Traces of colours that were typical for the atmosphere of the 19th century were found on the ground floor as well as on the upper floors. The colours have darkened a bit but they are still present, on the walls, on the varnished woodwork, the panelling and most of all on the wallpaper. The primary colours red, green and brown one sees almost everywhere haven't been restored at random: in the 90's Lode Declerq and Luc Maes had done thorough research, which has been fine tuned by new examinations and discoveries during the restoration.
RESEARCH
Here and there, spread out throughout the house, we see little ‘windows' on the walls, in the paint, on the doors, the skirting-boards, the floor … It's here that specialists have painstakingly removed the different layers of paint and wallpaper one by one. This way the history of the decoration of the house could be recreated. The research was done mostly in corners and hard to reach places, where there was the most chance to find bits and pieces that had never been removed. A scalpel and magnifying glass are the most important tools for a job like this! Once the original coat has been found, it's a question of finding the original hue as well. The random sample that was taken underwent changes due to the aging process, or it's either been treated with finishing products or a thin layer of paint polish. Sometimes during the restoration things happen accidentally: it was discovered that the fire place on the first floor had been enlarged. Underneath the added part tiny pieces of wallpaper and a piece of cornice was found. The view of the room was suddenly completely different.
See also: KIK-IRPA