Palo Alto has more Eichlers than any city except maybe Sunnyvale: Greenmeadow, Fairmeadow, Greer Park, the Royal Manor tracts. They are wonderful houses and they punish bad paint jobs. Here is what we have learned on the sixty or so we have done.
The exterior: grooved plywood and a lot of edges
Eichler siding is vertical grooved plywood. Every groove is an edge where water sits and paint fails first. Two rules: the grooves get brushed, not just rolled, so paint actually reaches the bottom; and the bottom edge of every sheet gets primed, because that is where the sheet drinks water.
The fascia and the beam ends are the other weak point. They are horizontal end grain, they face the sky, and they rot. We probe every one at the walk-through and tell you which need the carpenter before the painter.
The interior: do not paint the mahogany
The original Philippine mahogany panelling in many Eichlers is the house. Painted over, it is gone for good, and the house is worth less. If a previous owner already painted it, we can paint it well; if it is still wood, we will talk you out of it and oil it instead.
The post-and-beam ceilings are the second decision. Original tongue-and-groove ceilings were usually stained or painted a single color, with the beams a contrasting dark. Painting the whole ceiling white is common and bright and flattens the house. We usually keep the beams dark and paint only the decking.
What the original palette was
- Body colors were muted: olive, slate, warm gray, oxide red, mustard, with the beams and fascia in a darker neutral.
- Front doors were the accent: orange, turquoise, yellow, red.
- Trim was minimal and matched the body or the beams. There was no “white trim” on an Eichler.
You do not have to use the original colors. But if you want the house to look like itself, keep the logic: muted body, dark beams, one bright door. Our Slate Blue, Sage and Charcoal all come out of that palette, and the visualiser’s exterior room is a good place to test the combinations.
Products
Exterior: a flat or low-sheen 100% acrylic on the siding (sheen highlights every groove), satin on fascia. Interior: matte on drywall, and if the ceilings are painted decking, a flat enamel that can be wiped.