Interior Painting Tips

Brush up

Whether it’s time to paint your new home, or re-paint your current home, there are a few tips and techniques that will make the job much easier. If you’re getting ready to sell your home, a fresh coat of neutral colors will let potential buyers get a nice mental image of how their furniture will look in the house. Following are a few helpful painting tips and techniques to ensure a beautifully-painted interior in no time.

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The primer coat

Unless your current color is flat, it’s important to apply a primer coat to make the new paint adhere better. On flat-painted walls that need only small repairs, you might simply want to spot prime.

For walls with big areas of patching plaster, it’s a good idea to use a sealer or primer/sealer combo. Priming doesn’t require as much attention as painting, but it’s done the same way as painting-with brushes and rollers.

Ceiling and wall painting

You’ll always want to start with the ceiling if you’re painting an entire room. First, cover the perimeter and unpainted areas around the fixtures. Painter’s tape is excellent for covering. It’s generally a trademark blue color and sold at any hardware store.

Start with the ceiling (moving widthwise), in sections by about six feet square. Employ a series of overlapping “W” strokes, moving from right to left, then back from left to right.

If you’re using a finish other than flat, be sure to go over the whole ceiling once again with one-directional, overlapping, and non-diagonal strokes. This will ensure the paint is blended correctly. Then repeat the exact same steps with the walls, painting up to an inch or so next to edges and trimmings. The last non-diagonal strokes should be from top to bottom.

Using a paintbrush

Unless you have a very steady and skilled hand, or you have an edging tool, be sure to mask the perimeter of the ceiling with painting tape. Then paint the upper perimeter of the walls, and all the areas that you weren’t able to cover with a roller.

Final tipsroom5

If the ceiling or walls require a second coat, only start painting after the first coat dries. Always check the paint’s label for specific recoating and drying instructions. Generally, you will always get a better second coat if the first coat is allowed to fully dry.

To paint trim, baseboards, windows, and doors, use painting tape or a paint edger to protect your freshly painted walls. You can wedge doors open with a rolled-up newspaper, but always place a drop cloth underneath to protect tile or carpet.

A roller is the quickest way to paint a flat door. For doors with panels, you will most likely have to use a large brush. For double-hung windows, first pull the top sash down and paint the bottom area, then push it back up and paint the top area. Next, paint the bottom sash, and then the jambs and frame.

Posted in Interior Decoration |

Decoration Trends

Decoration and design trends and themes keep changing with times, as do the facilities and appliances one uses in the home. It plays quiet an important role in almost all of the decorating decisions. The three most talked about and basic decoration trends are:

  • Country or rustic look;
  • Casual or contemporary décor; and
  • Traditional and classic look.

While most prefer to decorate their homes in contemporary style, traditional styles bring back nostalgic memories to many. There are some others who feel that country and rustic style home put us closer to nature. All the other themes are considered secondary in nature and are developed on one of these themes as the foundation. Such as country style is said to provide the base for Country French or Mission-style home decoration. We can see that in some regions, one style dominated others while in another region, some other style or trend may have the upper hand.

The decoration style preferred by a person usually depends on individual taste, age and color combinations. Casual home décor is usually guided by home decorating magazines and may range from black plastic to chrome and glass combinations. These days, people are going for clean, simple and minimalist décor with occasional geometric patterns. Colors most preferred these days beige, white and gray with light wood furniture and accessories such as those made from natural maple to match.

The traditional style of course uses rich and ornate designs that reflect grandeur and opulence and deep and dark colors with jewel tones such as emerald green, burgundy and navy blue. The details are often in polished brass and gold work while woodwork is generally of cherry wood and has dark stains. Leather furniture is also common in such décor.

The country style keeps changing too. While plaids, fruity and birdy patterns have long gone out of style; baby boomers love to be ‘cool and trendy’. Bright color combinations are quite common with ample use of lime green, bright blue and red that are muted down using the soft pastels and earthy tones here and there. Sturdy, overstuffed, nostalgic furniture is a common sight in this style with an antique look enhanced by crackled or distressed paint finish. They are meant to be very very comfortable, warm and cozy.

While decorating homes in a particular style, you do not only pay attention to family rooms, kitchens or dining areas only but also extend it to the master and guest bathrooms and powder rooms for the complete effect. Chrome and brushed nickel are the most popular bath accessory finishes closely followed by oil-rubbed bronze and wrought iron looks. These bath accessories can also be categorized under the heads of country, casual or contemporary, and classic or traditional. New trends include ‘retro-style’ designs and wood finishes such as that of maple and oak along with constant influx of new simple, creative and innovative designs such as open towel ring or stylish glass shelf that add new dimension to bath décor and complement the overall bath designs.

There are faucets and showerheads that should be chosen according to the decoration style that you choose and accessories should match the finish of faucets. Use traditional accessories in non-traditional ways such as placing small votive candles in existing soap tumbler holders for a soft glow or tall tapers in a large bath to add the dramatic and romantic touch. Decorative shelves can be used to place fresh flowers or family photos for that special touch. You may also add color and texture to the bath by using towels and napkins of all sizes to match your chosen decoration style without having to spend big bucks for enhancing the character of your home.

Posted in Interior Decoration |

Living Room Painting Ideas

Do you have furniture that doesn’t seem to go with the rest of your house? Try a fresh coat of paint before you change your living room’s decor.

Let me guess, you’re cringing right now at the thought of painting your living room. You’re not alone. Even though most homeowners know painting is the most inexpensive and quickest way to transform their living rooms from drab to fabulous, they still express reluctance in vivid hues. They feel selecting the right paint colors is an intimidating task not easily achieved by amateurs. However, finding and living with colors you really love can be easy, fun and a lot lighter on your budget.

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Top 4 Tips

1. Collect Decorating Samples From Your Home The best way to begin choosing the right paint color for your living room is to let fabric lead the way. Fabric provides inspiration for a room’s color scheme. It’s also a more prudent starting point since painting your living room is much easier and costs a lot less than to change furniture and window treatments.

2. Study Color Schemes You Admire in Home Decorating Magazines Turn your magazine flipping into a treasure hunt. Mark or rip out pages with rooms that you like. This will become your decorating portfolio and will come in handy when its time to pick a mood and feel for your room.You may even see a room with the same structure as your space that you can use as a template for your wall color and furniture placement. See how the pros do it, copy them and then add your own personality twist for a fresh, new look.

3. Keep Paint Tones in Mind and Instantly Change the Mood of your Living Room You want to use colors appropriate to the natural setting lighting. To create the prefect place to curl up by, you must understand the psychology of color. The color wheel has two sides: warm and cool. Just like the group name connotes, warm colors add coziness and warmth to a space while cool colors add a smooth airiness that can translate an atmosphere of peace and relaxation. Warm colors range from red to orange and cool colors range from blue to violet.Knowing how color will affect your emotional response will come in handy when choosing the mood of your living room.

4. Notice Architectural Features Highlighting window casements, columns, staircases, crown moldings and other architectural features with shades of white can instantly turn your living room into a true showcase admired by friends, family and yourself.

If you’re feeling brave, instead of painting your living room’s architectural features white or off-white, consider the palest shade of color to coordinate with the walls. Your Home Interior Decoration Bottom Line: Painting your living room can be fun, easy and cheap. You may already have the framework for a showroom hiding in your carpets, curtains and furniture.

Choosing a living room’s feel can be as simple as flipping through your favorite magazine and cutting out a picture. Paying a little attention to details, especially architectural ones can give your living room that custom touch. This is a secret that most do-it-yourselfers overlook. If you follow these tips, you will pick a paint to please your palette and give your home the quality it deserves.

This article was provided by the American Homeowners Association (AHA). Richard Roll, Founder and President of the American Homeowners Association (AHA), is dedicated to providing over 1 million homeowners with the information, tools and resources that will help them save money and make the right decisions about their homes. For more information on how to renovate, remodel and decorate your home with less time, money and effort, go to www.ahahomenew.org for a special offer from AHA. Want to do the right things to maintain your home quickly and easily? The National Home Maintenance Manual (NHMM) helps you protect your largest investment.

Posted in Living Room |

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