Living Room Colors

Do you long for a cozy, welcoming room? Consider decorative wall painting techniques, such as sponging, ragging, stenciling or stamping. Even if you have no experience, you can brighten even the dullest room quickly and cheaply with one of these easy decorative wall painting techniques.

Before painting your room, pick out a color scheme for your walls. When you chose your paint, remember that many painting techniques use two shades of one color. If you are using one of the techniques that does use two shades of color, you can pick a darker color than you normally would chose for your base color, since the lighter top color will make the final result much lighter.

To sponge or rag a wall, paint on your base color and let it dry thoroughly. Then, dip your sponge or rag into the lighter paint color and sponge or drag the lighter color over the base coat until you are satisfied with the effect. If you are unhappy with your final result, you can repaint any areas that you don’t like with the base coat. Once the repainted area is dry, repeat the faux painting technique.

If you are considering using a decorative painting technique such as stenciling or stamping, you may just want to create a wallpaper effect by stamping or stenciling a simple design over your base coat. However, you may want to go a step further with your project and use stencils or stamps to create a faux brick or stone wall. You don’t need to be an artist to create one of these faux finishes. Just follow these simple steps. First, paint the walls with the color you chose for the mortar between the bricks or stones. Once the base coat is dry, stamp or stencil your bricks or stones over the base coat. Once the brick or stonework is dry, spatter a bit of the darker color over your faux art to give it depth and make it appear more realistic.

Creating faux effects such as making your walls look like they are made of plaster or suede can also really make your room stand out. You can easily learn how to create these seemingly difficult finishes at your local paint store. Paint bases that automatically give a suede or textured effect to the walls are a shortcut that even artists use to create fun finishes.

Finally, no matter which decorative wall painting technique you choose, remember that it is just a few layers of paint. You can always redo the finish on your walls as you learn more about the art of decorative painting.

This article was provided courtesy PaintSplashes.com where you can find tons of information on faux painting and interior painting ideas and techniques.

The earliest appearance of paint was approximately thirty thousand years ago. There are still some caves today where graphics and pictures can be found that were drawn using paint. Color has fascinated cultures throughout history. Some cultures used colors for healing purposes.

Paint is made up of a pigment, a binder to hold it together and with thinners it makes paint easy to apply. We use paint to help preserve, decorate and add function by covering a surface with a protective coating.

Before the nineteenth century, the word paint only applied to oil bound types. Those that were bond by glue were called distemper. The first synthetic dye was discovered in eighteen fifty-six and was produced inexpensively. It was during this time frame that linseed oil began being mass produced. By eighteen eighty, Sherwin Williams produced and marketed paints in tins in a wide range of colors. With their success, the paint was exported all over the world.

Americans have been practicing the green revolution for a long time. They started having concerns around nineteen fifty regarding what chemicals and solvents were being put in paint. In nineteen seventy lead and mercury was outlawed and could not be used in the manufacturing of paint. A major difference in modern wall paints is the change from linseed oil to alkyd oil which is generally derived from soybeans. The use of synthetic resins such as acrylics and epoxies have become prevalent in the last thirty years.

Wall paints are the easiest and least expensive way to change the entire look and feel of a room. Your stark cold walls can be transformed into a sophisticated ambience of color and texture. It seems to breathe new life into the room with harmony and design.

Scientists have proclaimed that color affects us psychologically and certain paint colors provide either a cooling effect while other colors give us a sense of warmth. Some warm colors are orange, red and pink, while blues, greens and violets are thought to be cool colors.

Choosing just the right color and finish can be confusing and challenging. Here is a color and finish vocabulary to help you figure it out:

• Hue – The base of a color. Lighter or darker variations are still the same hue.

• Value – The lightness or darkness of a color.

• Shades – Colors with values closet to black, the darker reds and so forth.

• Tints – Colors with values closet to white, the lighter blues and so forth.

• Tone – A color’s intensity brightness or dullness.

• Flat Paint – Is the standard paint for walls and has the lowest sheen available.

• Satin Paint – Has a slight sheen and is easier to clean then flat paint.

• Semi-Gloss Paint – Is highly durable and easy to clean. Great for kitchens, bathrooms and children’s rooms.

• Gloss Paint – Has a high sheen and is used in areas that are susceptible to getting dirty.
   This is great for doors and door frames.

Paint can also be mixed with a glaze to create various textures and patterns. This process is referred to as faux finish and is quite popular with home owners and interior designers. Washes are simply latex paint that has been thinned with water to produce color that is more delicate then that of a glaze. Washes also show brush marks which add depth and texture to your surface. There are other techniques that create unique charm and characteristics such as sponging, stippling, rag-rolling and color blocking.

Your first step before actually painting should be to take measurements of the area and calculate the amount of paint you will need. Then prepare your walls for painting. Patch all holes and allow spackling to completely dry. You must also remove any loose paint and sand uneven edges. Please don’t forget to cover the furniture and floor and remove light switch and outlet covers. A primer may be needed if your walls are new or show a lot of damage. You should also seek assistance from your home improvement store. They deal with this daily and can offer valuable advice.

It is best to take small steps and before too long you will feel like a professional and show off your technique on every wall in your home. At the end of the day as you look around you will be amazed at how a little color, texture and pattern will change your world.

Barbara Tobiasz is an expert in interior/exterior decorating. Along with her husband Joe, they own and operate Wall-Decor-Concepts.com. For more information on Wall Paints, go to: http://www.Wall-Decor-Concepts.com