Egyptian historical period

Ancient Egyptian Interior

Egyptian theatre interior

When thinking of ancient Egypt there is that image of gold, sand and blue skies coming in mind. However the Egyptian people had at their disposal six colours green, red, yellow, blue, including black and white. These colours were generated largely from mineral compounds and thus retain their vibrancy over the millennia. Each of these colours had their own intrinsic symbolic meaning. It is safe to say that the Egyptian use of colour in their life was largely symbolic. To continue with, the two construction materials that the ancient land of Egypt seemed capable of producing in multitude was sand and papyrus reeds, with some stone quarries. Therefore, the majority of ancient Egyptian houses were constructed of mud brick, sand and stone, all natural in colour. In conclusion, the Egyptian palette of basic bright colours and natural sand hues evokes memories of ancient times when tints and shades were not known.

Greek historical period

Greek Interior

Knossos dolphin

Unfortunately, due to the perishable nature of the materials used and the major upheavals at the end of antiquity, not one of the famous works of Greek panel painting has survived till nowadays. However, certain parts of the superstructure of Greek temples were habitually painted since the archaic period. Such architectural polychromy could take the form of bright colours directly applied to the stone or of elaborate patterns, frequently architectural members made of terracotta. Greek buildings had originally been painted ochre yellow, with the moulding and sculptural details in red, blue, green and gold. While this may or may not have been the case with older wooden or plain stone temples, it was definitely not the case with the more luxurious marble temples, where colour was used sparingly to accentuate architectural highlights. In other words, the most typical for an ancient Greek interior are carefully used colour accents on a background of natural materials.

Mid to late Georgian historical period

Mid To Late Georgian entrance hall

Mid To Late Georgian living room

Distemper paint was generally considered the cheapest paint option in the late 1700’s. It was ground from chalk, and mixed with glue made from animal bones. Then it was tinted with natural pigments, like yellow ochre, red oxide, or even ox blood (for a nice rusty-pink colour). Wealthy home owners, on the other hand, preferred to paint their walls and woodwork with oil-based paint, mixed with red or white lead and linseed oil. Around 1760, interiors started becoming lighter and lighter thanks to the use of plaster. Wainscoting and wood panels were replaced by plaster walls above the chair rail.  To protect this plaster surface, dados became all the rage. Back in the Georgian period, plaster was a softer white with a yellow undertone due to the linseed oil and lead mixture. While basically anyone could tint their plaster with earth tones like yellow or brown, only the wealthy could afford the more decadent, costly colours.