This was one of my first large projects, a classic center-hall Colonial style house in Alexandria, Virginia, built in 1940 and largely neglected for more than three decades.
The authentic clapboard siding on the front had all been painted white, with the shutters black, a stark, flat color scheme that was not true to the Colonial style and did nothing to point up the fine architecture. I painted the clapboards buff, subtly emphasized the details in white, and used a blue-gray on the shutters and steps that blended with the slate roof. I also had the fine Chippendale railing on the upstairs deck restored and painted it to match the clapboards. All of this is consistent with how our ancestors painted their homes.
Anne Murphy O'Neil
AMO Design
703.256.0066
amodesign@pobox.com