Interior Paints & Stenciling

Old House Journal’s compendium of articles about interior paints, color schemes, and period-appropriate stenciling for historic homes.

Product of the Week

Products of the Week

Osborne Wood Products

Interior Paints & Stenciling

Saving Stenciled Plaster

Stenciled plaster was carefully conserved.

Interior Paints & Stenciling

Landscapes on Wood Wainscot

Proper cleaning and conservation are a future project requiring expertise.

Interior Paints & Stenciling

Authentic Colonial Colors

Prussian blue gets all the ink, but true Colonial-era colors, although diverse, have an earthy quality.

Interior Paints & Stenciling

Mural & Stencil Ideas for Early Homes

Stenciled designs and scenic murals were popular from around 1790 to 1850.

Interior Paints & Stenciling

Georgian and Federal Color

Ca. 1770 – 1830, colors were brilliant, the patterns eye-popping.

Interior Paints & Stenciling

Bold Color Intentions

Once the hub of a dairy farm, largely unchanged, simple and traditional, this farmhouse in rural Vermont happily embraces color used without inhibition.

Interior Paints & Stenciling

Sears Harmony House Co-ordinated Colors / 1959

See how colors came together in Sears Harmony homes.

Interior Paints & Stenciling

How to Choose the Right Paint Color

Blue is blue, right? Not so much. Color sense changed by decade.

Interior Paints & Stenciling

Researching Early Paint Colors

How many old-house owners have glanced around their rooms and sighed, “If only walls could talk?” What, for example, could they tell us about the richest colors from the earliest days of colonial America, when paint was hand-ground, expensive, and often flaunted as a status symbol by those who could afford the very best?

Interior Paints & Stenciling

Blue & White Decorating Schemes for Old Houses

Interior Paints & Stenciling

Choosing a Stencil Style

Whether folk or classical, stenciling transforms a room.

Interior Paints & Stenciling

Expert Advice: Choosing an Interior Paint Palette

Have you ever thought you’d solved a paint scheme dilemma with one of those chips from the paint store that has four or five gradations of the same hue? You put one on the walls, another on the trim, perhaps—daringly—a third for accent. Then, before the paint’s even dry, you find yourself dissatisfied?

Interior Paints & Stenciling

Milk Paint: Eco-Friendly and Non-Toxic

Real milk paint is back on the radar: It’s non-toxic and offers unique finish effects for walls, cabinets, and furniture. And modern formulations have extended its applications.