by Craftsmans Corner | Jun 27, 2018 | Uncategorized
There are few rooms in your home which are more important or, indeed, more of a joy to create than your family room. From a decorating standpoint, your family room is without question one of the most important rooms, insofar as it is an area that you are bound to use on a daily basis. It’s a room where you’re going to spend time with your family day after day, and so naturally, you want it to feel welcoming. At the same time, a family room is also one of the most prominent rooms in your interior decorating setup, and is thus critical to your overall design scheme.
It is thus essential that you find a way to balance elegance and comfort in your family room. Too much of the former, and it can start to feel less like a family room than a showcase; too much of the latter, and it can lose that formality and luster that makes it special.
Paint jobs are one of the best ways to marry these two components, and this guide can help you breathe new life into your family room.
Complement the Rest of Your Décor
Firstly, as stated, you don’t want your family room to clash with the rest of your décor. Bright neon colors thus probably aren’t the way to go here.
Making Your Room Pop
At the same time, however, while you want your family room to complement and match your existing décor, you still want your family room to stand out a little. As important as it is to have a cohesive interior décor scheme, your family room is still one of the great showpieces of your design aesthetic, and you therefore want it to stand out.
So, how can you straddle that oh-so-tenuous tightrope between these two points? One of the best ways is by choosing colors which are vibrant in their own right but which likewise accentuate your home’s existing color scheme. For example, different shades of whites, creams, and eggshells can subtly yet effectively accentuate one another. In addition, one of these tones can be paired with a darker color to provide a bit of complementary contrast.
Balancing Trends and Sustainability
On the one hand, you want to pick accent colors that work will make your family room décor pop even more in the here and now. On the other hand, it’s always vital to note that just because something is fashionable now doesn’t mean it will be in style decades from now – look no further than some of the most hilarious offerings of 70s, 80s, and 90s fashion for proof of that!
As such, you want to choose a color scheme that is on-trend now, but which will likewise stand the test of time. Whites and traditional colors such as cream, tawny woody colors, pale yellow, and blue are typically always in style, while flashier, brighter options might be more eye-catching now, but will also run the risk of quickly becoming dated, should trends change.
Bring out the beauty of your family room with these brilliant interior painting ideas.
by Craftsmans Corner | Jun 20, 2018 | Uncategorized
If you need to revitalize the exterior of your house, you need to be well versed about how to prep the surface and paint it. You can do this easily when you learn some basic tips that will help you achieve painting success.
Prep the Surface.
First, you need to prepare the surface. If you are working with a weathered, old building, you should never water-blast the surface as the pressure from the water blast could knock the boards loose and flood the bare spots with too much water. Also, old paint on an old and weathered building may contain lead. Therefore, you need to proceed with caution.
Take Care of Any Wet Rot or Dry Rot
That means scraping the paint and reviewing the wood’s condition. Weathered wood can be spongy and moist. When this happens, it usually has a condition known as wet rot. If an area is crumbly or dry, it is known as dry rot. Both dry and wet rot result from microorganisms that have to be removed first. If a section is smaller and features rot, you can cut the damaged section and patch it with a wood-type plug.
If a large section is affected by wet or dry rot, you will need to replace the lap siding. This type of siding can be milled at a millworks company. Hopefully, you will not come across a large section of dry or wet rot as the repairs can take some time to make.
Check for Damages Such as Cracks
You will also need to look for any planks that may be twisted or warped. It is also useful to check for long cracks in the woods. If you happen to discover any of these damages, the wood needs to be replaced.
Scraping Away the Paint
If the wood is less weathered, you will not be beset with replacing the siding or planks but merely preparing the surface by scraping it.
Sanding and Brushing the Surface
After the wood has been scraped, you will need to sand and brush it. This will require the use of a wire brush and sander. Once you have scraped off the paint, it is fairly easy to brush it and sand it. Before you cover any weathered wood with paint, you need to remove any loose fibers.
Take the wire brush and remove the remaining paint pieces and wood pieces. By taking this approach, you will also roughen up the surface. In turn, the paint will adhere better when it is applied. If the surface is flat and is a molding or soffit, you can easily sand the surface by using a belt sanding tool.
While it takes a lot of time to prepare an old building that features weathered wood, it is a vital and important step. If you want your paint job to look good, you need to make sure you take extra care in preparing the exterior. This is the best way to revitalize the surface so that paint sticks to it well.
In addition to this preparation, you will need to apply caulk where needed and wash the building down with a hose. Apply a primer first before you ultimately apply the paint. Use a primer that is oil-based and apply it in two applications.
