Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-02-21
,,s's5;aG944alFARMHS
FlE I. CRRPEN
coLoRs FOR FARM BUILDINGS.

Avoid Charactcrless Coluring Employ
Strong Contrasting Colors-A Few Rules.
In painting house or barn, take into
account natural environment. Surround
ed by trees and shruhbery, the building
should be i'll light COlOrs, as these afford
the best contrast with the setting of
trees, etc, and look better at Il distance.
Where the building stands in the open,
more subdued coluring may be employ
ed. The reasons for these rules must be
obvious. The bindings are required to
sustain color relations with the sur
rounding country. explains - correspond.
ent of The Country Gentlomcn, and au-
thority for the following:
The so called colonial coloring-pale
yellow with white TRIMS pretty for a
farmhouse OF plastered stone or Of Frame
especially where surrounded hy trees
The trim should be as white as possible,
the blinds green, and the shutters and
doors white. If the roof is shingled,
stain it dull red or brown. In the alb
sence of knowledge of color, good
color perception is useful, but few pos
sess this gift. Hence a few general rules
may not be amiss.
Avoid pale characterless colOring
Employ strong, rich, contrasting colors
A safe rule is to use shades of one color
say the body is drab, then add more
lumber and some lampblack and nit of
red to make trim color. Tighten body
color for Stats of blinds and slightly
darken it for panels of shutters and
doors. Use trim color for stiles and rails
framework of blinds and shutters and
doors, as well as for cornice, corner
pieces, etc. That would be what we call
color harmony by analogy. By contrast
is when we use positive colors, such as
red beside, say, green. Sashes done i'll
red, look well with almost any color
scheme. Venetian and Indian reds,
mixed half and half, give nice sash
red and Tuscan red, darker sort, is
general favorite. The most beautiful red
is one used by the carriage painter and
known usually as aurora lake. 1t costs
s d pound, though half pound would
do the windows Of an average house.
Tuscan red gives good color for blinds,
and. like all iron base colOrS. is quite
durable. Blinds are usually difficult to
paint Is suitable color.
Cola colors are hardly ever as well
adapted to surroundings as the warmer
colors And yet cool grays look well in
conjunction with other colOrs i'll masses.
Take Il cottage that has natural (struc-
turaD divisions the first story, unless
Of stone or brick may be in Tuscan red,
the next leadish gray and the gables a
warm yellow. Nothing is prettier than
cottage structure thus painted, and the
gray is the most pleasing color of the
lot, though massed by itself it proves
cold and repellant. Buildings that have
no such structural divisions must DO
painted in one color from bottom to
top, excepting of course the trim.
Groups Of buildings should be of one
color scheme If the dwelling is in CO.
lonial yellow and white then the barn
may be in ocher color and white The
barn, being in the open, must be more
subdued i'll color than the tree surround
ed house If the house is in rather sub
dued coloring, then the barn may be in
iron oxide brown.
High buildings look best with dark
roofs; ditto massive buildings. Low
buildings look best with light cOlored
roofs. AS rule the roof sustains no
color relation with the rest of the struc-
ture, but dark roof implies heaviness
and light color the contrary; hence the
rule above given.