The True Colour of Money
February 17, 2009
Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s True Colours Program
What would you say to the idea of receiving a complimentary gift of $2000 and all the Benjamin Moore paint you’d need, just to paint your house? Deal or no deal? Well, if you live in the city of Vancouver and are fortunate enough to own a designated (or eligible) heritage home, it’s an offer that’s hard to ignore. Here’s the catch: you’re restricted to an historical palette of 35 earthy, rich colours resurrected from the period between 1888 and 1928.
This program is the brainchild of the wonderful architectural curators that make up the Vancouver Heritage Foundation. Being dealt the challenge of increasing the registry of heritage properties — transforming homeowners into cultural stewards — and restoring these houses to their original colours, the foundation developed a painting grant. A first for Canada, the True Colours grant program was launched in 1999 and has blossomed into a vibrantly successful marriage between conservation and corporate citizenship. Benjamin Moore instantly recognized the power of such a program in revitalizing neighbourhoods and sparking the imagination of homeowners. They eagerly stepped in to assist the Heritage Foundation in developing, manufacturing and now, supplying the very same colours used over 100 years ago on Vancouver homes.
As a company like GoodHome Painting knows all too well, the desire to keep up with the Joneses always kicks in and this was no exception. So while more than 48 heritage homes have been awarded these grants over the last 10 years, nearly 15,000 True Colour cards have been sold to homeowners regardless of their having received a grant. The colours have caught on and are rippling through neighbourhoods throughout western Canada.
Consciously or not, the Vancouver Heritage Foundation has seized the power of colour (and money of course) to bring history to the streets. Only colour has the ability to stir emotions and awaken slumbering ambitions — people readily connect with it.
So, with 35 colours to pick from, what colour is your grant?
For more information, see:
True Colours Grant Application Form
Benjamin Moore’s Historical Vancouver True Colours Palette
Vancouver Heritage Foundation