The Lake House

Now that is a tall window.

Thank you to all my clients for your business.  It has been a very busy spring and I could not be happier.  It was wonderful working with all of you.

It's amazing what a little paint can do...

Here are some before and after pics from a happy client.  During the colour consultation, she said she wanted a dramatic difference, and warm rich colours.  Looks like she got what she was looking for.

Trend Alert:  Colour of the year for 2015

The colour, or colours, of 2015 have been released by the top paint companies.  This year the colours are very different, and this isn't a coincidence.  Taste is a very personal thing.  One is a deep warm rich tone, one a vibrant bright energizing hue and the last is a muted soft neutral.  One for every taste and place.  

If you are nervous to use a bold or bright colour in fear that it will be too strong or you will tire of it quickly, try a different approach rather than painting the entire room.  Let the colour stand by itself on a single accent wall or on your front door for a pop of colour.  Paint a piece of furniture as a great accent piece. Relax the bold colour by pairing it with warm neutrals. 

Paint is easy, quick and a fairly inexpensive way to change your space.  Have fun with it.  Experiment.

Arched windows (eyebrow windows)

Arched windows or "eyebrow/half circle windows" can be a challenge to cover especially in bedrooms.  You still need the room darkening in order to sleep well but there are very few options available.  Here are a few solutions...Shutters.  The shutters are installed with a tilt bar on the front so you can open and close the them.  They are room darkening but not black out as some light will still bleed through the louvers. 

The other option is pleated or cellular blinds.  A good manufacturer will offer these for specialty shape windows that still open and close.  You want ones that are operable and not just closed or stationary all the time.  These blinds will operate from the bottom up.  They stack neatly at the bottom of the window when they are not needed and pull up to a fastener to close when you need them to be closed.  They come in room darkening and light filtering. 

Both of these options are great if you need to cover the window and you can coordinate the bottom of the window in the same covering. 

Design Dilemma--Popcorn Ceiling

A question I am often asked is how to repair or reface a popcorn/stucco ceiling.

If the ceiling is not damaged and is in good shape beneath the stucco, you can simply wet the ceiling and carefully scape off the plaster to reveal the smooth ceiling below.  Then it is just a matter of touching up any imperfections, priming and painting.  Done

Unfortunately, a lot of times the ceiling is not in good shape and this procedure cannot be used. 

Here are a couple of other fixes...

1)  Re-drywall the ceiling.  This is an expensive and time consuming process.  Unless you are a professional drywaller, I really would not suggest to try this yourself. 

2)  Wood strips--You can apply thin wood strips to the ceiling to give a casual feel to the space.  The wood can be cottage paint grade and is fairly inexpensive.  This can be difficult to install if the walls are not square because the wood strips may look crooked even if you use a plumb line.  This may be difficult for the average do it yourselfer to complete.

3)  Anaglypta Paper (textured paintable wall paper)--This is a great solution.  The paper comes in several different designs.  You simply need to scrape the stucco down until it is relatively smooth (it doesn't need to be perfect), wipe down the ceiling and let dry.  Sebastian Terzo owner of Direct Painting suggests to take the time to prepare the ceiling by first priming , then painting and finally sizing the ceiling before applying the paper to ensure a strong hold.  Follow the application directions for the paper that you purchase.  Afterwards you paint the paper for a perfect finish.   Cheap and easy.