Did you know, wooden buildings often aren’t arbitrarily red?

Falu red (pronounced “FAH-loo”, in Swedish it’s Falu rödfärg) is the name of a Swedish, deep red paint used for preservation on wooden cottages and barns. The paint originated from the copper mine at Falun in Dalarna, Sweden and consists of water, rye flour, linseed oil and tailings from the copper mines of Falun which contain silicates iron oxides, copper compounds and zinc.  Similarly in Finland, Falu red is known as punamulta (“red earth”)  and the color in both countries has strong ties to the country side and the notion of an idyllic nuclear family (often with a potato patch).

Photo by Anna Ådén found via Cabin Porn.