Unpainted Houses...

The old Amana clapboard houses were left to weather naturally with no paint. Painting the houses was expensive and did not preserve the wood long enough to justify the additional coat of paint every few years. This made for a somber appearance of the clapboard houses in the Amanas. This is still the policy if it is not brick, sandstone or sided. Clapboard wood is replaced as needed to keep the house sound, historic, and aesthetic.