Paint

The colours of Rodono

about paint and colours

Deciding on the colour and the texture of paint was an important issue during the restoration process. We would advise anyone considering the restoration of an old house, not to underestimate the function of paint to help create an atmosphere. Something the Victorians had a ready understanding of but which, in our day and age, seems to have fallen victim in the race to maximise profit.

The interior of houses nowadays is painted bright white and we still remember how the tradesmen looked at us in unbelief, when we told them that under no circumstance were they allowed to use their chemical white on the 150 year old fabric of the lath-and-plaster walls or on the doors and skirting boards of solid Oregon Pine in pristine condition.

We were on the phone to Farrow & Ball a lot, ordering hundreds of litres of paint. We asked Michael to come and help us. And so we managed to cover every single bit of wood or plaster in the house with the glorious colours of the National Trust range of paint from this superb company.

All the wood? No, the exterior doors were a special case. We couldn't decide on the red for those doors. We'd looked long and hard, but just couldn't find the colour that would fit. We were, however, determined to use red.

Red is the colour of the rowan tree berries, and while trying to discover the origin of the name "rodono" we had come upon two likely explanations. One was an old story about how rodono was derived from red'un, or red one, probably indicating the small red berries of the rowan tree. The rowan tree is a native sort thriving very well in the climate. The other story claimed that rodono came from rodon tree, an old word for rowan tree. So both stories linked Rodono to the colour red and we decided to accept that as the origin of the name of the house.

When we finally arrived at the moment that we really couldn't postpone the decision about colour any longer, and still had not succeeded in finding the right red, we almost decided to leave it altogether for the time being.

Then we took a break from work, and visited Kailzie Gardens near Peebles. There, on the doors facing the courtyard, was a beautiful red. Instantly we both recognised this as the colour we had been looking for. So a few days later Jolanda phoned Lady Hepburn, owner of Kailzie House, who kindly informed us that the colour was Cardinal Red, made by Craig & Rose, a company in Edinburgh that also produces the paint for the wonderful Forth Railway Bridge at Queensferry.

When the restoration eventually was completed, all the rooms had different colours yet they all blended in beautifully to create one overall experience of luxurious well-being.

The colours of Today

Beware of bright white!

During the restoration of the village manse, which I was involved with for a short period, that building sadly underwent the white treatment. The painters started their job by carrying in buckets full of trade paint,

and they painted everything in sight
Blinding, Mortuary White.

The original sash and case windows were painted shut (they wouldn't slide up and down after having been painted and allowed to dry), the working! shutters were painted shut, and after the painters had left, the whole beautiful Victorian manse felt like some grim ward, ready to receive the corpses.

The painters wanting to white out the building in itself was no longer a surprise to me, but what did still caused amaze me was that nobody on the church board I talked to was in the slightest bit interested. When I pointed out that ultra high gloss bright white is not suitable for interior woodwork where a low sun has ready access and the glare actually makes you squint, the people in charge of the project looked at me in the same was as our painters a couple of years previously. When I pointed out that, surely, it should be possible to actually open and close those beautiful sliding windows, they merely shrugged their shoulders.

Oh, Britain, why won't you realise the treasures you hold in companies like Farrow & Ball? Why do you refuse to acknowledge that Brussels is intent on destroying your heritage? Why won't you cherish the craftsmanship and beauty preserved in small companies that are, sadly, crumbling under the impossible weight of bureaucracy gone mad? And why do you not acknowledge the age old wisdom of the apprenticeship system that helps painters understand that achieving a smooth finish is something to be proud of?

Ach well.

Links

To some external websites

Farrow & Ball
Craig & Rose
Kailzie Gardens Peebles