True Colours is a granting program for the painting of the original exterior cladding of heritage buildings in historic colours from the Historical Vancouver True Colours palette.

Successful applicants will receive a $1500* cash grant and free paint from Benjamin Moore.

Grant recipients must hire an approved Benjamin Moore painter from a list provided. A heritage consultant will attempt to determine the original colour scheme of each building. The paint schemes funded will be from the True Colours Palette or original to the building as per the consultant’s report.

Application deadline is February 1st each calendar year.

*In exceptional circumstances, larger cash grants may be awarded at the discretion of the Granting Committee.

10 Years to True Colours 1999-2009

LYING UNSEEN FOR DECADES under layers of paint, and  hidden in black & white photographs, was a whole world of colour waiting to be discovered. From Comox Sage to Bute Taupe to Strathcona Red, the 35 colours in the True Colours palette reflect the people and places that built our city. When it started, True Colours was a unique program in Canada.

It has since won both City of Vancouver and Province of British Columbia Heritage Awards. Since its inception in 1999 the True Colours paint granting program has awarded close to $100,000 in grants, and Benjamin Moore Paints has distributed 2,000 gallons of paint to more than four dozen paint projects.

The grant program tells only part of the True Colours story. Benjamin Moore retailers in Western Canada have sold close to 15,000 True Colours colour cards to building owners who paint their houses in the True Colours palette regardless of receiving a grant from the VHF. The impact of True Colours can be seen in all neighbourhoods in the city.

Don Luxton, True Colours consultant, reflected on a decade of True Colours. “The True Colours program has been a remarkable experience. When the program started, we could not have anticipated the depth and richness of the historical palette that we would uncover, the interest that this would generate among homeowners and the general public and the ongoing desire for information about authentic heritage colour.

This has been an amazing process of rediscovery, of finding out how our heritage buildings were truly designed to look, and how the use of original and authentic colours can celebrate and animate historic architecture.

What I have learned through this program is how carefully colours were chosen to highlight different types of historic architecture, and how paint technology and appearance was so well understood by the designers and builders of the time. The use of colour was not arbitrary, and was an integral part of design. The restoration of authentic colours has provided another level of accuracy and sophistication in our understanding of our heritage buildings.”

TRUE COLOURS received an Award of Honour at the 2000 City of Vancouver Heritage Awards.