New case study: late Victorian terraced house - decor

Really pleased to get my hands on another standing building, in a short inner-city terrace within the East Midlands, close to an iron foundry and railway goods yard. Though built during the late 19th century, there are signs of post-Victorian decor; the wall colours below may be original.

I began the survey today (but was unable to complete this, as I ran out of light), and will post the reports, and more photos, in the near future. For now, here are a few images of the visible early paint and other decor, such as floor tiles. The colours are accurate representations through my monitor, but may not be through yours - I'll post Munsell codes ASAP

Found much more than I thought I'd find on a preliminary survey! The colours are great - the usual drab, dark colours, but also some vibrant tones. The common arsenic-green type colour was found in the old scullery, as might be expected; but also in the small 'dressing-room' / nursery / bedroom off the back bedroom. Found a small fragment of wall-paper, too (in the 'parlour-cum-front-room'), which I'll post soon. The ceramic floor tiles in the original kitchen and scullery were a surprise - quite different to the usual terracotta 'quarry' tiles: in both rooms, larger (9" / 23 cm), with a narrow decorative border - in the old kitchen, pale clay, with terracotta / 'quarry' border; in the scullery, the colours are reversed; it's possible that these are later additions (possibly 1930s-60, as a slight marl is perhaps detectable? I'll know more if / when I get in to clean one).

Early powder/ corn-flower blue wall distemper: front room, ground floor; visuallysimilar to paint in back bedroom

Remains of early mid-dark buff paint or varnish on door of ground floor front room

Early drab green / olive and dark brown paint on corner of stone fire surround in original kitchen (back room, ground floor)

Floor tiles, in original kitchen (back room, ground floor); reversed colour-way to those in scullery (modern kitchen)

Floortiles, in original scullery (modern kitchen); reversed colour-way to those in originalkitchen (back room, ground floor)

Early arsenic-green coloured wall paint / distemper: Early arsenic-green coloured wall paint / distemper: original scullery (modernkitchen). Visually similar to paint in first floor annex. Also very similar to the paint within 'Lymehurst' kitchen

Early paint on door-frame: original scullery (modern

kitchen)

Early arsenic-green coloured wall paint / distemper: annex, first floor. Visually similar to paint in scullery.

Early powder / corn-flower blue wall distemper, inside cupboard within back bedroom; visuallysimilar to paint in front room, ground floor

Early paint on skirting board in front bedroom; mid buff, below green, below cream, below modern (1990s) grey

PS: a photo of the skirting board in the right fireside alcove of the ground floor front room. The early dark paint (and possibly an earlier wood stain?) can just about be seen beneath the later off-white paint (sorry about the in-shot spider: was reluctant to encourage this massive beast to run about in this enclosed space!):

1930s Christmas kitchen

Still undergoing renovation (awaiting a cast iron range of the correct style and date that fits), but it's now just about possible to get the general idea...

Living-kitchen in 1930s lower middle-class house, decorated in (exuberant!) contemporaneous  style:

Building B: Hall

Hall, pre investigation (above)

Note the final phase of decoration on the walls - papered with textured paper, and painted white; the handrail has been stripped and varnished (note the stratification of varnish from the base of a tin above the paint on the stairs), the stair treads painted a light gloss colour (over a layer of cream paint, which itself lies over a dark gloss stain to the wood) and banisters painted with a white matt paint.

Note traces in paintwork showing the position of stair carpet holders:


Close investigation revealed slight traces of the oiginal dark paint on the woodwork (phase 1):

and phase 2 paint effect corresponding to a greenish glaze, found on woodwork across much of the house (with the exception of the Kitchen), as seen here on the back of the front door:

The paper on one wall has been removed, to reveal 2 earlier phases of decoration (NB: radiator - though a contemporaneous feature - is a modern addition, and would not be expected in this size of house at this time):

Phase 1: buff paint (above). The hall is in the process of renovation, hence the dark paintwork, reflecting the original (Phase 1) colour.
Phase 2: textured paper (above)

A numer of holes at the bottom of the stairs lay beneath the phase 2 paper, and suggest the location of a feature - perhaps a shelf, mirror, or hooks? (Although note the presence of what appear to be original brass coat hooks in Photo 4, above)

Building A: decorative scheme in the hall

Preparation for decoration by the owners revealed the previous schemes of decoration.

The first scheme may have included a lighter green below the dado level, although removal of the secondary scheme - a buff colour (a staple of the 1930s, possibly suggesting the period in which the decor was updated) - was not possible, and therefore we were unable to determine whether there had been any form of dado rail

There appears to have been wall-mounted coat hooks (above), and a stair handrail (below). Note the dual colour scheme on the stairs (below)