Today we’re talking about using paint to modernize older homes, specifically the kind of bungalows, craftsman houses, and mid-century colonials that make up so much of the established neighborhoods in Colorado Springs. At Simplify Painting, we provide professional residential interior and exterior painting services to homeowners across Colorado Springs, including Old North End, Patty Jewett, Ivywild, Downtown, Broadmoor, and the surrounding areas.
If you own a home built between the 1920s and 1980s in Colorado Springs, you know the tension. You love the character, the proportions, the neighborhood, the mature trees. But the paint choices made by previous owners, or the original builder decades ago, can make the whole place feel stuck in a different era. The good news is that paint is one of the highest-leverage tools available for updating the feel of an older home without touching the architecture. Done well, it respects what’s already there while making the home feel like it belongs to now.
Can paint alone modernize an older Colorado Springs home?
Yes, significantly, and without the cost or disruption of structural renovation. The colors, sheens, and techniques used in a paint job determine whether a home reads as dated or current more than most people realize before they try it.
The key insight is that older homes in neighborhoods like Old North End and Patty Jewett have genuine architectural character that newer construction doesn’t. Craftsman details, solid wood trim, plaster walls with texture, leaded glass windows. The goal with paint is to modernize the color palette and finish choices in a way that highlights those original features rather than fighting them or covering them up.
What interior paint changes make the biggest impact in older Colorado Springs homes?
Replacing dark, warm paint tones with lighter, more contemporary neutrals is the single change that does the most work in updating older interior spaces.
Homes built before the 1990s in Colorado Springs were often painted in colors that were standard at the time: warm ochres, peach tones, dusty mauves, forest greens, and deep burgundies that were fashionable across several decades but now read as strongly dated. Replacing those colors with cleaner, more neutral palettes, warm whites, soft greiges, muted sage greens, and dusty blues, immediately shifts the perceived age of the interior without changing a single structural element.
The second highest-impact change is updating the trim. Older homes often have beautiful woodwork that has been repainted in layers of yellowed white or cream. Repainting all trim in a crisp, clean white, Benjamin Moore “Chantilly Lace” or Sherwin-Williams “Extra White” are consistently strong choices, brings the woodwork forward visually and makes the room feel sharper. Clean white trim against a fresh neutral wall is one of the most timeless interior combinations available and works as well in a 1935 bungalow as it does in new construction.
What exterior paint changes modernize older homes in neighborhoods like Old North End?
On the exterior of older Colorado Springs homes, the most impactful changes are moving away from dated multi-color schemes, simplifying the palette, and using contrast more intentionally.
Homes from the 1960s through the 1980s in Patty Jewett and the surrounding neighborhoods often have three, four, or even five exterior colors: body, trim, shutters, door, and sometimes a gable accent. Each choice made sense in isolation but the cumulative effect reads as busy and dated. Simplifying to two strong colors, a body and a trim, with a single accent on the door, brings those homes into a cleaner contemporary aesthetic without erasing the architectural character.
For bungalows and craftsman homes in Old North End, the palettes that work best draw from the earth and stone palette the architecture itself suggests. Deep sage greens, warm charcoals, classic navies, and earthy taupes all pair well with the natural wood and stone common in these homes. Sherwin-Williams “Pewter Green,” “Urbane Bronze,” and “Naval” and Benjamin Moore “Newburyport Blue,” “Kendall Charcoal,” and “Mopboard Black” are all colors that have been used on craftsman architecture for decades and continue to look current.
How do you handle paint on plaster walls in older Colorado Springs homes?
Plaster walls require different prep than modern drywall and are one of the most common places where a paint job on an older home goes wrong.
Older plaster often has hairline cracks, previous patches done with incompatible materials, and sections that have lost their key, meaning they’ve separated slightly from the lath beneath and feel hollow when tapped. Painting over plaster in poor condition without addressing those issues first produces a paint job that looks bad immediately and fails faster than it should.
Proper prep involves filling hairline cracks with flexible compound, addressing any hollow or loose sections, and applying a bonding primer before finish coats go on. On homes we paint in Old North End and Ivywild, plaster prep often takes a significant portion of the first day of an interior job. Skipping it produces visible cracks through the new paint within a season.
Should you paint over wood paneling in an older Colorado Springs home?
Painting wood paneling is a legitimate modernization option, but it requires a clear-eyed decision about whether you want the option to go back to natural wood later, because painting over paneling is essentially permanent.
If the paneling is a species with real character and value, solid walnut, cherry, or quarter-sawn oak, painting over it is worth thinking carefully about before committing. If it’s the hollow-core grooved plywood standard in 1970s and 1980s renovations, painting it is usually the right call and transforms the space significantly.
The prep involves filling the grooves if you want a smoother, more contemporary surface, or leaving them if you want to preserve the texture. Filling grooves requires multiple passes of joint compound, sanding between applications, and a bonding primer before finish coats. If you leave the grooves, they’ll show as lines in the finished surface, which reads as a design choice as long as it’s done consistently.
What does it cost to modernize an older Colorado Springs home with paint?
Interior painting for an older Colorado Springs home in the 1,500 to 2,500 square foot range typical of Old North End and Patty Jewett typically runs between $4,500 and $8,000 for a full repaint with proper prep. Homes with significant plaster prep needs, additional trim complexity, or paneling work will run higher.
Exterior painting on a bungalow or craftsman in these neighborhoods typically runs between $4,000 and $8,500 depending on existing paint condition, trim complexity, and whether wood repair or caulking is required. Older homes often have multiple layers of old paint, wood that has checked at the grain, and gaps in caulking around original wood windows. That prep work is what separates a paint job that holds from one that starts peeling in the first winter.
Getting an estimate is free, and an in-person look at an older home lets the painter identify prep needs and flag them before work starts rather than finding surprises mid-job.
What mistakes do Colorado Springs homeowners make when modernizing older homes with paint?
Choosing colors that work in newer construction but fight older architecture is the most common one. Stark cool grays and very bright whites that look clean on a new stucco build in Wolf Ranch can feel jarring against the warm wood tones, natural stone, and plaster texture of a 1940s craftsman in Old North End. Older homes call for colors with enough warmth or depth to complement the existing materials.
Skipping the prep on old paint surfaces is a significant mistake that shows up within the first year. Multiple layers of chalking, cracking, or poorly bonded old paint need to be addressed before new paint goes on. Painting over failing paint produces a result that looks good briefly and then fails in the same patterns.
Painting over high-quality original woodwork rather than restoring it is a decision some homeowners make for speed and later regret. Original Douglas fir, white oak, or cherry trim that has been buried under layers of paint often deserves to be stripped and refinished rather than painted again.
Trying to DIY plaster prep without understanding the material is another trap. Plaster repair requires specific products and techniques that differ from drywall repair, and a patch done without a bonding primer will crack through the new paint quickly.
When is paint the right modernization tool and when does it have limits?
Paint is the right tool when the core issue is the color palette, the dated feel of the existing finish choices, or painted surfaces that need to be restored and refreshed. It’s high value for the visual change it produces.
Paint has limits when the underlying structure or layout is the primary source of the dated feel. A galley kitchen with original 1970s cabinetry in a Patty Jewett home can be significantly improved by painting the cabinets, but if the layout is the problem, paint is only part of the solution. Paint can also refresh old wood windows and make them look sharp, but it can’t address drafts or seal failure.
The homes where paint has the highest impact are those where the bones are good, the architecture has genuine character, and the main issue is color choices made in a different era. That describes a significant portion of older Colorado Springs homes in established neighborhoods.
Ready to see what paint can do for your older Colorado Springs home?
Explore your painting options with a free consultation from Simplify Painting. Get a clear understanding of what’s possible for your home. We’ll evaluate the space, discuss the best approach for your goals, and provide a straightforward estimate so you can plan your project with confidence.
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