Natural colors make Mission-style architecture harmonize with nature.
Mission style became popular in the early part of the 20th century in the warmer climates of the southwest, the California coast and Florida. It drew its characteristics from the Franciscan Spanish missions that dotted the regions. The Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroads adopted the style for their train stations. The 1893 Chicago World's Fair, which encouraged historical interpretations, boosted its growing popularity in the region. As part of the Arts and Crafts movement, Mission style valued simple lines, natural materials and fine craftsmanship with many built-ins. Clay tile floors offered cooling relief from summer heat. Smooth stucco walls and low pitched or flat tile roofs, half-round windows, doorways and arches, occasional towers and roof parapets are architectural features that became fashionable across the country, from West to East, and remain well liked. Does this Spark an idea?
Walls
Medium-toned smooth stucco walls are colored in medium terra-cotta pink.
Classic Mission-style smooth stucco wall colors are various natural warm-toned tints, ranging from deep terra-cotta red, to medium coral, to pale orange sherbet to vanilla cream white. Occasionally, stone-colored grays and true white appear. Textured treatments of the stucco emerge in later modifications of the classic style.
Trim
Azure blue window panes accent a pale pink stucco wall.
Mission-style trim colors are frequently a lighter tint of a dark wall color or a deeper tone of a light wall color. These colors accent window arches and window recesses. Sometimes contrasting colors are introduced, especially on windowpanes, in tones like azure blue, sage green or stone gray.
Roofs
Tile roofs add rich color and finely crafted detail to the Mission style.
Mission-style exterior roofs are composed of ceramic tiles nearly always glazed in a terra-cotta red, or some tint of that color. These color tones are consistent with Mission style's preference for simple colors drawn from natural materials, in this case, red earth. The intricacies of the applied tiles also reflect Mission-style respect for fine craftsmanship.
Wood, Tile and Iron Accents
A heavy arched wooden door in a pale pink stucco wall demonstrates a classic Mission-style color palette.
Exposed rafters, and heavy wood doors add the darkest tones to the Mission-style palette. Brick accents and tile mosaic accents in the walls bejewel the understated simplicity of the style. Ceramic tile floors sometimes add color accents, but may also be neutrally toned. Ornate ironwork accents on balconies and windows in pure black or deep tones of green or gray add decorative interest on some buildings.
Tags: stucco wall, color These, fine craftsmanship, Mission style, Mission style, natural materials, pale pink