Sentence:  The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. To display them the walls had been tinted a vivid blue which had now <WSD>faded</WSD>, but the carpet, which had evidently been stored and recently relaid, retained its original turquoise. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To lose freshness, color, or brightness; to become faint in hue or tint; hence, to be wanting in color.