Expert: Rikki Nyman - 8/8/2009

Question
My home is a Craftsman-style bungalow built between 1928 and 1930 (it's part of a National Historic District in Bismarck, ND, and is individually described, which is how I know "Craftsman style"). It is currently white with a red to maroon trim, and badly in need of new paint. The roof was replaced after a hail storm in 2002 and needs to be replaced again. I'd like to know what type of roofing material I can use that would be closest to the original roof, and what exterior colors, for house and trim, would be appropriate. The interior has archways in the entry, and a bell-shaped window over the front door, and a large arch that defines the spaces of the living room and formal dining room. There are other cute niches and built-ins for curios. On the exterior, there are poles extending out about a foot on the side walls, one near the front and one near the back. These give it an almost Mission look, as if they should continue through the house, but they don't. I really hate the maroon, and would like something like a buff or ivory with either a colonial blue or forest green trim. Would either of those color schemes fit the house? I wish I had a photo to send, but I don't from this computer. It's small, only about 900 square feet, but perfect for me. I'm hoping to be able to get a grant from the State Historical Society if I'm restoring the original exterior to period colors, and replacing the roof with something as close as possible to a period look. I'd appreciate knowing some other options, and what to suggest for the roof (not to mention the garage, which was apparently original but is about one board away from falling down, and doesn't have the interesting multiple peaks that the home does). Thanks for any help you can provide!

Answer
I'd love to see a picture of your house because it's so difficult to suggest color schemes without having a sense of the architecture and detail.

First the roof.  The three most common roofing materials in the late 1920s were asphalt shingle, tile, and metal. Asphalt was by far and away the most used for residential architecture. Metal would be a good choice from a sustainability standpoint ... it's a fairly expensive but eco-friendly material that holds up well for decades. Tile is heavy and the building needs to be engineered to handle it, so that leaves you with asphalt shingle. I'd suggest using a plain 3- or 4-tab shingle, not the architectural shingle that is so popular now, if you are going for historical accuracy.  You could be historically correct in picking some type of colored shingle for the roof. Many colors were used including green, red, and even blue, which is particularly cute with a yellow body color and white trim and often seen in magazines of the late 20s.

As for color, bungalows were about simplicity and I tend to favor three- or four-color schemes. Body colors tended to be dark during the 1910s and lightened somewhat during the 1920s. A few really attractive schemes include: brown shingle roof, sage green body, with ivory trim; a dark charcoal roof, warm gray body, creamy yellow (a bit more yellow than cream) trim, and taupe accents; or brown-gray roof, with a gray body and ivory trim (great background for flowering plants). Another scheme that is very pretty on little houses is a light peachy-pink body with white trim ... and it looks really nice in the snow.

What I rarely see on bungalows is the reverse ... light body with darker colored trim.

Color schemes tended to have dark, medium, or light bodies with light trim. The door was often stained and varnished, but also painted ... sometimes with a "pop" color such as mustard yellow with ivory trim and a forest green door.

The range of color was essentially the same as now with lots of whites, yellows, greens, browns, and grays. Red was popular, but blues were less common as they tend to fade.  Your idea of buff would be nice, but I would use an ivory trim and the forest green or colonial blue for the entry door.

There are many other surfaces to color as well such as the porch floor and porch ceiling, etc.

Hope this helps get you started.

Best regards,
Rikki Nyman
www.antiquehomestyle.com