A battle is brewing over a brightly-painted storefront in Perth, Ont., that doesn't conform to the town's toned-down historical colour palette.

Angie Gilchrist, who owns the Shadowfax jewellery, clothing and gift shop, and decided the store needed a facelift with a fresh coat of paint a couple weeks ago.

"We moved there eight years ago and it hadn't been done since then. So it was looking drab, washed out," she said Friday.

But its newly purple, orange and green façade sits in stark contrast to the beige and browns of many neighbouring stores — and the town's heritage conservation plan.

Shadowfax as it appeared in June 2016, before a recent paint job. (Google Maps)

Orange and purple have always been the store's signature colours since it opened in 1980, Gilchrist said, with the top half painted orange and purple and bottom half a muted beige colour. Because the paint job predated the heritage plan, it was allowed to stay. But now the paint is considered new, it's a violation.

Businesses in the town's heritage district are expected to conform to specific colours – pastels, greys and beiges.

She spent $2,500 on the paint job, that included switching the colours and extending them to the lower half of the store. Then she added a third colour on the door and below the window frames.

"I figured since we were repainting the same colours, there wouldn't be a problem. And I just added in a little bit of green."

Even after matching paint chips, she admitted the colours turned out brighter than she expected, but they're expected to dull down within a month.

Orange is not the new grey

The problem? Early 1900s stores weren't quite so vibrant, at least not in Perth.

Plain colours would have been used at the turn of the last century, said John deRosenroll, the town's chief administrative officer.

"A lot of people have discovered Perth as a great spot to go away for the weekend or the day shopping. But it's the combined image they see when they come to our downtown and really, that's what we're trying to protect."

Vibrancy and uniqueness isn't part of that historical colour charm, no matter what shopkeepers might wish.

"If we have a bunch of individuals going in different directions, we're going to have all sorts of different results. Because what one person thinks is reasonable, the other person may not," he said.

All stores in the heritage district of Perth, Ont. have to maintain a subdued colour palette when repainting. (Google Maps)

No need to be 'dull and boring'

Gilchrist said she's hoping for an exception for her business, or for the town to brighten up its colour palette.

"Just because [Perth is] a retirement town doesn't mean it needs to be dull and boring."

Just because [Perth is] a retirement town doesn't mean it needs to be dull and boring. - Angie Gilchrist , owner of Shadowfax in Perth

While town officials may have an issue with the colours, customers have been enjoying them.

The response from customers has been overwhelmingly positive, Gilchrist said.

"It draws your attention. I just think a splash of lively colour [is what] the town, the street needs."

The store's colours also hold a special meaning for Gilchrist.

She was given the store after Wendy Laut, a former deputy mayor of Perth, died in 2009.

"Those were her colours, orange, purple and green … We've painted it those colours for Wendy," she said. "And so we're keeping Wendy's spirit alive with the colour scheme of the store. And that's very important to me."

Town not willing to back down

"I really don't want to start a war with the town. I love the town of Perth and I respect their bylaws and regulations but I just think, what I really want is for them to revisit and update the allowable colours in town," Gilchrist said.

She's also not willing to spend the money to repaint for a second time in a month, even with a grant from the town, which could cover around 25 per cent of the cost of repainting.

However, the town takes its colours seriously.

"At the end of the day, if the business chooses not to comply with the heritage conservation district, there is a process in the [Ontario] Municipal Act," said deRosenroll. "The town does have the right to go in and have the building repainted and the cost of the repainting could be put on the individual's taxes."

That outcome is only used as a last resort, he added.