Paint and Wall Coverings

Book Room, Cabinet, and Jefferson's Bedchamber

Evidence exists that Thomas Jefferson's private chambers — the Book Room, Annex, Cabinet, and Bedchamber — were originally wallpapered, but only the Cabinet has sufficient evidence for reproductions. The walls in the Book Room and Annex have been painted a neutral color, called "Oyster White" was custom-mixed for Monticello with a gray-blue baseboard. The walls of the Cabinet are papered in Green wallpaper and coordinating floral border paper based on historical evidence. The Bedchamber is painted blue-green, a shade popular when Jefferson lived in Paris in the 1780s.

Dining Room

The blue once used in the Dining Room was not an original color, nor did it date to Jefferson's ownership of Monticello. The room was originally just plaster, then had an application of a "chrome yellow" oil paint sometime after 1815, and was later papered in some yet unidentified pattern. We believe the blue was applied in the late 19th or early 20th century.  In 2010, a recreated "chrome yellow" paint (based on paint analysis studies) was applied to the walls of this room.

North Octagonal Room

The trellis-patterned wallpaper in the North Octagonal Room was manufactured by F. Schumacher & Co. in the early 1990s as part of their Colonial Williamsburg Collection.^[1]

North Square Room

The North Square Room, which is not presently part of public tours of Monticello, was originally a chrome yellow, and was later wallpapered. Until recently the walls were unpainted plaster. In early 2008, the room was repainted its original chrome yellow color.

Photomicrograph of a paint stratigraphy sample from the walls of the Parlor (courtesy of paint analyst Susan Buck)

Parlor

The current "subdued light gray" of the Parlor was applied in 2020 based on historic paint analysis. The original paint was linseed oil based and contained white lead, calcium carbonate (chalk), Prussian blue, and lamp black. The paint currently showing is an acrylic-based reproduction of the original.