An 1898 Brookline Victorian on Pill Hill — three-tone period color scheme, ornate trim moldings on every elevation, a wraparound porch with turned balusters. The owners wanted faithful restoration of the original palette, not a modernization.
The challenge
Victorian trim is brush-only work. Sprayed trim reads wrong on this architecture — flat sheens fail to catch the morning light off the molding profiles. Plus the existing paint had been touched up over the years with not-quite-matching colors that had to be sorted out before primer.
What we did
- Color-match existing trim against archive paint chips to confirm the original three-tone scheme
- Scrape and feather-sand any failing paint; preserve sound substrate
- Oil-bond prime bare wood; mildewcide-block prime any north-facing shaded sections
- Caulk every joint with paintable acrylic (no silicone — won't accept paint)
- Two coats Aura Exterior, hand-brushed throughout — no spray visible from the street
- Three tones cut-in by hand at every architectural transition
The result
Period-correct finish, every detail line crisp from the street. Photographs in the morning light the way the original architect intended. The homeowner's historical-society neighbor stopped by to compliment.
For Brookline exterior work, see exterior painting in Brookline.