If you want to add historical elements to your colonial home there are several areas to address.  This article gives some excellent tips to help keep your home historically accurate.  Colonial homes traditionally featured walls that were made of horizontal boards or were covered in plaster treatments.  Wainscoting, chair rails, and crown moldings could be found in more affluent homes and were usually painted to contrast with the walls.  When choosing a color palette keep in mind that colonial times did not afford access to the variety of colors that we have today.  However, many paint companies offer historical palettes that can help keep you on track.  Key elements of traditional colonial decorating include a focus on hardwood floors and other natural surfaces.  Fabrics used in upholstery or window treatments should be cotton, linen, or wool.  Lighting should be unobtrusive as colonials relied heavily on candlelight.  Finally, adding a stylized colonial stencil border such as the one pictured here can add authenticity to your colonial decorating scheme.