Two Rooms With a View

This room was so open and had so much natural light that adding color to all the walls was a great way to pull it all together. The customer even opted to have an accent wall in a darker blue to accentuate the sky blue they had chosen for the walls. They chose Benjamin Moore colors 450-3 Heavenly Blue (the lighter blue) and 450-7 Star Spangled (the darker color) to add to this rooms appeal.  They have a great view of the outdoors and wanted to bring that view in.  It took 3 coats of the lighter blue & 5 of the dark.  We knew the dark would require more, but were surprised by the lighter blue, but sometimes that happens especially when painting over flat white paint. The walls act as if they have been out in the desert and they suck up the paint, quenching their thirst!  The end result was very calming.  The way a sanquary should be.  What a wonderful place to retreat to after a long day!

The green room was the same scenario, just a bit smaller. Both rooms had adjoining bathrooms and were painted to coordinate with each room.  Again, Benjamin Moore Paints were used; 404-4 Catnip (lighter green) and 404-7 Billiard Green (darker color).  There were a lot of trees outside of this room, and the color worked wonderfully to pull in that aspect. 

Pizza Pie!

Bob and Anita just purchased a condo in a renovated warehouse downtown. We were so excited to see it because we had often wondered what they looked like when we drove past them on the highway.  The factory use to produce parts for cars, it fell into disarray back in the 50's and was total abandoned after that for a couple centuries. 

 Recently a developer had come in and redid the many buildings into Franklin Square, turning them into wonderful offices and living spaces.  A lot of the original brick was left, inside and out. Which is beautiful but left us with an interesting problem in Bob and Anita's place.

They wanted to go bold! They wanted an accent wall with complimentary colors! Which is fantastic because we love color, the problem was the carpets, which they weren't ready to rip up yet, were mauve. The brick was exposed on one huge wall, with windows trimmed out in hunter green trim.  They were also redoing the trim, from vinyl white to a warm wood, so we had a lot of elements to work with in choosing a color!

Plus, they had wonderfully eclectic furniture pieces that had to work with the walls.  They were so open to our advice, and really were willing to work with the choices we suggested it was a great experience.  After much deliberation and color swatches all over the room we finally settled on a 3 color, color scheme, Pizza Pie for the accent walls, Mesa Pink for the inner walls, and Cameo Peach for the center beam, soffits & small bathroom off the kitchen.  Then the one wall in the hallway, that you can see from the living room was painted in Pizza Pie as well , just for a little drama!

Bob wasn't sure he would be happy with all the pink tones, but being the good husband said,  "If she's happy, I'm happy!"  The good news is Bob was extremely happy with the end result.  So happy in fact they decided to get the whole upstairs done in some bold fabulous colors as well, but that for our next entry!

Cutting in with two very distinct colors can be a challenge.  It takes a very steady hand.  Most contractors use tape but we pride ourselves on the fact that we don't.  Using a 1" brush, and in some instances a "paint by numbers" brush we get a clean crisp cut in. I'm not saying that we don't use tape sometimes, for example if we're making stripes, or there isn't a clear cut in the architecture, but for the most part it's talent.  Getting a sharp line, whether cutting into trim, ceiling, or corner, is what separates the true painters from the rest.

Wallpaper? It's making a comeback!

After we left the Octagon House we started a project in Fayetteville, and yes, it was wallpapering! Even funnier, we had to use the same wheat paste/sugar combo we used in the Octagon House as adhesive.  We laugh, because we really thought once we left the Octagon House we would be putting this recipe into a file, but wallpaper is making a comeback, especially historically replicated paper.  Today, because of the economy, more people are opting to stay in their homes, and redoing them, then purchasing a new one. That said, people are searching for authentic ways to bring back the glory of their aging homes.  Faux finishes, trompe l'oeil, and historically replicated paper are all helping to make homes, well, look older!

Historically replicated paper is beautiful! The patterns are amazing, but you need to be much more delicate in the hanging process then you would be in adhering vinyl papers. The paper we used in Fayetteville was ordered from British Columbia, and had a wonderful backing, which made hanging it, so much easier then other papers in this category. but at $150 dollars a roll, it should be!

We stripped the old paper, filled any holes, and/or dings, then applied a clear coat sealer.  The sealer is fantastic.  Its better then your general oil primer, because it fills in any small cracks or crevices, creating a solid smooth service for the paper to adhere to.
Once the wall was prepped, we created the paste, and started the hanging process.  The end result was brilliant, and the home owner was extremely pleased.

We also did a faux finish on her fireplace, to clean the brick up. Suet and Lyme deposits had formed over the years, and the homeowner missed the "clan brick" look.  The Lyme deposits continuously return (in small increments), so we left some "faux" Lyme deposits, so that when the actual Lyme returns, it will look as if it were supposed to be there.  We mixed several colors to come up with the brick and grout color, matching the original brick facing flawlessly.

Time Marches On

Finally, we are done with the Octagon House in Camillus.  It was labor intensive, complicated work, yet it was a huge learning experience for us, which is always a positive thing.  We learned the "Do's & Don'ts" of wallpapering with scanned, historically replicated paper, we created our own wheat paste, and we discovered just how flexible Maggie is! But after 2 1/2 long months we are at the end of this journey here in Camillus.

 The YellowBook came out this week (look for our ad in the center of the phone book, its a whole new design) and we have been getting constant calls, lots of estimates to go on, and new people to meet! So, we bid farewell to the Octagon house, and move onto our next job; Murals (Thomas The Tank Engine & Gerber Daisy's) Can't wait to post pictures of that!  This is why we love this job it's always a new and interesting project!

Still Plugging Along

Yes, we are still at the Octagon House, but making tremendous progress.  Having to make our own wheat paste and using archival paper has slowed down the process a bit, it certainly isn't like putting up vinyl paper with modern day paste.  Maggie has done such a fantastic job at painstakingly measuring, trimming, cutting, pasting and laying the paper, that her patience blows me away. For anyone who knows Maggie, you know she is not a patient person.  She is a pistol, and moves very quickly to get a job done. She likes to have a dead line, and then work quickly (yet efficiently) to get it done BEFORE she reaches it, sort of a game she plays with herself, but it works very effectively for  our business, but this job, this job is different, it takes TIME and PATIENCE. Hmmmm! Perhaps God is trying to teach us something :)

We first have to measure the wall, and mark the lines.  Then we measure the piece of paper against the wall markings, then we cut the paper. Once it is measured out we move into the living room area, where are cutting table is set up, and cut the paper once again, this time more accurately.  When it is the correct size, we lay it out flat and paste it. We have tried a roller to distribute the paste, but have learned that the brush is a more effective tool  for this process.  It actually spreads the paste on more evenly. 

Once the whole piece is pasted you have to move quickly, because it doesn't have a lot of playing time, meaning it can dry out quickly.Getting it back onto the wall is the tricky part, especially when it is a long piece.  You need to be extremely careful that you do not bend it or brush it up against something.

Also, because there is no protective coating on the front, like vinyl wallpaper, you need to be extra gentle not to nick, or rub the color/dye off. Finally, once it is in place, you need to smooth it out with a dry rag (not wet, because again, it will rub off the color/dye) to get out all the air pockets. Maggie then, cuts off any excess paper along the bottom and then adds extra paste to the seems, ensuring that they will adhere correctly.

Few! That's just one piece, now she has about 25 more to go....Do you see what I mean about being patient. I must admit though that the end result is really beautiful. The formal dining room is now complete.  I've included a before and after picture, as well as, a close up of the beautiful paper that was chosen.I can't wait until she has to tackle the spiral staircase.  I might have to be sick that day ;)