We hear a lot about the need to save the environment, and most of us try to do our part. We recycle our newspapers and plastic bottles and cans, and we try our best not to contribute to global warming. When it comes to our homes, some of us have even converted to solar power to help save our dwindling resources, not to mention saving money on our energy bills.

And as far as the upkeep of our homes, it’s good to know that there is environmentally safe paint available now, which not only looks good and lasts a long time, but can have less odor than typical house paints do.

Maybe this is something you haven’t thought about, but that strong odor associated with regular paints can actually be hazardous to your health. That’s because it contains chemicals and solvents that are harmful to you, and if fact, can cause cancer. And even if your exposure to paint is not prolonged enough to cause a life-threatening illness, the effects of shorter exposure can still be unpleasant as well as in some cases causing dizziness and nausea. By using environmentally safe paint, not only will you breathe easier, you will avoid unnecessarily putting yourself at risk.

So what type of environmentally safe paint should you choose? Milk paint works well for floors and walls, and even decks and antique furniture. It gets its name because aside from other organic raw materials, it is manufactured with purified milk protein. It can be blended with pigment powders to mix up virtually any color you can imagine, and by adding water you can increase its thickness. What makes it so great for furniture is that it will provide a slightly streaky finish, which will give the piece the look of an antique, even if it is relatively new.

Clay paint is another form of environmentally safe paint for the inside of a home. It works well if you want an adobe look because it comes in a variety of earth tones, as well as orange, white and blue. The drawback of clay is it can be somewhat expensive, and can’t be washed if it gets dirty; you will need to touch up the area with more paint. Lime wash is less expensive, and can be used inside or outside the house. There are more and more ways of going “green,” even when it comes to painting your house.
http://www.progressivepaintingservices.com

http://www.progressivepaintingservices.com

If you are planning to revive your home so as to make it look more beautiful than ever, then deck staining along with the house and woodwork staining can help your plans to materialize in a great way. Staining helps in bringing out character and uniqueness of flooring.

Starting with the exterior house staining that involves intensive restoration of deck horizontal surfaces, sanding the deck boards, handrails, etc., the first thing that is required is the Preparation. Preparing and planning thoroughly for the entire process of staining pays off in the end in terms of a good finished product.

Thus for Deck staining, first of all choose a wood stain of the desired color. Once you have chosen the desired wood stain, clean the deck thoroughly by using one of the several deck cleaners that are available in the market under different names. You can also clean the deck by using a pressure washer which forcefully ejects the water to clean the deck surface. Allow the deck to dry completely, meanwhile fill a small bucket with the stain. Once the deck has dried completely, immerse the brush or the long-handled roller into the bucket filled with stain. Absorb the stain that is enough only for a few strokes otherwise it can lead to over coating of some areas. Then evenly apply the stain over the deck surface using the long-handled roller or the brush immersed in stain. Once you have done that, use a rag to wipe or drain out the excess stain so that deck is evenly stained. Allow the stain to set overnight. Follow these simple steps to stain your deck which will protect the deck from ultraviolet rays, water damage and will also restore its natural oils.

Then under the exterior house staining, after the deck staining comes the staining of windows, light fixtures, rock work etc.  For staining them, first of all clean the wood with a chemical that comes specifically for wood wash.  By cleaning the wood, all the water stains, failed wood stains, surface dirt and other particles will be removed. Then, apply the chemical available in the market, to lighten and even the tone of the wood. Finally, rinse the wood with high pressure to remove the stains or any residual dirt. One of the disadvantages of staining is that stains fades more quickly than the normal paint so frequent coating is required. But by applying two or more application of coats at one go, you can considerably increase the longevity of the finish. You can also take the help of an expert who will cater as per your needs.

Next thing that comes after the exterior house staining is the staining of wooden floor and other wooden furniture present inside the house.  For staining and finishing the hardwood flooring, make sure that the area you are working in is well ventilated as the fumes from the wood stain if inhaled can cause dizziness, headache, etc. You can cover your face with a mask while staining he wooden floor. Most important thing that is to be kept in mind while applying the wood stain is that, most wood stains are highly inflammable, so do not smoke while you apply the stain. No on should come near the area where you are applying the stain or you are waiting for the stain to dry. Also do not allow the stain to sit on the wooden floor as it will raise the grain of wood and the imperfections will be seen once the stain dries up. After cleaning the wooden floor to remove any residual dust particles or remains of a stain, follow the same steps to stain your wooden floor as that for deck staining. Leave the floor to dry overnight and then your wooden floor would be ready to use.

For more details about deck staining, house staining and woodwork staining services, visit progressivepaintingservices.com website.

Easily the least inexpensive home decorating option is paint. Anyone can buy himself a can or two of paint, and, following simple instructions, proceed to transform his dingy space into a bright celebration of joie de vivre. Unknown to some, painting a wall is only one of the many uses of paint. Paint can be used to jazz-up fabric, wood, ceramics, metal, and clay. The design can be painted freehand, swirled, stamped, stenciled, combed, ragged-on, sponged, color washed, decoupaged, and glazed.

And, using paint, one can come up with an incredible variety of faux finishes: faux granite, faux mosaic, faux wood grain, and faux wood parquet. You might want something ancient-looking to go well with your wrought iron musical notes wall art, in which case a wooden stand can have that instant onyx look using only a feather and a lot of ingenuity. For good measure, you can also have faux alabaster, faux verdigris, faux marble, faux serpentine, faux moire, and even faux rust, each going well with your iron wall art.

Painting, however, is not merely about opening the paint can and firing away with the paintbrush, one has to prepare first the surface for painting. Here’s how different surfaces are prepared for painting:
Unpainted Wood

Sand the surface to a smooth perfection. Using a tack cloth, wipe off the grit. Apply a latex enamel undercoat.

Previously Painted Wood

Clean the surface to remove any dirt. Get into cracks using an old toothbrush. Rinse with water. Dry. Remove any loose paint chips. Sand the surface enough to remove the gloss of the old paint. Using a tack cloth, wipe off the grit. Apply a latex enamel undercoat, but only to areas of bare wood.

Previously Varnished Wood

Clean the surface to remove any residual grease or dirt. Rinse with water. Dry. Sand the surface to remove any gloss. Wipe off the grit using a tack cloth. Apply a latex enamel undercoat.
Unpainted Plaster

Remove any dirt or grease on the surface. Sand if necessary. Using a tack cloth, wipe off the dust or grit. Apply a polyvinyl acrylic primer.

Previously Painted Plaster

Make sure the surface is free of dirt. Rinse with water. Allow to dry completely. Using Spackle paste, fill any cracks. Sand the surface to remove any gloss. Apply a polyvinyl acrylic primer if old paint was of dark or bold color.

Unfinished Wallboard

Using a dry piece of cloth, remove all dust. Apply a flat latex primer.

Previously Painted Wallboard

Clean the surface to remove any dirt. Rinse with water. Dry. Apply flat latex primer if old paint was of dark or bold color.

Fabric

Wash fabric. Don’t use fabric softener. Dry. Iron. The fabric is ready. There’s no need for any primer.
Metal

Using vinegar or lacquer thinner, clean the surface to remove any dirt. Dry. Sand the surface to remove any gloss or rust. Using a tack cloth, wipe off the grit. Apply rust-inhibiting latex metal primer.

Unglazed Pottery

Remove all dust with brush or vacuum with a soft brush attachment. Apply polyvinyl acrylic primer.
Glazed Pottery, Ceramic, and Glass

Remove all dirt from the surface. This is important as the paint will not cling to any surface which has dirt. Rinse with water. Dry. Apply stain-killing primer.

Now your canvas is ready. With your paint, paint mediums, finishes, tapes, paint rollers, paintbrushes, and applicators, you are ready to transform ordinary wood, clay, metal, or fabric into a masterpiece.

1) This article was written by Jessica Ackerman and provided by WallDecorandHomeAccents.com, a site featuring unique abstract canvas art and metal artwork.

Ragging is a faux finish technique that uses a rag to produce a mottled decorative effect. Ragging can be done negatively where the rag is use to remove the glaze, or ragging can be done positively where the rag is use to apply the glaze to the wall. Either way you choose to do it, ragging is a simple faux finish that most DIY’ers can pull off without too much trouble.

Positive Ragging

The easier of the two ragging methods, usually done with latex glaze and paint. Positive ragging technique consists on a base coat and one or two (or more if desired) colors to be ragged on over the base coat with a paint and glaze mix.

Choosing colors

A simple color scheme consisting of using two or three colors in the same color family. For instance, you might choose two or three hues of beige, one for the base coat and the other two to be ragged on with a paint/ glaze mix. You can make the base coat the darkest of the three or the lightest of the three colors, each way will have a slightly different look. You can finish the whole thing off with a thin white wash ragging to blend and soften all the colors together if you wish. Try out your colors choices on a piece of illustration board and make a sample of your finish before beginning on the actual room itself.

Base Coat, Glaze and Ragging Technique

With ragging on, your base coat will show and play a big part in the overall finish. The base coat should be a flat or satin latex paint. Paint the whole room with the base coat and allow it to dry.

Glaze is added to the ragged on layers to give the paint some transparency and to help the paint hold a pattern. You can use the same sheen for your ragging as you did for your base coat or use a slightly higher sheen to give the technique some shimmer and a bit more interest. For instance, if you used a flat for a base coat you could use satin for one of your ragged on colors and semi gloss for a second ragged on color.

Ragging on is done by dipping the rag directly into the paint and ringing the rag to remove the excess paint. After dabbing the rag against a roller grid, you take the rag to the wall and begin applying the paint to the wall with the rag in a patting fashion. Turn the rag as you go to avoid repetitious patterns from the rag. Rag the paint on in a random manner, stepping back from time to time to check the overall balance of the technique. Don’t fill in too much with the first color, leave a lot of open base coat showing for your second layer and ragging color. Apply the second layer of ragging after the first layer has dried. Your goal is a graded mottled look that is well balanced and pleasing.

To learn more about both ragging on and ragging off techniques see this URL:

http://www.paintinganddecoratingconcourse.com/articles/Faux-Positive-Ragging.html

Faux finishing is the term which broadly applies to most decorative painting techniques. Faux finishes can generally be divided into four categories: Wall finishes, Specialty Finishes, Marbleizing, and Wood Graining. Common wall finishes are: sponge painting, ragging , color washing etc… Specialty finishes would consist of techniques like crackle, or metallic and patina finishes which are used on small items like picture frames or vases etc… Marbleizing is the art of replicating marble on surfaces , while Wood Graining is the art of replicating various woods on any surface of choice.

Wood Graining Basics

Wood graining requires the use of a “glaze”. Glaze (in the world of faux finishing) is a translucent paint base that can be tinted to a desired color needed for the faux finish. A good faux finish glaze will have the ability to hold a pattern without creating a noticeable texture (such as a texture paint would), and be translucent allowing the various layers of glaze to interact with each other. A favorite glaze of mine is Modern Masters Tintable Glaze.

Start with a base coat

A “base coat” is a solid colored background upon which the wood graining technique will be applied. Base coats are usually various shades of “buff” ranging from gold buffs to warmer orange buff colors, other base coat colors are variations of red or coral for Mahogany to light shades of cream for Maple and other light woods.

The key to good graining is to do it in layers

A common method of wood graining is to put down a first “background” layer consisting of wood pores or cell structure over which a second primary grain layer is applied.

The background layer

There are a lot of different variations of background grain that the wood grainer employs depending on the wood he is trying to replicate. One common background graining method is known as “flogging” , which is done by lightly patting the wood graining glaze with the flat edge of the bristles of a Flogger brush. It is not absolutely necessary to use a special Flogger brush (although they do a better job), you can substitute a standard paint brush for flogging. More about flogging a background grain can be found at: http://www.paintinganddecoratingconcourse.com/articles/woodgraining-flogging.html

The primary grain

Once the background layer has dried thoroughly, you can lay down the primary grain. Common tools used to put down the primary grain are the “rockers” or wood graining tools that you see at many paint or hardware stores. Other tools are wood graining pads and wood graining rollers, both of which are commercially available – but harder to find than the standard rocker.

Liner brushes and dragging brushes

Individual grain lines can be drawn on with the skillful use of lining brushes or can be created “negatively” by dragging through the glaze with special wood graining brushes. Common “chip” brushes can serve as a suitable substitute for expensive wood graining brushes in most situations.

With a little practice, wood graining can and should look like real wood, both up close and at a distance. Practice the wood graining techniques on artist illustration board until the techniques are mastered and then move on to small projects at first, advancing on to larger items such as doors and trim as your experience and skill level improve.

Painted stripes are a popular faux finish used in a variety of interior settings. Stripes are versatile and range in size from pinstripes to wide 6″ or larger stripes. Soft almost mono tone stripes have a classy look to them as does a shimmer stripe done with varnish or paints of different sheens.

Laying out your stripes

You stripe a room in the same way that you would hang wallpaper. Start in an inconspicuous corner and work your way around the room from that point. Your starting point will be your finishing point after you circle your way around the room.

Size of stripes

A simple way to stripe is to do so in standard masking tape widths. I often do 2″ stripes, which is a standard masking tape width.

Number of colors

You can do your stripes in two, three or more colors, but if you are new to the striping technique I would recommend just two colors.

Two color striping is done by first painting the walls in total in one of your stripe colors and then masking off and painting to obtain the second stripe. In practical terms if you are painting 2″ stripes, you would paint your room in the first stripe color, then apply masking tape at 2″ intervals (a word on how to mask straight lines – see below) throughout the whole room. Once the masking tape is in place you paint the walls again with the second stripe color. When each section or wall is done, remove the masking tape to reveal your two color striping.

Masking tape

You must use easy release blue tape for your stripes. A good tape for striping is 3M’s #2080 blue tape which is a smooth , easy release tape which will make it possible to get clean lines with a minimum of bleeding under the tape. Rub down the edge of the tape to ensure a good tight bond which the paint won’t bleed under. When pulling the tape off , pull gently at a 45 degree angle from the surface.

How to lay down straight stripes

The best way – or perhaps I should say the easiest way is to use a laser level. Center the level, level it properly, line your tape up with the vertical laser line working your way down the wall moving the laser level as you work your way around the room..

Not everyone has a laser level, for those who don’t, a 4′ bubble type level works fine. If you use a standard bubble level you will need to put pencil marks on the wall to line up the tape. Keep the pencil marks light and don’t cover them with the tape as you lay the tape down. Remember if the marks show when the tape is down, they will be painted over. If the marks don’t show (because the tape is covering the lines) then you will not be painting over the marks and they will show when you remove the tape.

Reasonable expectations

With striping you can get some ridging at the tape edge especially if you put on a heavy coat of paint or apply multiple coats for your stripes. When it comes time to repaint down the road, you will probably need to do some sanding or skim coating with spackle to smooth out any paint ridge lines so that they don’t show through the next coat of paint. Like wallpaper removal, some faux finishes may require some extra surface preparation when it comes time to recoat.

Seasonal redecorating isn’t a new concept by any means, so it is really no surprise that many families choose to do things like repaint and redecorate at the commencement of a new season. Sometimes this is done out of necessity like making the redecorating transition from winter to spring since the weather is significantly different and people may want to soften up the warm cozy winter décor to match the light airy feel of the new season or to let some of the indoor warmth out and some of the outdoor coolness in. Perhaps one of the easiest ways to change the décor in your home is with a fresh coat of paint and a few different accessories and furnishings. So here are some cool tips that you may find useful when decorating and painting your home for the transition to warmer seasons.

A great way to add a bit of spring and summer in your home is with decorative painting. Decorative painting is a technique used in painting in which sponging, stenciling/stamping, and ragging patterns are created on walls, under your base coat. These different techniques really allow you to brighten up a plain or dull room, and the best part is that it is extraordinarily cheap and easy to do.

Sponging works particularly well with a base coat of paint since the distribution of paint on your wall surface is very sporadic and a tad rough looking which serves to give your walls texture or the appearance of texture, and a base coat between the sponge marks enhances the idea of texture and depth to the surface. This is a great idea if you have a dark base coat since all you will need to do is dab a lighter shade of your existing colour on the walls, and of course, you do it to your heart’s content and until you are satisfied with the effect.

For a more patterned and creative design many people opt for the stamping or stenciling technique. Stenciling and stamping give a regulated design that looks like wallpaper over the base coat. The great thing about this technique is that your pattern or design can match the décor you are going for simply by choosing a pattern that is along the lines of your desired season. You don’t have to be Picasso or some artistic genius since the stamps and the stencils already carry the pattern, you just have to apply them to your walls in a manner that you like!

Whenever you think of making that painting and redecorating seasonal transition, especially when the transition is from winter to spring and summer transition you automatically think about bright, vivid, lively colors. So it really goes without saying that when rerecording and repainting, think bright and airy and choose your colours as such. Colours like pastel blues, greens and yellows are great summery colours and they do wonders to brighten up your room and invite that natural freshness into your home!