These days, we have a plethora of paint options and designs choices to decorate our spaces. Have you ever wondered if painting is a fairly modern thing or if it’s been around for a while? Well, there is evidence indicating that humans have been decorating their living spaces from as far back as 40,000 years ago! What we know of interior painting today has evolved from its humble origins, and brings with it a rich history. Here are some fun facts about the evolution of interior painting:
Natural ingredients were the first paints
Crazy as it may seem, animal blood was a common ingredient for ‘paint’ in prehistoric times. As early humans evolved, paint was made made from a variety of natural materials such as soot, colored earth, animal blood, and animal fat.
The Egyptians were expert paint makers
A few thousand years ago, in ancient Egypt, painters combined various stones, ground glass, soot, earth, animal blood, and fatty oils to create murals that have lasted for millennia. They made colors such as white, black, red, blue, green, and yellow. These paints were used to adorn tombs and also the living spaces of the affluent ruling classes.
Early American colonies
As much as we love painting our homes, it was considered immoral in early American colonies. They believed that painting and decorating your house was a sign of wealth and vanity and an actual law was established. In 1630, a Charlestown preacher who painted his house was criminally charged with sacrilege. The results were not as the lawmakers had desired, because demand still increased for interior paints. Many ‘cookbooks’ that contained methods of making paint started circulating. The ingredients used included lead, rice, eggs, coffee, iron, copper oxide, and berries. While the ingredients were added to make a variety of colors, lime and oyster shell were used to make white-wash finish.
Painting was a dangerous job
Before the 1700s, paint makers had to grind pigment by hand in order to ensure that it dispersed fully in oil. Also, lead paint was popular at that time due to its durability; but it exposed painters to white lead powder, making them vulnerable to lead poisoning. Later, methods which decreased the chances of painters getting lead poisoning were invented, but it wasn’t until 1978 that the U.S prohibited the sale of lead based house paints.
World War II was revolutionary for paints
During World War II, there was a shortage of linseed oil which lead to the production of artificial resins from alcohols and acids. These artificial resins replaced oil as a paint base because they are cheap to make, more durable, and better than oil bases at holding color.
Although the methods and materials have evolved since the early times, it seems that the purpose of painting and decorating has remained constant.
Interior painting can drastically shape the appearance of our living spaces and bring a whole lot of character, and we just can’t do without it, despite what the pilgrims used to say.
