by cloudadmin | Dec 7, 2012 | Uncategorized |
Are you hesitant to have your living room or dining room repainted because you’re not sure how your new wall color will look with your Christmas decorations? Maybe it’s time to think outside the (ornament) box!
If you just can’t stand the paint color of your living room a minute longer, then go ahead and have the paint color changed! There’s no need to wait until after the holidays are over. Gone are the days of red and green dictating your holiday color scheme. Decorations have changed over the years and so have we. Many people enjoy coordinating their decorations to their individual lifestyle and favorite colors. If your dining room is a cheery yellow, then red and green decorations probably won’t make sense for you. But mix some holiday greenery with ornaments in whites, golds, and burnished copper and you just might work some holiday magic. Likewise if you have a room that is light blue or gray, try some decorations in taupe, white, or silver – or the newest trend, Mercury glass. If you’ve decided to repaint your walls in a neutral shade like beige or white, the sky’s the limit for your decorating. You can go for the traditional colors, or opt for bold or bright pops of color such as the popular shade of green some people call “lime” and others call “kiwi.” Mix it with peppermint pink and white for a fun, fresh take on the holidays.
I’ve talked to more and more people over the years who don’t limit themselves to just one Christmas tree. Many find it fun to have one tree in the living room, and another in the family room or kitchen. This opens up many more decorating options. Some dear friends of ours put up 5 trees every year; the tree in their kitchen is a frosty white and boasts ornaments in silver, white, and ice blue to coordinate with their white kitchen cabinets and blue and white dinnerware. A small tree in the dining room boasts small ornaments, some old, some new, and some homemade. They also have a small tree in their den which holds a collection of snowmen ornaments, a small tree in the office which holds the official annual White House ornaments, and a large tree in their parlor boasting all of the family ornaments passed down through the years.
When decorating our Christmas tree we always like to include a variety of photo ornaments. They add a personal touch, and remind us of times past in a fun and very personal way.
However you decide to decorate, we hope you have fun doing it. For inspiration on traditional and non-traditional holiday decorating, check out your favorite home decorating magazine or home improvement catalogue, such as ballarddesigns.com or potterybarn.com. Happy holidays!
by cloudadmin | Nov 19, 2012 | Uncategorized |
One night recently I decided to surprise my daughter by removing the old rug from her bedroom and replacing it with a softer, nicer rug. Seemed like a simple project. But in the course of removing the very large, very heavy rug, I had to move all of the furniture in the room. After lifting the bed to slide a corner of the rug closer to me, one of the casters fell off the bed frame. (more…)
by cloudadmin | Sep 2, 2011 | Uncategorized |
The good kind of fake: A sample of a faux stone technique, available from Cloudland Paintworks
A recent news article from China caught my eye as I heard the term “fake paint” for the first time. I immediately thought of faux painting, which was not what the story was about. The definition of faux painting, or faux finishing, as found on Wikipedia defines it as: “a wide range of decorative painting techniques. The naming comes from the French word faux, meaning false, as these techniques started as a form of replicating materials such as marble and wood with paint, but has subsequently come to encompass many other decorative finishes for walls and furniture.”
Faux painting by its very nature sets out to replicate the look of something else. Fake paint, on the other hand, attempts to pass itself off as the real thing without any indication that it is, indeed, fake. According to the article three men in China were arrested for manufacturing and selling fake paint out of an apartment. They used containers from reputable brands of paint, passing it off on unsuspecting consumers at a fraction of the cost of the real thing. Not only did these men defraud consumers with the fake paint, they apparently also created it out of components that are potentially harmful to the consumer’s respiratory systems and internal organs! For their criminal behavior each man stands to serve up to 15 years in prison. For consumers this was a costly lesson learned, not only in terms of the money lost, but also in the potential health dangers of using the fake paint.
The vice-chairman of the China Consumers Association was quoted in the article as saying, “Most people have no knowledge about paint and tend to buy products with lower prices.” We encourage consumers not to make a decision based solely on price. Budgets are important and a good painting contractor will work with his customers to ensure they keep the budget in mind when choosing products. However, if a decision is made on price alone, you may find that the product doesn’t hold up well and may end up costing you more in the long run. There are ways in which you can trim costs, so don’t be afraid to talk to your painting contractor about the best way to get the quality you want at the price you can afford. Remember, a good painting contractor will never cut corners or do a slapdash job just to save you money! Professional painting contractors maintain high standards for themselves, their employees, and most of all for you, the customer.
by cloudadmin | Aug 30, 2011 | Uncategorized |
Do you ever wish you could talk back to your TV? The other day I was flipping through the channels and happened to land on a program promoting a new way to paint your house. The gadget they were promoting was a small paint sprayer that was so incredible and easy to use that no one would ever again need to hire a professional painter. I watched with amazement as the paint was sprayed on the walls. There was no drop cloth to protect the floors, and nothing to prevent the paint from accidentally spraying on the ceiling. I continued to watch with interest as the person then applied paint onto a louvered door. I couldn’t help but wonder what was behind the door? Did the paint go through onto the clothes hanging in the closet? Was this going to end up being a comedy with an out of control spray gun, like an episode of the old “I Love Lucy” show? Well, it wasn’t a comedy and the paint sprayer never malfunctioned. In fact, it never stopped at all! It breezed through the entire room in just minutes, painting walls, trim, and doors. By the end of the show I’m sure that viewers were mesmerized by the ease with which the home was painted and they were reaching for their cell phones to call and order this remarkable gadget that looked too good to be true.
And that’s the point. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. I’m not saying that only professionals can use a paint sprayer. But I am saying that using a paint sprayer takes practice and precision and may not be as easy to use as the average homeowner would be led to believe by this type of TV show. Professional painters know how to use their equipment properly. They know how to prevent overspray and how to deal with dripping paint quickly and effectively. Professional painters know the importance of drop cloths, they wear appropriate clothing, they ensure there is adequate ventilation while they are painting, and they know how to calculate drying times depending on the weather. They know how to ensure that each surface receives good paint coverage. In short, they are trained professionals who can quickly and easily handle the tasks that many homeowners don’t have the patience or the time to tackle.
The bottom line is, homeowners should be realistic about what they want to achieve and whether or not they have the desire, and the ability, to achieve it. If you truly enjoy painting and like new gadgets, by all means go for it! Otherwise you may find that you’ve spent money on a gadget that doesn’t work as well as you had hoped, wastes time that you would rather spend doing something else, and ends up gathering dust in your garage. And, you may end up hiring that professional painter after all to fix the mess the too-good-to-be-true gadget left behind.
by cloudadmin | Aug 11, 2011 | Uncategorized |
What does the term “summer kitchen” mean to you? If you’re like most of us, you probably envision a large patio with a barbecue grill, a built-in sink, and a small refrigerator. The term conjures up images of summer entertaining, and a place where we can practice our grilling techniques or test new recipes purely for the enjoyment of it.
In the 19th century, however, the term “summer kitchen” was frequently used to refer to a separate outbuilding or a shed-type attachment to the main house that kept the warmth of the cooking away from the main rooms. These summer kitchens were vital to the farm families who canned their own fruits and vegetables, made jams and jellies, and cooked food for their families and the hired hands. And they were an important part of keeping the temperature moderate in the rest of the house.
Today, thanks in part to the invention of air conditioning, our indoor kitchens serve us all year long. But this means that our kitchens not only have to serve us well, but they have to look good while doing it. The pressure to update our kitchens has never been stronger.
If you’ve been wanting to update your kitchen but are staggered by the prices for a complete remodel, don’t lose hope. Today there are more products than ever before to update your home without spending a fortune. How can you update your kitchen while maintaining a tight budget?
Repainted kitchen cabinet doors drying in our work room
In addition to having your walls and cabinets repainted, there are also specialty products than can be used to resurface your countertops and floors, giving you the look of costlier granite or stone products. Your avocado green tile backsplash can now be recoated in a softer, neutral shade to compliment any decor. Imagine having your entire kitchen remodeled without removing a single tile or countertop! It’s not a dream, it can be done with the help of a painting professional. So, while you’re outside enjoying your summer kitchen, we’ll be inside fixing up your indoor kitchen.
