Faux paint techniques are a cool way to make something look like something it’s not. You can make simple drywall look like it’s stone or stucco, or as if there are leaves embedded in it, and so on. But, faux painting isn’t just artsy and decorative. No, it can also be used to hide all sorts of imperfections and is an easy out for people like me who don’t want to be bothered with filling, sanding, mudding and re-taping or any other unpleasant, repair related tasks. [click to continue…]
Painting
Back when we first purchased our house, one of my first projects was to strip several decades of paint from a door. I did what most people unfortunately do in that situation, I went to my local big box store and bought a can of typical methylene chloride paint stripper. I observed what I thought were proper precautions: long sleeves, thick gloves, eye protection and a respirator. I kinda admit it seemed like overkill at the time, until I noticed some pain on my arm. That pain turned out to be my burning flesh. It seems a drop of stripper snuck past my long leaves and decided my skin was just as suitable to dissolve as old paint. That was the last time I used methylene chloride, and I vowed to find a slightly less flesh-consuming option in the future.
We were recently sent the VersaSpin 360 for a follow-up review and I was the lucky recipient of this Lazy Susan-esque tool. In our first review of the VersaSpin finishing turntable, Marc discovered that the VersaSpin was great for painting all sides of an object and sharing a Chinese food feast with everyone at the table. The only downside was that the VersaSpin could only hold 100 pounds, which would probably heave under my usual Chinese food order (especially if Ginger Beef was in play). What’s great is that the VersaSpin 360 now handles 200 lbs, enough to cover anyone’s Kung Pao Chicken addiction (oh, and a number of chores around the home). [click to continue…]
When it comes to painting, staining or finishing, efficiency is your friend. Unless of course you happen to find the tedious hell of painting enjoyable. If you’re one of those people that just loves to paint and you can’t get enough of it: a) can you be my friend? b) are you free this weekend? and c) you can probably ignore this review of the new and improved Painter’s Pyramid. For the rest of us that prefer to get painting projects wrapped up asap, read on! [click to continue…]
My favourite HGTV personality, Sarah Richardson, has an unofficial motto: Sample Everything. (Coincidently, that’s also my motto when I go to a buffet.) What the talented Richardson means is that you should test your colours (paints, fabrics, tiles) in the actual room you intend to use them in before going whole hog because a colour can look completely different based on the various lighting conditions in the room. After all, what may look like a lovely pistachio and hazelnut in the store, might appear more like puke green and poop brown in your home (tip: if a colour can be compared to a body excrement, it’s not a shade you want on your walls) – and you really don’t want to discover that after you’ve painted an entire room, especially if you hate painting as much as I do. That’s when handy sample-size paints come into play. [click to continue…]
