Design Tips and Ideas

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Color Ideas for This Summer

May 11, 2012 in Color Ideas, Design Tips and Ideas by kirstiehoward | No comments

As we anticipate a hot summer, now is the time to think about ways to keep your house cool and cheerful. It can work to your advantage to think about how color affects the temperature of a room. Light colors will evoke a refreshing feel, whereas dark colors can exhibit warmth and weight.

One great inexpensive decorating style is to keep the main walls in your house white or off-white and decorate with bright “summery” colors or with two complementary or contrasting colors such as tangerine and teal, or violet and yellow. This technique is great for keeping a room light and simple, but also modern and personalized. One of the most uplifting color combinations is yellow and turquoise. These two colors together create a fun and “beachy” atmosphere.

A few different ways you can use accent colors in a room is to:

  • create an accent wall
  • intall white chair rail and paint the higher wall an accent color
  • use decorating items like pillows, throw rugs, curtains or flowers
  • or paint some decorative items in a room, such as a end table

If you would like help with color consultations, or if you’re ready to paint and would like a free estimate, give Lancaster Painting a call at 209-634-1111. We serve Modesto, Turlock and the surrounding areas of Central Valley.

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How to Create A Dry Erase Wall

February 9, 2012 in Design Tips and Ideas, Painting Information by kirstiehoward | No comments

The world thrives off creativity and originality, but unfortunately in today’s society creativity is often thwarted with overabundant sources of technology and less outlets for artistry. A great and easy solution to encourage inventiveness is to provide creativity space with dry-erase walls. Not only are dry-erase walls a great source for exploration and expression of imagination and creativity, but they are also resourceful and economical.

Whiteboard paint is especially recommended for kitchens, bedrooms, offices, and kid’s rooms. All you have to do is apply it just like any other paint, invest in some dry-erase markers, and you have your own, eco-friendly drawing surface, calendar, imagination station – you name it!

Lancaster Painting, established in Turlock, CA, services the Modesto and the surrounding areas of Central Valley. Call us at 209-634-1111 if you would like our skilled painters to do this project for you. Or if you are interested in tackling the project yourself, follow these steps:

  1. Thoroughly clean the wall(s) you want to paint with a damp cloth or soft sponge. If there are any holes in the wall, apply some lightweight spackle. While the spackle dries, mark around the wall or area you want to paint with some painters tape (we suggest the blue-core from 3M).
  2. When the spackle is dry, sand down the rough areas with 280-300 grit sandpaper. (If we do this for you, typically we would use drywall mud, which is more difficult for homeowners to use since it requires specials tools and more practice.) After you’ve sanded the walls, wipe away the drywall dust with a dry (or mildly damp) rag.
  3. Next, apply one coat of Zinsser Primer or another good drywall primer.
  4. Now use either Rust-Oleum‘s whiteboard paint or IdeaPaint for your wall. (Follow the specifications on the paint can for number of coats and drying time allocation.)
  5. After the paint dries completely, carefully remove the painters tape and let imagination run wild!

If you prefer chalkboards to whiteboards, or if you want a ultra-child-safe option for a child’s room, try using chalkboard paint instead.

Let us know if you have any questions. And leave a comment to let us know your thoughts on Dry-Erase Paint!

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Why Should I Install Decorative Moulding?

October 22, 2011 in Design Tips and Ideas by chismville | No comments

Using decorative moulding is a great way of easily sophisticating a room without changing the overall theme.

The following types of Moulding are very popular and relatively easy to install:

Crown Moulding

  • Crown moulding provides a visual transition from the wall to the ceiling. When you use custom moulding for your room rather than a typical design, this striking technique creates an old-world effect that truly distinguishes a fine room.

Ogee Moulding

  • Ogee mouldings are made to install 6-12 inches below the ceiling to create a visual break that coordinates with the crown above it. The space in-between the Crown and Ogee moulding is perfect for painting a coordinating or contrasting color to add some new dynamic to the room.

Chair Rail Moulding

  • Practical and decorative, Chair Rail is a great moulding that adds a nice simple accent to a room, while also protecting the wall from scratches and scuffs.

Base Moulding

  • Similar to Crown Moulding, Base Moulding provides that elegant “finished look” for a room. Even if the room already has baseboard, you can always consider upgrading the base moulding to match nicely with the rest of the moulding project.

Panel Moulding

  • If you use chair rail with a nice base moulding, it would be in best taste to also use panel moulding. This serves as a union for the two elements while giving the room a more unique touch.

Door and Window Casing

  • Using Moulding for Door and Window Casing is a great way to add sophistication to an otherwise simple room.

Wainscoting

  • Decorative wainscoting are often light or white to blend nicely with the color of the walls or ceiling and provide an intriguing texture. Wainscoting works well to break up the potential monotony of a monochromatic room or wall. You can easily define and enhance the look of a room with well-selected wainscoting.

Any plain room will immediately gain character and personality when one or any of these moulding techniques are added.

Moulding installation requires precision and careful attention to detail. A skilled do-it-yourselfer can install elegant mouldings in a relatively short amount of time, but for high-quality results, homeowners often hire a professional contractor.

To schedule a free estimate, call Lancaster Painting today at 1-800-PAINTING; we serve the Central Valley areas surrounding Turlock.

How To Keep Your Exterior Paint Looking Fresh

August 18, 2011 in Design Tips and Ideas by kirstiehoward | No comments

Oftentimes homeowners don’t consider ways to preserve the life of outdoor wood items (such as gates, fences, decks, etc.) until after the items begin to age and show signs of damage. Fortunately though, there are simple ways to sustain the life of your exterior woodwork so they don’t require as much maintenance over the years.  The best way to increase the life expectancy of your exterior wood items is to do some thorough prep work and use a good quality paint finish.

These pictures are from a homeowner who decided to revamp their gate after it started showing signs of aging. Originally it had been stained (red) and painted with a clear finish. In the after picture, the gate surface was properly primed and then painted with several coats of quality paint. Although the gate looks good in both the before and after pictures, the original gate required much more maintenance than the quality finished after product. The refinished product can be expected to stay fresh for twice as long as before.

Thorough surface preparation and the use of quality paint goes a long way in extending the life of exterior items. Our painters specialize in preserving exterior wood; if you live in Turlock or in the surrounding areas, give Lancaster Painting a call at 1-800-PAINTING.

Can I Repaint My Kitchen Cabinets?

July 27, 2011 in Design Tips and Ideas by chismville | No comments

Nowadays, we all look for ways to save money and time, or ways to be eco-friendly. Painting instead of replacing your cabinets is one of the easiest, quickest and most economical ways to revitalize your kitchen. By repainting your cabinets you can change the overall look of your kitchen and easily modernize the room. Also by repainting you save your self about 80%-90% of the cost of replacing cabinets, and typically you increase the life expectancy by 5 to 6 years. When your cabinets need a touch-up years down the road, you can easily just do one more coat to refresh the look.

How do you start this project?

First of all, you have to remove the gloss from your cabinets, since most cabinets have already been stained and sealed with a glossy polyurethane. There are a couple different ways to do this project, but the method I will offer is the least time consuming, least messy and least complicated.

  1. Buy a pigmented shellac for priming the cabinet surface. I recommend a product such as Zinsser B-I-N® which is designed to stick to glossy surfaces while simultaneously changing color (typically the shellac is white, but you can tint it if you would like to paint your cabinets a different color)
  2. Follow the instructions on the can, but you should typically do about three coats of the pigmented shellac. It dries very quickly (in about 45 minutes), so you should be able to do all of the coats in a short length of time.
  3. Now you can apply a finish coat of paint. We recommend using an oil-based paint since it has a harder finish and withstand kitchen treatment better. Oil-based paint also has a smoother finish and looks more factory-finished. You can also use an acrylic/latex paint, but then make sure it is a high-level gloss finish.

You can apply the primer and paint with a brush, roller or sprayer; but a sprayer will give a nicer and smoother finish.

The other ways you can go about doing this project is to first sand the cabinets or use a de-glossing liquid to remove the cabinet finish, and then to prime and paint or stain. If you want to stain, instead of paint your cabinets, then this second option might work better; otherwise we would highly recommend doing the first.

If you have any more questions, or would like help with this project, give Lancaster Painting a call at 209-634-1111.

Which Room Color Should I Pick First?

July 23, 2011 in Color Ideas, Design Tips and Ideas by chismville | No comments

When you are painting your entire house, it’s easy to get bogged down by the task. There is an overwhelming number of colors and choices and it is important that all of the colors you choose blend well together. Don’t worry though, this process is really a lot simpler than it may seem.

The first thing you want to do is select neutral or an adaptable base color for the hallway, foyer and stairway areas. This way, you can more easily pick complementary colors for the adjacent rooms.

If you already have a specific color in mind for a particular room, then you can also work from there. But we would encourage you to always choose the “connecting” hallway color either first or second.

You can also pick a second foundation color for the foyer or hallway to tie together a few rooms if your distinct room colors (such as the Kitchen or Living Room) don’t blend very well.

Just take it one room at a time, and your home will look superb. If you would like a free estimate or color consultation, give Lancaster Painting a call at 209-634-1111.

Should I Always Paint My Ceilings White?

July 12, 2011 in Design Tips and Ideas by chismville | 1 comment

The ceiling is really like the fifth wall of a room. Painting it white doesn’t always complete a room to its full potential. So don’t settle for standard when it comes to painting your ceiling, the sky is the limit when it comes to what you can do with it.

The main two deciding factors of what color you should paint the ceiling should be:
1. Ceiling height.

  • If you have a high ceiling and want to bring it down a bit, you can get away with painting the ceiling a darker color since it will draw attention to the ceiling and make it appear lower. But you don’t want to paint a low ceiling a dark color because it will make the room seem small and confined.

2. Which room of the house it is.

  • For instance, in a dining or living room you can create elegance by painting the ceiling a lighter color that compliments the wall finish; but in a bed-room you can get away with doing a more wild and unique ceiling that livens up that room.

There are a couple of simple techniques you can do to add sophistication to a room.

  • If your ceiling has mouldings or other architectural features, such as a coffered or tray design, you can apply a nice accent color on the moulding or on the design rather than blankly painting the whole ceiling one color.
  • Consider adding crown moulding if it’s not already there. Not only does it always add a tasteful touch, but if your ceilings are high, then the moulding will bring the ceiling down by catching your eye’s attention. When you have crown moulding, you can most easily add class to a room by painting the moulding a nice accent color. This technique looks especially great when you paint the moulding a few shades darker than the color of the walls.
  • You can also paint the ceiling a lighter shade of the wall color. This strategy looks best when you follow it through the whole house so that each ceiling color is a lighter shade of each specific wall color.

Painting the “fifth wall of a room” is great and inexpensive way to complete a room and make it more naturally aesthetic. If you would like a color consultation or help with the project give Lancaster Painting a call at 209-634-1111.

Nursery Painting Ideas in Turlock

June 30, 2011 in Design Tips and Ideas, Painting Information by kirstiehoward | 2 comments

People are becoming more and more aware of the harmful toxins in paint. Oil-based paint has a very high number of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which are potentially toxic when inhaled. Over the past ten years fewer people have been using oil-based paints and have instead switched to latex (water-based) paints.

Over 80% of all paint sold in the residential market is water-based. While latex paints do have fewer VOCs, they aren’t completely toxin-free. In fact, water-based paints continue emitting toxins years after the paint has dried.

In our homes we don’t want to risk the possibility of harming our children with VOC paint. Do you have a nursery you are about to paint? Or a child’s room that needs repainting? You can easily make your home, or your child’s room safe by using Zero-VOC paint. Natura® is a great VOC-free paint carried by Benjamin Moore. This paint is virtually odorless, eco-friendly, and great for the home.

After you paint, an easy and inexpensive way to make the room unique for your child is to get some creative stencils or decals to touch up a plain wall.

If you would like some help with this project, call Lancaster Painting at 209-634-1111 for an estimate.

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