The Washington herald., 1922-10-29
Combinations of Color.

In passing through a neighbor-
hood of good standing a few days
ago. we were surprised to see the
utter disregard for harmony in
which the houses had been painted.
They were. individually. good look
ing houses and would have been all
right in their proper environment.
Bat taken as whole. they GER
tIinly presented an unpicturesque
appearance. In one block there
was dark red house next to one
Of yellow brick: then there was one
which was painted bright green.
then a deep brown one next to a
gray one.
ON large estates IN the country
there is not much difficulty in the
selection of appropriate colors. as
each house is Independent of any
other. and the color used IS merely
matter af personal preference. In
the city. however. where it is neces-
sary that the houses be in close
proximity. the problem is more com
pleN, and question. other than
personal preference must guide the
selection. The color of each house
should bear some relation to coloTS
Of neiEhborirs houses. In many in
stances one house may create a con-
Meeting link between the houses at
either side. which otherwise would
not harnmoize.
Plain white houses usually seem
! cod and austere. They may be
transformed into the most cheer
| fully looking places. however.
still maintaining their appearance
Iof the cleanest OF whites. This
[ effect is brought about by the addi-
/ ton Of a bit Of yellow and touch
l of black on the white paint before
/ it is applied. 1t is not necessary
to mix in so much of the yellow and
black that the color VIII be changed
entirely, but Just enough to gfve the
white a warm tin=e. We might add
mere that il is always best to have. a
.C0at Of white lead applied to th"
wood before using any color. Blush
tones. whether they are in white OF
in cnlors, are likely to be depressing
Il used TO cover large areas
The whole house should. in most
cases. he painted the same color.
sScopt for the details Of doorwayS
windows. shutters. etc. These may
be painted in contrasting or
harmo1izinG color. Neutral colors
like warm gray, barley. sand. or
ivory white. are almost always
satisfactory for covering the walls
of the house. Heavy, thick looking
coiors-dark brown or Eunmetal
asray, for in =tl1ce-should he
avoided. The architectural details
olazza lat:,"eS. rIil'n-s. and corner
boards should not he emphasized bv
paint of contrasting color. If they
are. the appearance of the house IS
cheapened and il invariably looks
smaller than it really is.
In Northern Wisconsin there is a
perfectly lovely litNe shinglei
house. portion of which is pictured
here. In order to protect the wood
against the weather the shingles are
stained with dove gray. which bears
4 close resemblance to the natural
weather stained color. The windows.
which are divided INTO a number Of
small lights. are finished with baton
blinds. The doorway Is framed in
a trellis. with built-in seats at the
sides. These. with the blinds and
window trims. are painted soft
Creenish blue, a : also are the flower
boxes at the windows. which are
hA-Nl " - II l'lih E'I ditlhiilS anu OVER
hanging ivy vines. At either side
of the front entrance there are
dwarf blue-needIe pine trees.
\ characteristic color for a
suburban home of colonial design
Is yellow. An impressive home OF
this type in one of our own suburbs
is painted a clSr yellow with
columns and trim Of ivory white
The shutters are rich in dark green,
and the roof is stained in a slightly
lighter tone of green.
Interesting combinations of colors
may be had where stucco is used
In New York. house which is
greatly admired is of Srayish green
stuCcO. The woodwork of the win
dOws. doors. and porch is stained
A deep brown, and the tiles on the
roof Are red.
There is a small house which has
been cleverly thought out in Long
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