscape gardener, used to say Of a new
red brick house, that it would pu, a whole val
lev in fever. Some of our freshly painted vii
lagos, seen in bright summer day, might give
a man with weak eyes a fit of the op.halmia.
We have venured word or two against this
national passion for white paint, and it seems to
us fitting moment to look the subject boldly
in the face once more
Our first objection to ,chie is, that it il too
ylarng and conspicuous We scarcely know
any thing more uncomfortable to the eve,
than to approach the sunny side of house in
one of our brilliant midsummer days, when it
revels in the fashionable purity Of its color. 1t
is absolutely painful. Nature, full of kindness
to man, has covered most Of the surface that
meets his eye in the country, with soft green
hue-at once the most refreshing and grateful
to the eye. These habitatons that we have re-
ferred to, appear to be colored on the very oppo.
cit nr;nc;n1a nd uooJ, IN, hrn,J
to turn his eyes away to relieve them BY a
glimpse OF the soft and refreshing shades that
every where pervade the trees the grass, and
surface of the earth.
Our second objection to white is, that il does
not harmonize with the country, and thereby
mars the effect of rural landscapes. Much OF
the beauty oflandscape dep 'nds on what painters
call breadth Of tone-which is caused by broad
masses of colorsthat harmonize and blend agree
ably together. Nothing tends to destroy the
breadth of tone so much AS any object of consd.
cradle size and ola brilliant white. 1t stand.
harshly apart from all the sof, shades of the
scene. Hence landscape painters always stu
diously avoid the introduction Of white in thei
buildings and give them instead some nentra
tnt-a tiut--a tint which unites contrasts
agreeably with the color of trees and grass, an,
which seems to blend into other parts of natura
landscape instead of being discordant note il
the general harmony.
There is always, perhaps something not quit
agreeable in objects of a dazzling whtenes,
when brought into contrast with otl.r colorS-
Mr.. Price. in his Essays on the Beautiful an
Picturesque, conceived that very white test
gave silly expression to the conntrnance-an
brings forward in Illustration of it, the we
known soubriquet, which WaIpole bestowed o
one of his acquantances-the gentleman wit
the foolish teeth.
No one is successful in rural improvement:
who does not study nature and take her for tn
basis of his practice. Now, in natural land
scape, any thing like strong and bright color
is seldom seen, kept in very minute portions
and least Of all pure ~hte-chiehy appearing i
small objects like flowers The practical rul
which should be deduced from this to avoid a
these colors which nature avoids. In building,
we should copy those that she offers chiefly {,
the eye-such as those the soil, rock, WOOD
and the bark of trees-the materials of whic
houses are built These materials offer us tn
best and most natural study from which harmo
Nous colors for the houses the nseves should b
taken.
Wordsworth, in little volume on the scene
ry OF the Lakes, remarks that the objections I
"mte AS Color in large spots or masses, i
landscapes, are insurmounabe He SAYS
destroys the gradations of distances, haunts tn
eye, and disturbs the repose of nature. To leav
some little consolation to the lovers of whit
lead, we will add that there is one position
which their favorite color may not only be tole
ated, but often has happy effect. We inca
IN the case ola country house or cottage, dee
ly EMPOWERED in trees, Surrounded by such
mass o: foliage as Spencer describes
In whose enclosed snauyu ,,,-,- -..se,
A IA lion La IN h.,
A white building often has magical effect.
But landscape painter would quickly answe
If he were asked the reason of this exception
the rule, " 1t is because the building does n
appear white" In other words, in the shade
of the foliage by which it is half concealed,
loses the harshness and offensiveness of a VIII,
felt, in looking at examples of the latter set II
on bald hill, that the building itself would,
possible, cry out
Hide me from days garish eye"
Having entered our protest against the &c
erai use OF white in country ediices, we a
bound TO point out what we consider suitab
Shades Of color
we have said that one should look to Natu
TOT mn,s IN color This gives us apparently,
"'oe c"o'ce OF shades, but as we ought prone
~ 10 employ modified shades, taken from ii
coiors OF tle materials of which houses are co
slructed, the number of objects are brought viii,
W moderate compass. Houses are not bu
OF grass OF leaves and there is, therefore, n
Earth, stone, brick, and wood are Tho ssnh.,.
Ces that enter mostly into the struc,m. s
houses, and from these We would a u,, ID .
takesuggestons for painting them. ''''"s
Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was f,,, -,
tstcal feeling for the union of a house ,v; .n
surrounding scenery, once said, "If Won , ,"o,
fix upon the best color for your house, turn !"
stone, or pluck up a handful of grass by i
roots, and see what is the color of the soil VIII,
the house is to stand and let that be your choic
This rule was not probably intended to be exa
ly carried into general practice, but the feel