Painting Suggestions For Smaller Bathrooms

Painting Small Bathrooms – How to make them look bigger ? Small bathrooms can be a pain to deal with.  If you as a homeowner are planning a residential painting project, optimizing the use of existing space is probably one of your major concerns. A home can certainly use more area, but in situations where it isn’t feasible to expand an existing bathroom, one of the ways you can make a small bathroom look larger Read More >>
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Top 5 Exterior Painting Blunders to Avoid While Painting Your Home

Summer is one of the best seasons to begin exterior painting for your home. But, there is more to an exterior painting colour scheme than just choosing a trim colour and a nice neutral for the outside. Conscious homeowners are aware of curb appeal and have begun to give similar importance to both interior and exterior painting.  While selecting the right exterior colours is not a difficult task, in order to maximize the curb appeal, make sure you avoid the commonly repeated mistakes discussed below. 

• Disregarding the Neighbourhood Exteriors: In an ideal world, we would all live in our happy bubble and not concern ourselves with anyone else around us. In reality, it is very different. Some neighbourhoods have guidelines about exterior colours. You may be expected to paint your home exteriors in a certain colour to match the other homes on the street. Before you pick a paint colour, all you need to do is take a quick look down the street and see if your colour plans will look out of place. You may want to paint the outside walls a moss green but be prepared to change it or tone it down if the colour goes against the neighbourhood vibe. 

• Absence of a Color Scheme: Just like testing colour samples, it is also necessary to create a colour scheme for the exteriors. Before you choose the paint, consult a painting contractor or a colour consultant in coming up with a colour scheme to beautify the outside of your home. You will need to decide on a colour for the trims, the outside walls, front door and even window colours. Accents can be added too and these can take the form of porch décor, pottery, plants, or furniture. 
  

• Ignoring the Landscaping: Apart from testing paint colours, and trying to match them with the neighbourhood colour scheme, a homeowner must also carefully consider the landscaping colours. If the front yard has bright greens and yellows, a cool hued exterior may look cold and dull. Same goes for those front yards that have single colour flowers. If one colour dominates, this a problem too. To get rid of this problem, ask your painting contractor for suggestions, use a paint colour app for matching and get all the help you need before arriving at a decision.

• Failing to test colour samples: It is a myth that testing colour samples is for interiors only. Sampling paint colours is as important for the outside of your home as it is for the inside. Getting paint colour swatches for the exteriors may even help you from choosing the wrong colour and save you some money. In the past, most homeowners would simply go up to their neighbourhood paint store and ask for a simple beige for the exterior. Nobody wanted to experiment with colours and people generally stuck to the tried and tested traditional colours. The problem with continuing this old approach now is, a ‘builders beige’ can look different on each home exterior. A general residential painting rule is - do not not assume that because something looks good on a neighbour’s home, it will also suit yours too. Each house is built different and testing colours for exteriors will tell how the paint will look on your home. 

• Forgetting the Front Door: The front door can be of the most noticeable things about a home or one of the most unnoticeable ones too! A well painted front door greatly adds to the charm of a home’s exterior. Wooden and white doors may look nice but imagine a pop of colour for the front door. A well-chosen paint colour will make your home’s entrance look very attractive. It can complement the existing colours of the house, work with the colour scheme and also highlight unique architectural features that would otherwise go unnoticed. 

In addition to the above aspects, there are certain other house elements that should be taken into account. For instance, homeowners should think about the existing materials that have been used for the exteriors. Roofs, stone and brick can also influence the exterior colour scheme. Some bricks and stones are brown, some are gray, or a shade of red-rust. 

It is important to coordinate the exterior paint colours with these elements so as to prevent an ugly contrast. Also remember that light colours will make the house look more inviting, especially if it is situated away from the curb. On the other hand, dark colours will help in emphasizing the lower part of the house and indicate a solid foundation and stability. 

What colour are you planning to paint your home’s exterior? 

10 Mistakes to Avoid When Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Painting kitchen cabinets or painting anything for that matter is ruling social media sites these days. Aspiring DIYers are updating kitchens and interiors with fresh coats of paint and posting the pictures of their endeavors on sites such as Pinterest. While painting kitchen cabinets may look like a fun thing to do but there are some blunders that you should avoid: 

1. Not labeling doors, drawers or hardware: The absence of labels is another blunder that people commit. It can be quite the task to remember what goes where. So it’s worth the effort to use numbered labels and these will tell you where everything goes. You can also stick a piece of masking tape with a number at the back of each piece. 
2. Insufficient budgeting of time: Painting kitchen cabinets is not a weekend project that you can finish over a period of one or two days. It can often take four days to a week to do a thorough job. In addition, you also need to factor in breaks and prep time. If all this is overwhelming, hire a painting contractor to do this.
3. Not sanding: Even if your cabinets are in a spotless condition, you still need to sand them so that the paint sticks. Use sandpaper, that is somewhat in the middle (150-200 grit) and use it on all surfaces that deserve a good, quick rub. The surface needs to go from glossy to matte. 
4. A dusty surface: Cleaning up and vacuuming is more important than you think. Before you begin the paint job, vacuum any debris from the surfaces you plan to paint. Even a few specks of dust or foreign matter can ruin the look. If you don’t, you will get a gritty finish and the effect will be like you painted on sand. In order to address this, you will have to sand and repaint all over again. 
5. Having unrealistic expectations: Painted cabinets do look lovely but expecting a hundred percent smooth and flawless finish is unrealistic. Grooves may show through the paint, warn painting experts. Once the paint dries, what wasn’t apparent earlier will show up now. The grain can be covered with putty but it can be a challenging and time consuming affair. 
6. Picking the wrong color: While there is no right or wrong colour, it is important that you select an appropriate colour for the kitchen. The cabinet painting task is not difficult but it is not one that you will be redoing over and over again. So it is important that you get it right the first time. You can always paint a big poster board with colour samples that you’re considering. Hang the board on kitchen walls, appliances or even cabinets and make sure that you have picked the colour you really want to see there.
7. Not cleaning the wood: Irrespective of how clean you think your kitchen is, you do need to wipe everything with a cleaner meant for removing grease. Because, when you paint a water-based paint on an oily door, the paint is not going to stick if it hasn’t been de-greased. This is a very important step and must not be skipped. To begin, remove all the doors, take out the drawers and unhinge any knobs or hinges. There are some people who attempt to paint it all – including the hinges when they’re still in place. However, this is not the right solution. The cabinets and hardware will start to show signs of wear and tear very soon. The paint on hinges will begin to crack and all you can do is to soak the hardware for getting rid of the paint. So, save yourself the trouble and follow the instructions above. 
8. You skip priming: Some painters like to skip priming but think about this. The finished kitchen may look amazing now but few weeks or months down the line, the knots in wood can bleed through the paint. Try using a stain-blocking primer and you can avoid the blotches as the paint settles in.  
9. Selecting sub-standard paint: After trying all sorts of paint, as a painting contractor, we had the most success with Benjamin Moore Advance. At times, it may be more expensive than a generic store bought paint but it is definitely worth it since you’ll get a smoother finish. Kitchen spaces have limited area to cover anyway so you won’t be breaking the bank if you opt for a good paint. 
10. Rushing to re-install cabinets: It can be tiring to wait for paint to cure. However, if you happen to smudge the paint by mistake, you will have to sand the areas and repaint. So, don’t rush to install the cabinets the moment they’re painted. Give them time and the end result will be a spectacular kitchen. 

Have you tried painting your kitchen cabinets or hired a painting company to do it? What was your experience like?