While every renovation and new build is different, one thing you can count on being the same is that painting will be involved! This can be a (relatively) quick and inexpensive way to revamp an old space or add life to your home. Interior Designers love using paint to enhance a space, add personality or create a certain type of feeling in a home.
PSYCHOLOGY OF COLOUR
The below graphic is a great starting point for what colours can do for your home. But remember that none of these are hard and fast rules. For example, if you hate the colour yellow, it won’t matter that it is “supposed” to make you feel happy and optimistic. Trust your gut on these choices… but also don’t be afraid to take risks. And always consider the 5th wall – the ceiling!
PREP WORK AND TIMELINES
While it may seem that an entire floor can be painted in a matter of hours or a day, that certainly isn’t the case if you are looking for a good quality job. One of the most time consuming and important aspects of painting is the prep work involved. Painters need to take the time to properly patch and sand any dings or divets in the wall and trim – sometimes more than once. Then they tape out the room and provide adequate coverage to surrounding areas to eliminate any splatter or cast off. A good prep job can make all the difference in the end result so be patient and let your painter take their time at this stage.
After applying primer, a good painter will go through and look for any areas that need extra attention or repair before moving into the first coat. Sometimes a special primer will need to be applied due to smoke that has absorbed into the walls or marks such as sharpie drawings (darn kids!)
They will also fill in any gaps to applied mouldings and trim to ensure a seamless finish.
After the paint has made it onto your walls, it needs time to dry in between coats. The number of coats you will need will depend on a number of factors such as the colour you are using (darker and more vibrant colours need more coats), the type of paint you are using (oil or water based), and the type of wall material you are applying paint to. If you are planning on wallpapering after paint, the paint will need to cure for at least two weeks before applying wallpaper.
Another often overlooked element of wrapping up the painting process is returning outlet and lightswitch covers. While client’s may expect for the painters to return the outlet covers after painting, the paint needs time to cure prior to doing so or it could chip off all that hard work! It is best to wait it out and apply those covers at a later date.
PAINTING FURNITURE AND CABINETS
The same cost effectiveness of paint applies to outdated furniture and cabinets as well. Painting these items can make a world of a difference and we often will take client’s existing furniture and cabinets and paint them to give them an update. In the case of antiquing your kitchen cabinets like in this photo, the timelines increase. This is because in addition to the painting, there is also the antiquing process. In this case, the antiquing step needed 3 coats and 16 hours to dry in between each coat. Add on the prep work of sanding and siliconing to the base paint and you can see why this takes longer than you would think!
It can be a similar story with furniture as well. The more detailed and intricate a piece of furniture is, the longer it will take and the more expensive it will be to paint. Painters will often need to sand down, prime and then add multiple coats to finish a project. Make sure if choosing to paint furniture that you choose good quality pieces that you love. Investing in those quality pieces will pay off in the long run.
NEXT WEEK
Next week we are discussing another high impact game changer in home design – cabinet installation! We only have a few more weeks left in our What To Expect Series so if you have a question about an element of design you want us to cover, email francesca@amrdesign.ca and we will do our best to fit it in!
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