Introduction to colour
Paint and the raw materials to mix paint, were imported into Australia well into the early 20th century, and paint colour was often mixed by hand on site.
Limewash was being used in Australia pre-1800. It was the cheapest form of paint and was used widely. Limewash is a very early form of water paint which was daubed onto surfaces as a hot slurry of slaked lime with added pigments for colour. When commercially available oil paints became more common, limewash was relegated to a coating used for service buildings and the like.
Choosing a tradtional colour scheme for a dwelling should be based on research including the style of the house and the original colour scheme. Details of the original colour scheme can be sourced from historical documents and photographs about the particular dwelling, and also from an investigation of the existing paint layers on various surfaces. Removing successive layers of paint can reveal historical and original colour schemes. Methods of revealing paint layers can be found on the NSW Environment & Heritage website.
With this information, a colour scheme can be worked up from referencing the heritage colours offered by commercial paint manufacturers. Colour charts will usually suggest typical heritage schemes for guidance. Many commercial paint companies also offer colour consultancy services. Various publications, commercial paint companies, and websites give a good background to typical colours schemes seen in architectural styles and periods. Of course, certain colour schemes can be classed as typical, but they were not the only schemes seen during the period. The trend for placing of tonal differences between wall surfaces and trim/decorative detail should guide initial colour value selection, e.g. lighter walls with darker trim or vice versa. Look at other similar original houses in the Maitland area.
External building surfaces were commonly unpainted. Rendered walls were often left as natural grey. Stone was virtually never painted, and in fact the aim in painting other materials was often to simulate stone. Dwellings designed with face brick walls should remain as face brick, and not be painted.
Where quoins were used as a corner detail on masonry houses and were painted, they were typically a shade darker than the wall surface. Where face brick quoins were used, they were typically in a contrasting brick and should be left unpainted.
The use of fixed external louvred casement style timber shutters was common from very early periods, for security and control of sunlight. It is unusual to see adjustable louvre blades in a shutter in Victorian times.
Verandah roof stripes painted in alternating contrasting colours, at the width of the roofing sheets was fashionable in Victorian times, and not only in Australia. This is thought to have originated from the idea of the verandah appearing as a canvas shelter, and canvas was often striped. The tradition of painting the underside of verandahs in a light green is also based on the traditional colour of canvas backing, and referenced the idea of verandahs emulating a canvas shelter.
Verandah floors followed the general style trend of the dwelling, with early floors in simple unfinished materials such as stone and timber and brick. Later, highly decorative house styles employed multi-coloured tessellated tiles.
Unpainted galvanised iron was often used for roofing, even if the verandah roof was painted.
Generally, fencing was designed in a material and colour as an extension of the dwelling. For example, where the dwelling was in face brick, so too was the fence. A weatherboard dwelling would typically have a timber picket fence painted in a colour scheme to match the house.
The Maitland Heritage Kit is an initiative of the Maitland City Council Heritage Group, with assistance from Heritas Heritage & Conservation. Illustrations from the Pender Archives are reproduced with kind permission from the Cultural Collections Department of the University of Newcastle.
- My Neighbourhood
- My Council
- About Council
- Council meetings
- Guiding Principles
- Public Notice of Development Consents
- Councillors
- How does Council work?
- Our organisation
- Committees
- Ward boundaries
- Freedom of Entry
- Civic Traditions
- Demystifying Council
- Councillors Information
- Draft Code of Meeting Practice
- Draft Councillor Expenses and Facilities Policy
- Public exhibition and notices
- Governance and transparency
- News and updates
- Work with us
- Planning and reporting
- Long term planning
- Maitland +10 Community Strategic Plan
- Delivery Program
- Operational Plan
- Fees and Charges
- General Purpose Financial Reports
- Resourcing Strategy
- Asset Management Plan
- Maitland Urban Settlement Strategy
- Local Environment Plan (LEP)
- Development Control Plan (DCP)
- Maitland Local Strategic Planning Statement 2040+
- Community Satisfaction Results
- Destination Management Plan
- Annual report
- Publications, plans and strategies
- Central Maitland Interpretation Plan
- Aberglassyn Structure Plan
- Manual of Engineering Standards
- Activity Centres and Employment Clusters Strategy
- Central Maitland Structure Plan
- Gilleston Heights Structure Plan
- Hunter River Branxton to Green Rocks flood study (2010)
- Hunter River Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan (2015)
- Lochinvar Structure Plan
- Maitland Centres Study (2009)
- Maitland Integrated Land Use and Transport Study
- Maitland Rural Lands Strategy (2005)
- Thornton Structure Plan
- Maitland Bike Plan
- Discussion paper: Strengthening relationships with young people
- Rutherford Youth Protocol
- Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP)
- Community Facilities and Services Strategy
- Lochinvar Flood Study
- Maitland Recreation and Open Space Strategy
- Open Museums Open Minds
- Wallis and Swamp-Fishery Creek Flood Study
- Long term planning
- Works and major projects
- Maitland Your Say
- About Council
- Our Services
- Waste and recycling
- Building and development
- Planning Portal
- Planning information and advice
- Building and renovating
- The application process
- Planning strategies
- Property certificates
- Online Mapping
- Development contributions
- Planning application forms and certificates
- Short Term Licence to Access Council Owned or Managed Land
- Register of variations
- Community
- Community Notices
- Community services
- Citizenship ceremonies
- Grants and Sponsorship
- Education programs
- Environmental education
- Living sustainably
- Library education programs
- Art Gallery creative learning programs
- Maitland Gaol education programs
- Heritage education programs
- Service awards
- Australian Death Notification Service
- Cemeteries
- Environment
- Council’s environmental actions and commitments
- Snakes in Maitland
- Estuary management
- Maitland Greening Plan
- Native Seedling Giveaway
- Community Street Tree Planting Program
- Weeds and pesticides
- Environmental Education
- Living sustainably
- Green Communities Newsletter
- Interested in Landcare near you?
- Solar power and your home
- Your Bushland Reserves
- Roads, traffic and transport
- Business and economy
- Economic statistics and investment
- Your business
- Economic Strategy
- Permits and approvals
- Submitting a tender to Council
- Visitor Economy
- Play & Explore
- Events
- Facilities and recreation
- Arts and culture
- History and heritage
- Resident guide
- Visiting Maitland