Recent restoration work at two of our historic buildings has yielded new information about how early 18th buildings in Newport may have looked inside. Evidence is that both the Seventh Day Baptist Meeting House (1730) and the Colony House (1740) had unpainted wood in their interiors for several decades after each was built.
Reveal of original window sill at the Colony House.
The restoration projects in both buildings included paint analysis, and the removal of some wooden elements for repair. In both cases, it has become clear that the original treament on wood paneling, staircases and windows was minimal — a clear wax or other treatment with a small amount of pigment. Maintenance records for both buildings seem to confirm that neither was initially painted inside. The Colony House seems to have had its first interior painting after the American Revolution. The Meeting House was painted during a fairly comprehensive remodelling some 30 years after it was built.
Why were these interiors not painted? Perhaps it was as simple as the fact that paint was expensive, and the wood was gorgeous.