To paint or not to paint? The photos here show four neighboring homes that were either never painted or painted to look like the original redwood posts, beams, and siding. At this time, it is uncertain if Anshen + Allen Architects preferred to keep the homes in a natural state. There is some reference to Japanese architecture influencing the overall designs of these homes, which supports maintaining the natural redwood contrasted with warm to neutral stucco. The architects would move on to work with Eichler, where natural wood paneling and painted siding commingled.
Most original homeowners quickly learned that staining and sealing redwood would require higher maintenance than painting. The low-slung ceilings made of redwood beams feels heavy and dark. Consequently, ceilings have been painted white, and most exteriors have been painted, too…an assortment of colors. 
Our house is shown in earlier blog posts, and quite frankly, we cannot tolerate the color much longer. Beige, in several tones, inside and out. So the question remains, what do we do?
We are not confident that stripping the redwood siding of paint is an affordable option. Its age and thinness feels fragile. Perhaps this is a question for an expert restoration painter. For now, we should decide on: 1) matching the Japanese-inspired natural redwood siding appearance, or 2) have a little fun with some Atomic or modern colors.
If this was a historic site, what would we be required to do? We would love to hear from preservation professionals!
No comments:
Post a Comment