09/16/2026
The mystery has been solved! Our original house colors were carefully assessed and analyzed by Amelia Jensen Amelia Jensen | Artriage, llc based on samples collected this summer. We now know that the first time the house was painted it was light gray with dark gray trim. The roof was originally a green color, though the metal shingles were not analyzed and this is speculative*. Visibly the roof appears green but was quite possibly a different color of green than it appears or a different color initially and this may be the last color it was painted before it was covered over with an asphalt shingle roof (as this metal shingle I am holding is 136 years old). 1) In the first photo I am holding 2 commercial color swatches that most closely match (through CIE analysis) the original colors discovered on siding, trim, window sashes and gingerbread, based on samples collected. It is important to note that I did not collect samples for the cedar shingled “waist” dissecting first and second stories, many areas with crown molding and detail, the sunburst, any areas above the first story (with the exception of siding, trim, and gingerbread samples taken at a balcony location). 2) The second photo shows the second generation of colors, with the original green roof shingle. The siding was this dark taupy color and the trim was this lighter olive. The sashes were black. 3) The 3rd generation of paint colors are shown in the 3rd photo as Brouns and Co.’s color card is behind the clothespin and the siding color most closely matching the original is “Haddon’s Estate Grey”, the 4th color on the bottom row from either direction. The trim was this cooler green on the Benjamin Moore swatch and the sashes were painted this reddish brownish color. There was evidence of this red in the gingerbread analysis also, possibly indicating that more colors could have been picked out or placed in the color scheme in this 3rd generation. Just for context, after this 3rd paint scheme the house was painted cream a couple of times and then light blue, with cream trim and red sashes, probably exhibiting this scheme during the mid 20th century, based on a conversation I had with an original descendant.
