Budget-Friendly Paint Projects To Spruce Up Your Home This Fall

(MS) -- Given the sluggish economy, now is not the time most of us want to spring for a costly remodeling project. But you don't have to spend a lot of money to spruce up your home with paint.

The nation's number one do-it-yourself project holds that title for a reason (two reasons, actually): Painting is easy and it's inexpensive, making it just right for budget-minded consumers.

What's more, even small paint projects can greatly enhance the appearance of your home. Here are some quick ways to get a lot of mileage out of a little paint, according to Debbie Zimmer, spokesperson for the Paint Quality Institute:

Paint just an interior accent wall. Don't have the time or energy to paint an entire room? Give the space an exciting new look by painting just one wall in a different color. A so-called accent wall can add visual interest to a room and introduce another hue into your color scheme.

Paint the area above (or below) a chair rail. According to Zimmer, if your home is blessed with chair rails, you don't have to paint the entire wall. "You can choose to repaint only the wall area above the rail, or the area below it," says Zimmer. "It's a simple project that can dramatically change the appearance of the room."

Paint the interior windows and trim. Love your wall color, but still yearn for a new look? Give the room a makeover by painting your windows, molding, and trim. You'll be surprised how different a room can look when you change the intensity of color there.

Paint a room's standout feature. Play up what's special about a room by painting it a different color. This could be a fireplace surround, a curved archway, the backs of built-in bookshelves or cabinets, or something else. Using a strong "punch" color will draw immediate attention to your standout feature.

Paint the front door. Studies have shown that visitors get their first impression about a home from the condition of the front entrance, according to Zimmer. A freshly painted door helps ensure that first impression will be favorable.

Paint just a few exterior architectural details. Even if you don't have to paint your home exterior for maintenance reasons, consider changing the appearance of your home by painting a few architectural details. Shutters are good candidates. "But if you're lucky enough to own a house with ornamental fretwork, call attention to the trim by painting it a strong or vibrant color that contrasts with your walls," Zimmer recommends.

Whether you try one of these quick and easy do-it-yourself projects, or take on more ambitious home painting, Zimmer advises that you always use a top quality 100 percent acrylic latex paint. These paints have superior "hiding" capability when painting over dark colors, they are stain- and mildew-resistant, many function as both primer and paint, and best of all ... they offer tremendous durability, so your paint job will continue to look great for years to come!

For more ideas on budget-friendly do-it-yourself painting projects, visit www.paintquality.com. 

CAPTION: A bold-colored accent wall can add visual interest.

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Economical Remodeling Tips on Color Selection for Affordable Interior Painting

(MS) -- With money tight and household expenses rising, there's a natural tendency to put your remodeling plans on hold. But even if your budget is limited, there's one home remodeling project that is still affordable, and fun, too: interior painting.

According to the Paint Quality Institute, the do-it-yourself cost of repainting a room is typically well under $100, about the same as taking a family of four to the movies. Unlike a night at the movies, however, the enjoyment of a freshly painted room will last for years.

Start by visiting your local paint retailer, asking to see the color display. The fun begins by looking through the color cards and envisioning what your room will look like with an entirely new color scheme.

If you're the decisive type, you might quickly spot the perfect color for the room you're repainting. For everyone else, it's usually best to take a few color cards home to view in the space you want to paint. Once there, you should follow a few time-tested rules.

First, when evaluating color options, conceal all the colors on the card except for the one you are considering. By isolating the color, you'll get a better idea of how the room will look in a particular hue.

Second, evaluate the color both in daylight and at night when all the light is artificial. You may be surprised how different a color can look when lighting conditions change. (Paint colors usually look darker at night, in shadow, and on cloudy days.)

Third, consider when you most often use the room. If you are painting a breakfast area, be sure you like the way the color looks in morning light; but if you're painting a bedroom, it's more important that the color be pleasing under artificial light.

Fourth, be aware that color tends to be more intense on a large area than a small one. A color that looks just right on a color card may be too dark or too bold when applied to your walls. For safety's sake, move down one degree of intensity on the card and choose a slightly lighter tint or shade.

Finally, if you are still not certain of your choice of color, buy a small quantity of paint and apply a couple of large swatches to the walls. Live with the color for a day or two. You'll soon know if you missed the mark or nailed it.

One final tip: Regardless of the color you choose, the Paint Quality Institute recommends that you use top quality 100 percent acrylic latex interior paint for all of your projects. This advanced type of paint goes on evenly, typically "hides" the color below in just a single coat, has very little odor, and is very durable. By using it, your beautiful new paint job will last for years.

For more advice on affordable interior painting, visit www.paintquality.com. 

CAPTION: Interior painting is an economical way to beautify your home.

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Interior Painting with Faux Finishes

You might have thought that you are limited to a couple of choices when it comes to interior painting with faux finishes. Probably you are wrong if you think so. Many ways are available to decorate a wall with the use of nothing more than a few tools and some paint. Moreover, you will pay far less with faux painting comparing to decorating the space using wallpaper. You are not required to possess a lot of experience or be too creative to create a great looking finished space. Some of the more common faux finish options that you may consider to choose are as below:

Rag Rolling: Rag rolling is an interesting and fun option to be considered. This is an option that will render the wall with a lot of pattern and texture. Basically a towel or rag is used rather than a paintbrush or roller to apply paint with one or more colors to create the texture. This look can be created by rolling paint onto the wall followed by rolling a rag over the top to pull off some of the paint texture.

Sponging: If you did sponge painting when you were still a kid, you definitely will love to create the same look on your walls at home, using sponges. The process of creating the same look is the same by painting the walls with the colors you have chosen and then pat the sponge on the wall in various directions. This creates an interesting and one of a kind look.

Antiquing: This process is a different type of faux painting. Chemical will be used to help “crackle” and transform the look of the paint into aged look. This can also be done with just paint, but with the use of colors and applications methods that will help turning into a faux antique look such as yellowing are always an ideal option. The process is quite unique and a lot of fun.

Brick Patterns: To create a faux interior wall of brick, the only things that you need to have are a few rectangular brick shaped sponges and the right type of paint. You are now ready to progress the project further to create what looks like a wall of bricks. A bit more skill and a lot of patience are required to work on this particular type of faux painting.

You may have fancy for a texture or a look that you would like it to be created on your walls; this can be done by using just a few tips and tools. Few methods such as create the look of granite, select a wood texture, go with color washing or lime washing are the options of faux painting that you can consider. Only few extra steps need to be taken to get this more unique, finished look.

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Interior Painting Tips, Ideas and Tricks

The followings are tricks, tips and ideas for interior painting that you might find them helpful in making your painting job much easier.

Do wash and repair your walls or project item before you start your painting job. This preparation work seems taking a lot of time but the consequences of having an unattractive item or having to redo the project due to a repair that should have been done is also time consuming and will cost you dearly.

Do not paint directly out of a can as the paint can be contaminated by foreign material that dropped into it causing discoloration and unsmooth surface.

Do study a color wheel as different colors put in different mood and depth to a room.

Do not hesitate to experiment with color to avoid end up later choosing another color and repaint which will take you more time on the painting job.

Do bring a color chip home. This can be found in shops where paint is sold or the home decorating stores. Looking at the chip under the natural and artificial light, I’m sure you will surprise at the difference the pretty chip in the store turned out to be in your own home.

Do rub a small spot with a small cotton ball dipped in ammonia. The paint that comes off it can be latex based or else it’s oil based.

Do buy a small can of paint, get ready a sample board or a small area of your project piece and apply the technique for interior painting you have chosen. Different metals, plaster, and woods or if you are painting over an already painted surface or wallpaper will emit different hues and shades that may not be what you are expected for.

Do use plastic wrap around door knobs, hardware and phones to keep splatters off. You can cover your eyeglasses with this to protect them.

Don’t store your paintbrush in the freezer. The bristles become hard and easily damaged and the paint will not bind properly.

Do make sure the paint of the same lot number or color mixture is sufficient to finish your interior painting project.

Do choose the right kind of paint from either latex or oil based paint. Easy of use, quick dry, easy cleanable with water, excellent adhesion to a variety of surfaces are the main advantages that justify you to use latex paint. Oil based paint is water tight. The colors are deep and saturated and have fade resistance in sunlight. Oil based paint needs longer time to dry, can sag during application; can turn into yellowish look after years. Moisture can be sealed in if the surface is not dry and this can end up in rotten. Oil based paints have fumes and the clean up process is more complicated as it involves the use of solvents which are bad for the environment.

Do cover your furniture and floors with drop cloths as this will save you time needed for clean up and can prevent damage to your furniture.

Do look and smell your paint that has been stored. It could indicate mold is being grown if you can feel the mildew or earthy smell. If you find that the paint is dried out or a rust line appears inside of the can, then it should be disposed. Frozen paint won’t bind properly upon application even though it looks like usable.

Interior painting tips, ideas and tricks above have helped making my painting jobs easier in all these years. Hope it can be useful to you as well.

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Top Painting Questions Answered About Interior Painting Methods and Techniques

It can sound easy enough to paint interior rooms of your home until you come across some questions which you just cannot seem to find an answer for them. Some of the most common questions asked about interior painting methods, techniques and more that might address your problems are as follows:

Why is paint chunky and can it still be used?

When you have a can of paint which is not finished yet, it is necessary that this can of paint is stored properly. It is important to ensure the lid has been tapped into place to form a nice, neat seal. If this is not done, the paint within can form a clump. This causes chunky paint that has lumps in it. If the paint has not separated, then you can still use it. An ideal solution for getting the lumps out is to pour the paint through an old pair of panty hose or a fine strainer.

What type of paint finish should you use?

The paint finish is the amount of shine that the paint will have when it has dried. Comparing several of them is the best way to tell the actual look of these. A flat finish offers no shine. It is also the hardest to maintain as well as most difficult to clean up. On the other end of the spectrum you have gloss paints, which have a very strong shine to them. They are durable and they can be scrubbed clean. Something in the middle such as a satin or semi gloss product may be needed for the best of both worlds.

Should a second coat be put on?

There’s no specific answer for this question as it’s based on the type of project or a particular project. Generally speaking the thicker the paint is, second coat is less likely to be needed since this will help to block out anything from coming through. On the other hand, if the wall color under the paint is a dark one, second coat of paint will need to be applied most definitely.

The paint is not sticking well to the wall. Why not?

If you have an existing painted wall and are thinking to paint over the top of it, it is important to apply a flat coat of paint first. This is for the case if you have high gloss paint already on the wall or the wall contains oil based paint. These products generally will affect the paint not adhering well on top of them. Thus it’s advisable to use a flat paint first to create some grip and then repaint in the color of your choice.

The above tips will definitely help you get the professional look in painting interior walls. Most people will love the look of great looking painted rooms after learning how to get it just right.

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