Painting And Home Improvement Tips
Painting may be the easiest and most effective step in home improvement. It can be done by just about anyone, can drastically change the look of your home, and can be a great deal of fun. Changing the color scheme in your house will also change the mood. It is a good step to undertake if you are looking to sell your house, update the style, or just feel in need of a change. Painting, especially on the outside, can also add a great deal of longevity to your house’s life.
Painting can help reduce wear on the building, especially on the outside. On the inside, it mostly just serves the purpose of looking nice. External paint, however, will provide one more layer between the elements of nature and the wood of your house. Though it is a thin barrier, it is a necessary one. This is why you should repaint the outside of a house at least every five years. Most people prefer every other year, just to be safe.
The exterior walls are not the only place to focus. Windows and doors are also vastly important. You should even paint the insides of windows and doors, since they have a far more direct contact with different weather conditions than the insides of walls. If you do not keep a close eye on these parts of your house and apply paint correctly and often, the wood could start to rot.
Before you even open the cans of paint, make sure you tape around the room. Taping should be done on all edges where you do not want the paint to smear. It will give you sharp, neat lines. Use masking tape; any other tape will be too sticky and will not come off. Tape around your door knobs, your electrical sockets and light switches, and around any molding or window sills. Put down plastic on the floor and tape it there, too. Window panes are one place many people forget about. Tape all the window panes and use a smaller brush.
When you paint large areas, like a wall, make sure the brush keeps going in the same direction, either up-and-down or side-to-side. If you mix the two, people will be able to see the brush strokes and the work will look sloppy. This is why roller painting is so popular. There are no strands like on brushes, so you can paint in any direction and it will not show. It also allows for a more even distribution of the paint and it goes on much faster. Just be careful around corners. These brushes are far too big for corners and you will have to use a brush.
The more ornate the object you are painting, the smaller the brush you should use. For example, if you are painting a decorative mantle above your fireplace, using a big brush with a lot of paint will only fill in all of the designs of the mantle with paint, making its shape be distorted. One the paint dries in thick clumps, there is little you can do to fix it. Take your time with complicated architecture and do two light coats instead of one thick one.
When deciding on a wall color, use the furniture you wish to put in that room for a guide. Accent shades in the furniture are often the wisest choices. It will make the room look very vibrant and stylish, especially if the accent colors are subtle, like pin stripes. This is also where wainscoting or molding can be really useful. If you are looking to make your home stand out but are afraid of being too bold with your color choice, use the wainscoting to experiment. It is a small area that can easily be painted over a little cost to you.
When you go to buy your paint, look at all the possible options. Do you want a paint that has a slight reflective sheen? Would you prefer that it look dull? Do you want to do stencils or murals on your wall? Remember that you have the options to sponge-paint or to do an antique crackle to give the room character. Ask for help from a sales associate in deciding what may work for you.
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