Federalist style, what colors are typical in a foyer?

A friend of mine in Toronto owns a beautiful old Federalist house. He knew I had some editing and reading to do so he asked me to come stay here for a couple of weeks so I could keep the dog company and water a few of the pots in this searing heat (more on that later.) We were discussing the house and he started wondering about making some slight changes.

As far as I've ever seen, the typical Federalist style home has a red door. Is that true? His is black, as are the shutters. I've seen both white and black shutters in Georgetown, DC and throughout the historical parts of Canada where the style is typical. He wants to replace the garage doors (obviously this is not typical, but this home has a garage that was attached 100 years later) and was wondering what type of material and color he could use. He doesn't seem to be obsessed with historical accuracy, but I think the idea of the red door sort of interests him.

The foyer has a large oak staircase on the right side leading up to a grand landing. The floors are blue slate, and the walls are this sort of pale, very sober light yellow and white wainscotting along the bottom half of the wall (with crown mouldings along the top of the wall). He was wondering what is typical of wall colors, and what color a ceiling should be. He has a pretty considerable art collection, and was actually considering a very bold red for the foyer, keeping the wainscotting and mouldings white.

I was just wondering if any of you have insight on this. It's interesting to me. It's a lovely home and it's been fun spending time here.

RE: the pots, he has an automatic sprinkler system which little tubes going into just about every single one of the 50+ pots and planters in the front and back garden. There are 2 without, so I have to water them. We've been experiencing record heat in Toronto and some of his hedges in the front actually have burned tops. Is there anything I can do to further prevent this? The sprinklers water in a sequence between 4am and 6am. Would watering mid day prevent more scorching? Is there a chance the yellowed leaves will regain their original color or will they have to be pruned?

Thanks guys

Most foyers and hallways in Federal-style homes would have be done in shades of white and cream. Other possibilities would be pale blues, creamy yellows, bold yellows, medium blues, and light blue-greens. The blue slate throws me off; a Federal-style home would have wood floors.

Some appropriate colors from Ralph Lauren's paint line, available here:
Candelabra White - VM225
Chesapeake Sunset - VM237
Goldfinch - VM239
Renoir - VM276
Shoreline Blue - VM278
Spanish Bluebell - VM283

There's no standard color combination, but there are a couple points to consider:

-Ceilings and wainscots should always be lighter than the walls and should usually be white or off white, which enhances the verticality of the space.

-I prefer white walls by default, but color can sometimes work. It's hard to recommend anything without knowing the size of the spaces and their lighting characteristics. Red and other bold colors are often visually overbearing, so they're best for very small and intimate rooms like libraries or studies that are used in the evening or after dark. Big rooms should have much less intense color. Light soft colors or neutrals. A red room that gets ample daylight is usually going to attack the senses (literally, your blood pressure and heart rate will rise if too much red is in your visual path), so it's also a good idea to avoid red if the primary lighting source is overhead (which will illuminate the walls a bit too much). A red room should use incandescent lamps that are directional so only parts of the walls are brightly illuminated. The incandescent bulb's hue softens the walls with a brown tint which is preferable to fluorescent lights that will give a blacker hue.

-If the guy is hanging paintings, he should use a wall surface that has considerable texture or gloss to balance the texture of the painting. If the paintings are oil, they're going to have a richness that is going to make a plain painted drywall panel look really cheap by comparison. Ideally, I'd use white Venetian plaster or a painted textile panel if he doesn't already have wood paneling. Lots of galleries or rooms that display 18th century and early 19th century paintings use linen or silk covered plywood that is painted over to get the texture and it looks really nice. Expensive, but nice. Sometimes plaster is enough, but if he has plain drywall, he should really upgrade.



StephenHero said:

There's no standard color combination, but there are a couple points to consider:

-Ceilings and wainscots should always be lighter than the walls and should usually be white or off white, which enhances the verticality of the space.

-I prefer white walls by default, but color can sometimes work. It's hard to recommend anything without knowing the size of the spaces and their lighting characteristics. Red and other bold colors are often visually overbearing, so they're best for very small and intimate rooms like libraries or studies that are used in the evening or after dark. Big rooms should have much less intense color. Light soft colors or neutrals. A red room that gets ample daylight is usually going to attack the senses (literally, your blood pressure and heart rate will rise if too much red is in your visual path), so it's also a good idea to avoid red if the primary lighting source is overhead (which will illuminate the walls a bit too much). A red room should use incandescent lamps that are directional so only parts of the walls are brightly illuminated. The incandescent bulb's hue softens the walls with a brown tint which is preferable to fluorescent lights that will give a blacker hue.

-If the guy is hanging paintings, he should use a wall surface that has considerable texture or gloss to balance the texture of the painting. If the paintings are oil, they're going to have a richness that is going to make a plain painted drywall panel look really cheap by comparison. Ideally, I'd use white Venetian plaster or a painted textile panel if he doesn't already have wood paneling. Lots of galleries or rooms that display 18th century and early 19th century paintings use linen or silk covered plywood that is painted over to get the texture and it looks really nice. Expensive, but nice. Sometimes plaster is enough, but if he has plain drywall, he should really upgrade.

Click to expand...

Venetian plaster is a reasonably expensive process itself. I had it done in my Chicago apartment.

In old federalist homes I've seen black and white marble (which I think was added later), and hardwood. I've seen slate throughout Toronto.

Painted smooth plaster would be the most authentic for a federal home. Only the very finest homes would have had wallpaper in the foyer, let alone boiserie. Venetian plaster certainly would not have been done.

I think the advantage of Venetian plaster is its ability to pick up colored tones from the artwork and furniture. I think it's much livelier when done right.



Grenadier said:

Most foyers and hallways in Federal-style homes would have be done in shades of white and cream. Other possibilities would be pale blues, creamy yellows, bold yellows, medium blues, and light blue-greens. The blue slate throws me off; a Federal-style home would have wood floors.

Some appropriate colors from Ralph Lauren's paint line, available here:
Candelabra White - VM225
Chesapeake Sunset - VM237
Goldfinch - VM239
Renoir - VM276
Shoreline Blue - VM278
Spanish Bluebell - VM283

Click to expand...

Correct. Generally, muted shades of whites, creams, grays, yellows, pinks, blues, greens and bright white trim.
Benjamin Moore offers a Historical Colors line, which apparently has been well-researched.

Grenadier said:

Painted smooth plaster would be the most authentic for a federal home. Only the very finest homes would have had wallpaper in the foyer, let alone boiserie. Venetian plaster certainly would not have been done.

Click to expand...

Again correct. Venetian plaster in a Federalist interior would appear ridiculous and out of place, especially if the decorative trim, dentils, moldings, etc. common to the period are present. For displaying art in that environment a Level 5 finish would be preferred.

Thank you very much, that's been very educational.