Historic Paint Colours of Newfoundland & Labrador

A PALETTE INSPIRED BY OUR PAST

The Paint Shop and Heritage NL are pleased to present this collection of historic paint colours – the result of extensive research on over 200 years of paint use in Newfoundland & Labrador. Old newspaper ads, vintage colour samples, and personal recollections mapped the evolution of palettes and techniques. Benjamin Moore colour matching technology was used to create the collection.

In the past, paints were mixed by hand and ranged in hues, depending on the person mixing and the materials used. Colours were often identified in generic terms, making it tricky to specify exact “historic colours.” This collection is meant to inspire you, in the spirit of the colourful places, buildings, and people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Disclaimer: Always review a real colour chip in the actual lighting conditions you are planning for. Digital representations will vary, as will colour chips in different light. If you are planning to paint over vinyl, please ensure your colour selection is approved for vinyl-use, to avoid warping.

Cape Broyle. Used with permission of Ronald J. O'Brien's family.

THIS SECTION IS DISABLED

IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS…

White

In the early days of European settlement wooden buildings were mostly unpainted. By the first half of the 19th century, whitewash was being used to protect wood from the effects of wind, rain, and sun. Lime mixed with water was the most popular method of coating a building. Whitewashing tended to turn grey and had to be reapplied every few years. White oil paint derived from lead or zinc later became a more durable choice.

Chantilly Lace OC-65
Simply White OC-117
Stonington Gray HC-170
Clarke's Beach
Hopedale
Summerville
St. Julien's
…And Red

In 1610, a container of red paint was spilled in Cupids Cove. Four centuries later, archaeologists discovered the spill – the earliest evidence of red ochre paint on a building in Newfoundland and Labrador. Indigenous use of red ochre stretches back much further, as the Beothuk used it to colour their tools, clothes, and bodies, a practice which is believed to have had spiritual significance.

Generations of fisherman used red ochre to coat their stages and stores. It produced varied hues when mixed with natural oils. Seal oil produced a truer red, while fish oil resulted in ruddy-brown. Ochre paints were often thinned with turpentine or kerosene. By the early 20th century, red paint was being sold in many shades, including oxblood, carmine, vermillion, and rose pink.

Port Union
Salvage
Red Oxide 2088-10
Iron Ore Red 2089-10
Brick Red 2084-10
Caliente AF-290
Trinity
…And Yellow

“Ochre” comes from the Greek word ochros, meaning yellow – which is the element’s raw colour. Yellow ochre was a key ingredient in iconic “buff” colours, which ranged from soft gold to chrome yellow. Dories are customarily painted buff yellow, but the colour also made its way to the exterior walls of mercantile buildings and railway depots.

In the mid to late 20th century Matchless Paints introduced Dory Buff as an official colour. With the Matchless line of historic paint colours discontinued, the debate continues whether the original colour was a lighter buff or brighter yellow. Custom recipes still abound.

Dorset Gold HC-8
Roasted Sesame Seed 2160-40
Yellow Marigold 2155-30
Pumpkin Blush 2156-20
Durrell
Avondale
Newtown
Placentia
Cape Broyle
Pilot's Hill. Photo by Philip Hiscock.

CAPITAL COLOURS

Downtown St. John’s wasn’t always as bright and colourful as it is today. The coal soot that blanketed St. John’s in much of the 19th and 20th centuries made light exterior paint colours impractical. Houses along downtown streets and lanes were mostly dark shades of green, red, brown, and grey. On working class houses, clapboard and trim were generally painted a single colour. Trim accent colours were typically found on more substantial homes. In the outports, white was still the most common house colour, often with a secondary trim colour.

Barter's Hill. Used with permission of City of St. John's Archives.
Brazil Square & Casey Street. Photo by Karen F. Munn.
Chrome Green HC-189
Brick Red 2084-10
Taupe 2110-10
Storm AF-700
Corn Silk CC-218
Spring Violet 2117-50
Malibu Peach 2169-50
Soft Mint 2041-60
Bluebelle 2064-50

LIGHTENING UP

By the mid-20th century advances in technology allowed virtually any paint colour to be produced. Pale pastel shades of yellow, blue, green, and pink became popular, particularly in outport communities. Some homeowners were quite creative, applying one colour on the top half of a house and another on the bottom. Lighter shades were also being used in the growing suburbs of St. John’s – where coal soot wasn’t a problem. Meanwhile, in the capital’s old historic core, coal continued to be used up until the 1970s, which meant darker colours continued to prevail.

Little Heart's Ease. Used with permission of Southwest Arm Historical Society.
Hodge's Cove. Used with permission of Southwest Arm Historical Society.
Bar Haven. Used with permission of Gary Wadman.
LaManche. Used with permission of Philip Melvin.
King's Road, St. John's

THE LEGEND OF JELLY BEAN ROW

In the 1970s and 80s downtown St. John’s began to burst with bright colours. A report commissioned by the St. John’s Downtown Development Corporation in 1969 recommended a brighter set of colours. But the restoration of a row of houses on Gower Street in the 1970s (a project managed by the St. John’s Heritage Foundation) just might have been the starting point for this colour revolution. The project used brighter colours and accents on several houses. Bold blues, reds, yellows, greens, and purples started popping up on every downtown street. Someone used the phrase “Jelly Bean Row” to describe the mix of colours and the phrase stuck. Bold colours are now synonymous with downtown homes and the palette has spread to communities across the province.

Seaport Blue 2060-30
Bahaman Sea Blue 2055-40
Evening Blue 2066-20
Grassy Fields 2034-30
Berry Fizz CSP-440
Carrot Stick 2016-30
Cat’s Eye 2036-10
Watermelon Red 2087-20
Pink Punch 2006-50
Sailor’s Sea Blue 2063-40
Bright Yellow 2022-30
Vermillion 2002-10

A PEEK INSIDE

In the first half of the 19th century, deep interior hues were used to evoke the rich tapestries that hung on the walls of wealthy English homeowners. In prominent structures like churches, convents, merchant homes, and government buildings like the Colonial Building, paints and glazes were used to create complex marble, granite, or wood grain finishes.

In the early 1900s, some outport homes had cherry red parlour floors, marine green stair bannisters, and yellow kitchen floors. Furniture was often painted in brown, grey, and creamy yellow tones.

Around the mid 20th century, pastels became the interior trend, with colours ranging from pink to green. Colours such as white, cream, and brown were popular for trims and furniture.

Harbour Grace
Stuart Gold HC-10
Philipsburg Blue HC-159
Prussian Blue CW-625
Caliente AF-290
Dark Salmon BM2009-30
Brooklyn
Bonavista. Used with permission of Bonavista Living.
Bristol's Hope

CHOOSING YOUR COLOURS

When choosing colours for your home there are number of different approaches that you may decide to take. If you have a restored period home, you may choose to employ colours that were historically used during a particular time. Or you may decide to express your personal colour preferences with bright, bold hues that highlight your building’s architectural features: one shade for clapboard, another for trim, a third for ornamental brackets and window caps, and a fourth to accent your front door. Either way, we encourage you to select colours from this special Benjamin Moore Historic Paint Colours of Newfoundland & Labrador collection.

Yarmouth Blue HC-150
Seedling AF-450
Sailor Sea Blue 2063-40
Pink Punch 2006-50
Bonavista
Cupids
St. John's
Trinity East
Heart's Content
Bewitched CSP-450
Cottage Red HC-184
Brick Red 2084-10
Caliente AF-290
Red Oxide 2088-10
Vermillion 2002-10
Watermelon Red 2087-20
Dark Salmon BM2009-30
Pink Punch 2006-50
Pink Harmony 2013-60
Malibu Peach 2169-50
Antique Rose 2173-40
Iron Ore Red 2089-10
Taupe 2110-10
Chippendale Rosetone HC-58
Pumpkin Blush 2156-20
Carrot Stick 2016-30
Yellow Marigold 2155-30
Dorset Gold HC-8
Corn Silk CC-218
Bright Yellow 2022-30
Sun Porch 2023-30
Hawthorne Yellow HC-04
Lemon Meringue 2023-50
Stuart Gold HC-10
Roasted Sesame Seed 2160-40
Yellow Oxide 2154-10
Chrome Green HC-189
Cat’s Eye 2036-10
Grassy Fields 2034-30
Stokes Forest Green 2035-40
Seedling AF-450
Soft Mint 2041-60
Bird’s Egg 2051-60
Bahaman Sea Blue 2055-40
Yarmouth Blue HC-150
St. John Blue CSP-675
Labrador Blue CC-740
Prussion Blue CW-625
Evening Blue 2066-20
Sailor Sea Blue 2063-40
Seaport Blue 2060-30
Bluebelle 2064-60
Spring Violet 2117-50
Philipsburg Blue HC-159
Berry Fizz CSP-440
Chantilly Lace OC-65
Simply White OC-117
Stonington Gray HC-170
Storm AF-700
Secret AF-710
Gray Shower 2125-30
Black Satin 2131-10
Dildo