Room Decorating Paint

Decorating Tips to Update Your Living Room:

New Paint, a Fireplace Mantel and More

By Carol Agee

Your living room is the entertainment and living center of your home. Chances are that you've had some very memorable gatherings there, and it is where you relax and enjoy the company of family and friends. Because this room tends to be such a high traffic area, and to have so much time spent in it, it is often the first room to show signs of wear and tear and to begin to look dated. Luckily there are small changes (like switching out light bulbs) and big changes (like installing a new fireplace mantel) that can give your living room a new look and won't turn into a major DIY project, or turn your home into a construction site.

Consider painting your living room. A splash of paint can brighten things up or give your living room a different vibe altogether. You can repaint your living room the same color which will refresh the color and get rid of any scuff marks and dings. If you decide to paint the entire room, starting from the ceiling and working down is a good idea. On the other hand, if you'd like a bit of a color change without covering everything in plastic, a feature wall could be an option for you. Picking an interesting color that goes well with the room but adds a little spice can be an excellent way to transform your living room in no time at all.

The fireplace is an often neglected area of many living rooms, and this is a pity because it can be such a lovely focal point if handled properly. Installing a new fireplace mantel - either buying one for the first time or replacing an existing one - does not take as much work as you think. If you don't have a fireplace mantel, consider getting one as it will give your fireplace a more finished, polished look. If you have a fireplace mantel, replacing it with something a little different can have a major impact on your living room. A wood fireplace mantel is easy to install so you don't have to hire a contractor. You can paint or stain a wood mantel to match the décor of your room. Fireplace mantels are excellent places to display items of importance to you and your family such as heirlooms and family pictures. A fireplace mantel is also an excellent place to hang stockings and display cards around Christmas time.

Changing the lighting in your room can also make a major difference. Different lampshades can create a different atmosphere as they diffuse soft light with a hint of color about the room. If you find your living room a little dull, adding a few more lamps can brighten it up, and also add accent to certain areas. For an even simpler modification, try changing the wattage of your existing bulbs. Going from 60 to 120 watts makes a big difference; you might see things you had forgotten were there at all! Changing to a lower wattage can create a cozier, intimate feel.

A little heavy lifting can change your living room; rearranging the furniture can create a totally different feeling in the room. Create a new focal point to the room by orienting the seating around the fireplace and not the television, or perhaps put the couches and chairs so that people are more encouraged to talk to one another. And don't just think about the seating, moving the coffee table, the end tables and bookcases can make a difference. If you need a new look without buying new furniture consider switching out the living room furniture with items from other rooms of the house

Finally, taking a look at what you have on display in your living room can give you some ideas for small changes that have a high impact. Do you have a vase of fake flowers that has been there for a decade? Perhaps now is a good time to replace it with something a little more modern. The artwork you have on your walls might also be due for some scrutiny too. Prints can be obtained fairly cheaply, and can really change the ambiance of your room. Remember that every little item and picture adds something to the room - it is up to you to decide whether or not it should be changed out for something new.

Carol Agee is the vice president of Agee Woodworks which has been building quality custom fireplace mantels for 10 years. On the Web at [http://www.ageewoodworks.com/custommantle.htm].

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carol_Agee

Bedroom Decorating Ideas Paint

Tips on Choosing Paint Colors for Your Bedroom

By Luningning De Guzman

The colors that you choose must suggest emotions of calmness and peacefulness. However, you can also have lively and crazy colors as long as you are happy with it since it is your personal space anyway.

Following are the color groups that can be used in your bedroom.

Neutral colors consist of ivory, white, gray, beige, black and taupe. They are good to use as bedroom background color and blend with any other color. With a neutral background, you can use other colors for the room's accessories, linens, rugs, curtains, etc. to make the room brighter.

You must be aware that neutral colors have hidden shades. For example, white has shades of yellow, pink, brown, blue, etc. If you choose neutral color for your bedroom, you must know the ambiance you want for your room so you can choose the correct undertone.

Pastel colors are good to have in the bedroom because they are quiet, soothing and helps to having a good night's sleep. Pink, green, yellow, lavender and blue are all pastel colors. Accentuate these colors with vivid decorations so your room will not look too childlike. You can also have furniture made of dark wood.

Bright colors are not recommended for the bedroom. These colors will not help you to relax, as they are active and daring. Nonetheless, you can have bright colors in your bedroom depending on your personality. If you love to be surrounded with lively colors, then do so.

Choosing paint color for your bedroom

If you are not sure of the paint color to use for your bedroom, the following hints can guide you.

 

• Leaf on home decorating magazines and check on the various bedrooms. See which of them appeals to you most.


• Consider your current bedroom furniture and accessories. Check the colors that will blend with them.


• Think of your bedroom size and the theme that you wanted to have. A small space will need a light color to make it look bigger. On the other hand, a big room can be made cozier and smaller by using dark and warm shades.


• Does your room get enough sunlight? With enough light coming from the sun, a small room will look bigger compared to a small room that does not get enough sunlight.


• You can also check on online decorating sites. A few of them will demonstrate what and how to do it saving you time and money.


• You can also follow the Feng Shui guidelines when choosing paint color for your bedroom as other people do.

 

But whatever paint color you decide to have in your bedroom, ensure that it is something that you really like and matches your furniture and furnishings.

Visit lafurniturestore.com for more choices of home furniture as well as accessories that ranges from traditional to contemporary, modern and transitional.

LA Furniture store: LA furniture store & bedroom

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Luningning_De_Guzman

Home Decor Paint Ideas

Exterior House Paint Ideas

By David Patullo

If you have decided to give the exterior of your house a new coat of paint, don't rush it. You must give it a great deal of thought to ensure that you a make a fantastic job of it in one go. Painting a house is not an easy task and will cost you a lot of money. Therefore any decision you make has to be well thought of because it will have to last at the least for 3 to 4 years before it can be changed again.  Exterior house paint ideas are not that difficult to come by.  If you don't want to consult a professional, you can always go online where you should be able to get some fantastic ideas.

There are a few guidelines that should be followed when painting the exterior of your house.    Conservative neighborhoods sometimes frown if you use bold and vibrant colors on the exterior. There are even certain neighborhood associations that prohibit tenants from moving away from specified color schemes. Unless you want to be controversial and start a fight with your neighbors, you'd better stick to simple colors such as white, cream, beige and grey.

Another point to keep in mind when thinking about exterior house paint ideas is to consider the architectural design of the house. In order to enhance the graceful lines of a historically old house, it would not do to give it a modern color scheme which will bring down the value of the house and also make it look funny. A modern house on the other hand could be made to look even more attractive by painting it with bright but pleasing colors in keeping with the environment and neighborhood.

Most houses have some little flaw or other as a result of the design and these also can be hidden by the use of colors in the correct way. Although it might be possible and much cheaper for you to do the painting by yourself, getting a professional to paint the house will make it possible to hide all flaws and give the house the perfect look which will not be possible for you to achieve on your own.

One of the best things you can do when looking for exterior house paint ideas is to try to blend with nature. Just take a look at your surroundings. You cannot miss how the greenery in your garden blends so perfectly with the misty Blue Mountains in the background, the birds that flit from tree to tree or the vibrant colors of flowers that grow in your garden. Nature itself is such a beautiful palette and all you have to do is think of your house as the focal point and choose the colors that will look best in your particular environment.

If you cannot get the particular color or shade you want, there are expert color mixers who will be able to get the exact shade you are looking for. Remember however when mixing colors, you will have to get the required quantity in one go because it might not be possible to achieve the same shade a second time. Use exterior house paint ideas to enhance the beauty and value of your home and see how even passers-by give it more than a second look.

David has been writing articles for nearly 2 years. Come visit his latest website that helps people find the bestexterior house paint colors and some great exterior house paint ideas to use on their house when deciding to remodel it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Patullo

Paint And Decorating

Select a Perfect Mix of Colors to Paint Your House

By Kelly M Jones

Choosing an appropriate combination and mix of several colors can be a really confusing and mindboggling task. The selection of colors for the house painting would essentially depend upon the budget, interior furnishing of the house and theme of the house.

Sources of paint colors

Nowadays there are innumerable sources from where one can find various color combinations from which they can select the most suitable mix of colors for their homes. Some of these sources may include as follows:

* Some vendors tend to offer sample paints to their clients as one of their sale promotion tactics. One may apply these sample paints on their walls and see for themselves which paint suits the best.

* Start browsing through various interior decoration and home furnishing magazines that would help one to get an idea of various painting colors and novel techniques.

* In order to ensure the desired results, one can even contact a professional interior decorator who would quite helpful in giving some valuable inputs and suggest some creative color schemes.

* One may even go through brochures of several vendors and manufacturers in order to know about different shades and hues.

Exterior House Painting

The paints for house exteriors should be neutral and highly resistant to extreme weather conditions. Rosy colors like pinks and reds are complete "NO" when it comes to exterior painting as these paints tend make the house look extremely gaudy and flashy.

Interior House Painting

The interiors need to be painted in accordance with the house décor and flooring. Color schemes would primarily depend on the nature of a particular room. For instance, the kid's bedroom can be painted in bright colors like blue or pink to add fun and exuberance to such a room.

Painting of the house needs to be undertaken from time to time in order to ensure proper care and maintenance of the house.

For more information, visit Painting Services in Toronto. They offer information on painting contractors andpainting companies in Toronto.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_M_Jones

Wall Painting Decorating

How to Paint Your House

& Make Every Room Look

Great

By Tara Mae Flannigan

Apart from the coat of paint it gets when it's newly built, houses need to painted every once in a while. Usually we do this when we redecorate, renovate, or if you just need a new coat to restore the original look. Every time we need to paint, we give ourselves an opportunity to get creative, or change the feel of something we've always felt iffy about. That being said, here are a few tips on how to paint your house so that it feels like every room really belongs!

#1 Choose a Color Scheme

The most important thing to do is to choose a color scheme. So if you like dark tones, try to stick to those. If you're a fan of pastels, try to keep things on lighter shades. Remember, you don't have to have the same color scheme for every floor of your home. So if you can't decide, you can have the best of both worlds by keeping pastels upstairs and dark tones downstairs, and vice versa.

The best pastel colors to use are yellow, blue, salmon, and lavender. More daring colors include orange and green. Living rooms work well with yellow and blue, kitchens light up with salmon or lavender, and bedroom colors can be up to the person sleeping in them.

Dark red, dark blue, dark green, and black are great colors to use for an edgier overall look. Hallways look best in dark red, so do kitchens. Dining rooms do well with dark green, while living rooms can be dark blue. One cute trick you can do is to pain a room one color, and then paint on of its walls completely black. Against this wall, you can put up your TV, or decorative furniture or art. It gives a great "POW" effect. Just remember that using dark colors can sometimes make your home appear smaller.

If you want to give things a twist, pastel walls trimmed with darker tones can look really good if the colors complement. Use a color wheel to find out which colors naturally look better to the eye.

#2 Consider Your Furniture

Classic country pieces may go better with pastel colors, while edgy modern pieces are likely to fit better with darker colors or simple plain white walls. So consider your furniture, especially if you have certain one of a kind pieces that can cast an entire theme over a room. Other than that, a lot of it will depend on where you put things!

#3 Don't Go Wacky Unless It's YOU

Sometimes we see homes in magazine or on television and think "hey, that's cute" so we try to copy the way they painted their walls or the color combinations they used. Beware of this. Yes. It may be cute, and yes you may like it, but can you live with it everyday? Remember that your home is also a place of refuge. You have to be able to be happy there all the time. Unless you want to constantly paint and re-paint your walls!

#4 SAMPLE

Before you paint an entire room, paint a small section of the wall with the color you like and let it sit there for a day or two. It will give you an idea of what the final product will look like. You can also paint different sections of the wall with your other color options so you can try them all out.

Painting a house can be expensive. You have to buy materials, and pay for the labor. However, you can cut costs by a huge margin if you do the work yourself. Simply go down to a local hardware store and ask the store salesmen to help you find some good brushes. Explain to them what you want to paint (the room, the home's exterior, etc.) and they should point you in the right direction in terms of both brushes and what kind of paint you should use. They should also be able to give you great tips on how to paint your house!

Painting a house can be taxing on your muscles. Prepare your muscles for the exertion, and prevent yourself from pulling a muscle by learning about barbell weights and some great dumbell exercise routines you can do daily!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tara_Mae_Flannigan

The House Painters

Should I Paint My House This Fall?

By Geoff A Sharp

Fall Is the Season to Save on Exterior House Painting! Did you know that planning a professional exterior paint job in the Fall can actually save you more money than any other season? Fall offers unique opportunities to save BIG:

 

• Keeping heat IN and cold air OUT is a challenge for every homeowner. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, small gaps in joints around windows, doors, and trim are one of the biggest sources of heat loss. Great paint contractors include extensive caulking in their preparation process - sealing cracks, gaps and joints. Professional caulking prevents wood rot and keeps drafts - and heat-seeking critters - OUT of your home. A professional paint job with solid prep work prevents heat loss and saves you money.


• Because most paint contractors are busiest in the Spring and Summer months, you're more likely to get a price discount on exterior painting during the Fall. Also, due to a lighter schedule, many contractors are able to provide better customer service and a little extra attention to your job during the Fall.


• In some cases, that extra attention translates into even more cost-savings. Since the ladders are already out, good painters will offer to clean gutters, wash windows, or perform wood replacement or repairs for a small additional fee. All of these are usually a huge savings over hiring another company to take a trip out and do the work. Cross another few items off your Fall "To-Do" list!

The Temperature Facts
Many homeowners worry that cold weather and painting don't mix. The Facts: Good quality paint is safe to apply down to 35 degrees throughout the entire drying and curing process. (The paint can states this on the label.) Exterior painting during cool Fall days is comfortable for most experienced painting contractors and allows for proper curing during the lower overnight temperatures.

 

TIP: All good paint contractors will leave you with any leftover paint for future touch-ups or color-matching. Remember to store paint inside - a basement is ideal - rather than in a garage where it may freeze and reduce the life and quality of the extra paint.

Natural Benefits
When the flower beds have been pulled up and foliage is thinned, access to your house is easier and there's less chance for damage to your landscaping. Painters are able to get to all surfaces of your home easily. Another reality: with the absence of flowering trees and shrubs your fresh coat of paint - possibly a new color or two - lets your house shine for neighbors and guests throughout the bare winter months.  Imagine a fresh, new exterior color welcoming your family and friends throughout the season.

If you're one of the many homeowners who find yourself left with an unfinished Summer "To-Do" list - don't worry, there's still time this Fall to hire a contractor for exterior painting. In fact, you may be the smartest one in your neighborhood by saving some money and making sure your house is well-protected before the snow starts to fly.

Geoff Sharp, author and founder of Sharper Impressions Painting, has been in the house painting business for 18 years. He was able to pay his entire way through college by painting houses and after graduation, he stuck with his love of painting and founded Sharper Impressions Painting. The residential and commercial painting company has served thousands of clients and continues to earn regional and national service awards. For more information, go to: http://www.sharperimpressionspainting.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Geoff_A_Sharp

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

By Daniel Roshard

One of the quickest and most economical ways to give a tired kitchen a make over is to paint your kitchen cabinets. Applying a coat of light paint to dark wood will not only brighten up a dingy kitchen, it will also give the illusion of more space. It doesn't matter if your cabinets are wood or veneer, with the proper preparation both surfaces can benefit from the application of good quality paint. Bear in mind that kitchen cabinets take quite a beating - from sticky little fingers to oil residue from cooking, so the better quality the paint, the longer the paint job will last.

This project can take about three days to complete, so allowing yourself enough time is important. The key to any successful painting job is preparation and when painting cabinets this is most important. Generally, you don't have to bother with the insides of the cabinets, other than the insides of the doors and maybe the frames, so you can save yourself a lot of time and energy by concentrating on the outer surfaces only.

PREPARATION:

o Remove all doors and hardware.

o Hardware is expensive and very often it can be salvaged rather than replaced. If it has been previously painted, you can soak your hardware in a bucket of paint remover (outside or in the garage - as the fumes can be dangerous). After a day or so in solution, carefully remove hardware, using rubber gloves, and then soak in a bucket of warm, soapy water. If necessary, you can then give the pieces a quick scrub with a scouring pad. In most cases, the paint will peel right off and your hardware will look brand new.

o Before you begin to apply paint to kitchen cabinets, the surface must be thoroughly cleaned. Washing cabinets with a solution of warm water and TSP will remove most, if not all of the accumulated grease and oils. Allow to dry completely.

o Next, a quick swipe with fine sandpaper (A good fine paper for this project is a 200 to 300) will roughen up the surface, allowing the paint to adhere better.

PAINTING:

o Choose a good quality, washable paint. Kitchens look brighter and cleaner when the cupboards are finished with a semi to high gloss paint, but that is entirely up to your own preference.

o Lay the cabinet doors on a flat surface in a room with plenty of ventilation. Paint the outer edges with a brush then use a roller to finish the job. Allow to dry according to manufacturers' recommendation. When thoroughly dry, turn over and paint the other side. You will definitely need two coats of paint, and if you have the time and energy, three is better.

ASSEMBLY:

o When paint is completely dry, you can then re-assemble the hardware install the cabinets and your kitchen will look brand new.

Daniel Roshard is a designer fascinated by interior design, especially the making of better indoor spaces. Daniel currently writes reviews and tips about Kitchen Design and Kitchen Cabinets for ZupaTips.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Roshard