Exteriors

• Georgian Period 1715 - 1810

Throughout the Georgian period exterior or stucco would have been painted with a light colour typically stone in imitation or expensive stonework. The purpose of stucco was to hide the cheaper brick beneath and to imitate more expensive stone, bare brickwork would never and should never be painted as it not only takes away the character of a house, but can cause structural damage.

Exterior window joinery was often painted in stone colour, with doors usually found in Spanish brown or olive brown. Darker colours began to appear on exterior windows towards the end of the 18th century and continued to be used for many years. The effect would have been or presenting the windows as dark voids in a paler façade.

Exterior ironwork such as railings and gates were often painted in invisible green to make them blend into the background, through Ash colour and Stone were also common. The wealthier households would use the dazzling smalt colour considered highly prestigious because of its high cost two or three times that of ash colour of stone.

• Victorian Period 1837 - 1901

Exterior woodwork was usually decorated in a green colour, one of the Bronze Greens to blend in with the foliage and in the case of the Bronze to resemble weathered bronze. Purple brown was also used for exterior woodwork, one contemporary specification for a small house calls for the front door to be painted Green and with the windows purple brown.

Exterior masonry or stucco was generally as Buff Yellow Ochre Stone and Dark Stone. The purpose of the stucco was to hide the cheaper brick beneath and to imitate more expensive stone and bare brickwork would never be painted as it not only takes away the character of a house, but can cause structural damage.

• Edwardian & Art Deco 1908 - 1935

The conventions for exterior decoration of Edwardian properties remained largely unchanged form the Victorian era., On front doors a gloss finish in a Brunswick Green or Dark Brown was recommended. Red on the other hand, unless it was a dark shade such as Deep India Red and Blues were rarely used as they were thought likely to fade.

Other exterior woodwork was painted in either white or a Brunswick Green with guttering and railings in black or a dark green such as Deep Brunswick or Deep Bronze Green Masonry continued to be painted in Cream and Stone colours where appropriate.

bare brickwork would never and should never be painted as it not only takes away the character of a house, but can cause structural damage.

• Art Deco

As with the interiors, Art Deco exteriors were different form their predecessors. The smooth lines of Art Deco architecture were further smoothed by bright white paints, with details such as balconies and railings, the new metal window frames and doors picked out in bright colours.

Art Deco exteriors were further enhanced by the addition of geometric patterns picked out in bright colours.