Does Trim Need Special Paint?

Do you really have to have special trim paint?

We can give you a firm "It depends" for your answer.

Trim may need a different formulation from your regular paint simply because it receives different kinds of wear. The doorjamb, window casements, and so forth are likely to be touched more than the center of a wall, and likely also to be cleaned more. This means that these areas are likely to need something  tougher than the fashion colour paint you use on the main parts of the painting job.

The trim may also be made of a different material. If you have wallboard or plaster walls but wooden accents, you'll need different paints simply because the materials are different. In workplaces, you're likely to need special industrial wallcoverings for pipes and metal elements that may be treated as trim. 

Trim may also be used for a particular look. Matte or softly textured walls can be smartened up by glossy enamel-look trim on architectural details. The paint, in this case, will need to have a different formulation in order to produce the different appearance you want.

So the answer is usually yes, you need a different paint for the trim. If for some reason your trim is identical to the rest of the wall and you don't want a different look and it isn't likely to receive different treatment or wear from the rest of the walls, though, you won't need special trim paint.

Should You Paint Your Own Home?

Should you do your own painting or have it done by a professional? Here are some questions to ask yourself when you're trying to decide:

• How much do you care about the final result? An experienced, trained professional will do a better job than someone who has just done a few painting jobs. At Courtney & Wise, we've been painting for two generations, we're Master Painters, and we've painted just about every kind of building you can imagine. Common sense tells you that our results will be better. 
• How much is your time worth? Not only will a trade painter get a smarter finish, he or she will also get it done in less time. Don't compare the hourly wage of the painter with your own hourly wage -- compare it with twice your hourly wage, because it'll take you longer to get the job done. 
• Is this your idea of fun? If you enjoy painting and find it a satisfying creative expression (we do!), then it may be a good use of your time. You may be quite happy to spend your leisure time painting your house, and you might enjoy getting all the family together for a good old painting session. If not, your time might be better spent with your kids, in the garden, or doing something else you find more enjoyable.
• Do you have the tools? Sometimes homeowners compare the cost of some paint with the cost of having painters in and conclude that they'll save a good bit by doing it themselves. You'll need to include the cost of paint pans, drop cloths, brushes, rollers, ladders, scaffolding, and all the rest of the tools needed. If you paint frequently, it might make sense. For one painting job, though, the initial outlay can be considerable. Trying to manage without the right tools -- well, look back at the question on how much you care about your results. 
• Do you have the skills? If this is your first painting job, give yourself some extra time and paint for the on-the-job training you'll need. 
• Do you have the stamina? Homeowners are often surprised by how much effort housepainting requires. Exterior painting especially can be very physically demanding, and most people can't keep up the kind of work schedule professional painters are used to (look back at the questions about time). Painting your house can also be dangerous; trade painters are safety conscious and trained to protect themselves. We also have full insurance in case of injuries or accidents, which you may not have.

Australian paint sales used to be about 55% to people painting their own homes, but that number has fallen to 44% in recent years as householders realize that there are good reasons to choose a professional painter. 

How Much Paint Will I Need?

When you have a professional painter (in Sydney, Mosman, Cremorne and environs, call Courtney & Wise), you don't have to worry about how much paint to buy. If you're doing it yourself, though, it's better to start off with the right amount. Even if you're able to match your colour exactly when you go back for more, you don't want to have to wait for the shops to open or to have to leave in the middle of the job.

Calculating the amount of paint you'll need first requires you to figure up the area of all the wall surfaces you're going to paint. If it's a plain, flat, rectangular wall, you can multiply the width times the height. Calculate the area for each surface you'll paint and add all those numbers together. Subtract about 2 metres for each door and 1.5 metres for each window.

If you're painting a stairwell or another triangular wall, figure the area in the same way and then divide the resulting number by 2.

If you plan to use a second colour to pick out the trim or other architectural details, calculate the area of that section separately.

Next question: how much surface will your particular paint cover? It should say on the label. 15 metres per litre is a typical amount of coverage. However, there are other factors that can affect coverage. An unpainted wall, for example, will absorb more paint than one that has been painted before. Add on about 20% to the estimate for the first coat for a wall like this. Do the same for an extremely weathered wall. If you're painting lap siding, multiply your measurements by 1.5 to get a more accurate idea.

Take your total area, then, and divide it by the number of metres per litre your paint will cover. This will give you the number of litres you need.

You can use a paint calculator  to speed up the math once you've got your measurements and the coverage figured out.

Lime Washing

Lime washing is a special effect style of painting similar to whitewashing. The mineral crystals bloom through the colour and give a unique luminous finish, while the subtle variations in colour lend any wall an instant vintage look.

Lime washing can be done in any colour, but this year the brights are favoured. Lime washed walls have an intrinsic softness to them which can make bright colours more appealing to people who don't want as bold an effect as a flat or glossy paint would give.

Outdoor living spaces, porches, sun rooms, and kitchens are particularly charming with lime washed walls and ceilings, but you can certainly have your entire home done in this style. It's pretty on floorboards, too.

Lime washing requires some specialized skill for success. Contact Courtney & Wise in Sydney, Manly, and other towns in the Northern Beaches area, or your local painters and decorators.

Interior Wallcoverings: Is Paint All There Is?

Paint may be enough. Paint, after all, comes in myriad formulas and colourations. It comes in many textures, from softly gleaming to rough and sparkly, with looks like glass and suede in between. It brings style and verve to any room with very little investment -- and what you do invest comes back to you in the form of an increase in your home's value which is a higher percentage of your outlay than any other home improvement project.

Paint can lower your energy bills, reduce bacteria in your home or workplace, protect you and your property, and soon it may make things invisible. An invisible home may not actually be on your list of must-haves, but it just goes to show the range and versatility of paint. You'd think that would be enough.

If it's not, there are more options. Wallpaper, of course, is now enjoying a renaissance among designers. Anaglypta, custom papers, and wallpapers of bamboo and silk are readily available alongside the more traditional choices. Natural wood panelling with or without stain, faux stone and brick panels, and even natural stone veneer can give your walls a distinctive look.

And now you can also cover your walls with cotton. Not just cotton fabric -- that's been around for centuries -- but an actual new wallcovering substance produced from cotton fibers. Australian company Belka produces it in NSW. The substance is spread on with a trowel and is eco-friendly and VOC free. Makers of the product say that it handles moisture well and absorbs sound, making it a good choice for bathrooms and playrooms. It'll go on over brick and other uneven surfaces and even over glass with a special primer.

True, it looks a bit like dryer lint. Fortunately, you can paint over it.

Murobond's Tender is the Night

There is nothing shy about Murobond's Tender is the Night, a new palette for 2011. Three bright shades of chalkboard paint mixed with yellow greens, brilliant yellows, and warm orange reds from a woody Rorshach to a flowery Nastursium make this group of colours perfect for a trendy and attention-grabbing decorating scheme.

Imagine a playroom with Tendril green walls and a Dragonfly chalkboard wall, with built in cabinets painted with Yellow Monday and Nastursium. This would be a stimulating room.

Or an office or studio with Cicada chalkboard paint complemented by Geranium on other walls, perhaps with Tendril and Rorshach trim. There'd be no mistaking the creativity and individuality of such a room.

The furnishings could step back and let these colours take center stage, as in a living room with Rosa Ragosa walls and furnishings entirely of white canvas and blond wood. On the other hand, a print like Amy Butler's Lotus Star, shown below, could establish the look and let the wall colours support and intensify the print.

Murobond's Merchants and Travelers

Murobond's Merchants and Travelers palette is perfect for offices and workspaces. Imagine walls in Archer and Riverkeeper with the architectural details picked out in Bookbinder. Petternmaker and Ship Chandler, available in both chalkboard and regular paints, add extra functionality to the look, while Stoncutter, in Aqua Glaze and Pearl formulations, can give distinction to hallways and reception areas.

The overall effect is serene and modern.

Can this palette work for the home as well? By all means. Archer, Bookbinder, and Chimney Sweep together will create a natural look suited to both city and country, while Archer and Riverkeeper together can look peaceful and romantic.

Much of the effect depends on the furnishings you choose. Pair these natural colours with natural textures and materials like linen and rattan, and you have a very modern, green look. With rose and pink soft furnishings and yellow pottery, you can achieve a very traditional style. Chrome and leather bring out the neutral beauty of the shades and can create a masculine den or bedroom.

The variety of formulations and finishes in this palette give a wonderful range of options. From workroom to kitchen to playroom to studio, this collection will have the paint that is practical as well as pleasing.

Murobond's Travelers and Magicians

Travelers and Magicians is a fun name, and it's a fun palette, too, one of the Murobond's new looks for Fall 2011.


Brilliant tones of teal, fuschia, and turquoise mix it up with warm neutrals and deep jewel colours bringing rubies and emeralds to mind. Using all of these colours together will give you a luxurious, romantic look that might be too stimulating for many of us.

Think of dividing them among the rooms of your home or workplace, though, and you'll have a space that is exciting, certainly, but also well coordinated.

Set the tone in your entryway or lobby with one of the deeper colours: Oasis, Nomad, or Amulet. Bring in the neutral Moustache brown or Desert gold for contrast.

Bathrooms and bedrooms can take the lusher shades of Attar of Rose, Ikat, and Caravanserai. Mix them for a pretty jewel box of a room, or carry the neutral tones along to pull the look together.

A kitchen or break room in Samarkand or Aral Sea will feel calm yet cheerful. Adding Desert gives a nod to the traditional blue and yellow kitchen without any sense of predictability.

Aral Sea and Amulet are both good choices for offices, as well, if there's plenty of glass or window space. If not, all dark walls might begin to feel oppressive. Custom mix a lighter shade of one of these colours, if that's a concern.

Desert and Moustache together can give an all-business air to a conference room, but Oasis and Nomad will create a look that's both traditional and creative.

At home, Samarkand and Ikat are nice for children's rooms. Add very pale shades custom mixed of the same colours for a fresh look.

Custom mixing colours can add practicality and versatility to a palette you love. Courtney & Wise, Sydney Master Painters, can assist you with your painting needs in Sydney and the Northern Beaches.
Your local professional painters and decorators can do the same if you're out of our service area.

Murobond's Objet Trouvé

Murobond's Objet Trouvé offers a fresh, romantic air well suited to bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens. Both Treasured and Vintage are available in glossy special finishes that tone with the matching regular formulations: Pre Loved and Tattered respectively.

Individually, these shades are soft, muted versions of favourite colours. In combination, they suggest a complete effect of self-assured, even sophisticated romanticism that works well with chintz, wicker, iron bedsteads and lace curtains. The cottage feel calls to mind a family coming in from walking on the beach, a naturally pretty woman with a mind of her own, or a long-married couple enjoying the relaxed togetherness that comes from a full life lived together. Creating a home with many colours from this palette is like setting a stage for stories like this.

But you don't have to use all of a palette, or even go along with the feeling. By the Yard, available in both chalkboard and all-purpose formulations, may be the perfect neutral biscuit shade for your home or office. While it can be touched with Rosette for a soft and sophisticated combination, you can also use it with a clear white for a completely different effect.

Equally, Grosgrain can be the bright pink for a little girl's bedroom, serving as a background for paler pink furnishings with no claim to sophistication. Tattered and Threadbare are a favorite combination now, trendy a few years ago but now settled into nearly a classic pairing.

Enjoy colours together in a palette, and consider using them together, but look at the individual shades as well. You might find just the shade you've been wanting. When you do, don't hesitate to pull it away from the colours its designers had in mind. It can look quite different on its own.

Murobond North by Northwest

Most of the trendy colours this year are spicy, complex, and acidic. Yellow greens, pinks veering toward orange, old golds and flesh tones dominate the magazine articles and design shows.

Not your style? Then you'll like the fresh, clean look of Murobond's North by Northwest palette.

This is not a retro look. Ulysses and Buccaneer are warm, spicy pinks and the neutrals are also warm. But put them with the deep, deep blues of Atlas, Seafarer, and Oceania, and they have nothing of the decadent luxury they suggest in some of this year's palettes.

Fairweather or Staysail as a main wall colour with accents of Figure of Eight or Atlas will provide a very traditional look for a living room without any old fashioned overtones. Ulysses with Anchor creates a rich look for a dining room, office lobby, or waiting room. Buccaneer and Fairweather are charming colours for bedrooms or baths.

In any combination, the colours of this palette give a clean, bracing feeling. Mix them up for a coordinated yet lively effect throughout your home or workplace.

Murobond Atelier Palette

One of Murobond's new colour palettes for 2011 is "Atelier," a mix of complex warm colours and sophisticated neutrals. You'll immediately see its appeal for bedrooms and living rooms, but we think you could use these colours throughout your home.

Miel, which means "honey" in French, is a lovely warm golden tone which would be right at home in a kitchen. Add Gitan or Taboret for a neutral shade and you'll have a peaceful yet sophisticated look. Carry these colours on into the dining room and accent them with Montmarte for a luxurious feeling.

Or consider Salone 1887 or Ukiyo-e for a bath. Apart from the gold and orange tones of the palette, they'll give you a very traditional and pretty deep pink. Add Natura Morta for a feminine effect or Absinthe and Chinoiserie for an edgier, less traditional look.

Any of the neutrals will perk up an office space, and Tanguy or Miel -- or both at once -- can add spice without looking frivolous. We like Tanguy with Taboret for a professional look with just that bit of energizing warmth.

While teens will like these shades, we would recommend a custom mixture for a nursery in an all-Atelier house. Certainly, you could just go with pink or blue if the rest of your home is decorated in these lovely shades, but it's always better to have colours throughout your living space that work together. As you move from one room to the next and your eye sees vistas of harmonizing shades just ahead, you feel more at ease and more drawn to the house than if the rooms are not coordinated.

So a pale, softened version of Ukiyo-e or Montmarte will be a pretty nursery or child's room, while variants on Miel or Tanguy will be great for a young boy's bedroom or playroom. Consult a professional color consultant or your professional painter for guidance.

Have You Seen Our Website?

Only one in three Australian businesses has a website, so you might not have thought about visiting the Courtney & Wise home on the web, but you should.

Certainly, if you live in Sydney, Mosman, or anywhere near the North Shore and Northern Beaches, you can visit us to learn about our painting and decorating services. We hope you will. However, there's more at our website.

Check out our Tips for Comparing Quotes no matter where you live to make sure you know how to get the best value on your next painting job. Look at our Partners page to find your way to websites with lots of information on paint and painting. You might also enjoy reading about our Mosman award and Manly/Fairlight Award projects -- they have some interesting details about interesting painting projects.

Our main site is at www.CourtneyandWise.com.au. We hope to see you there.

Magnetic Paint

Magnetic paint is a bit harder to find than chalkboard paint, but it's just as fun and more versatile. It's a special paint that, when painted onto your wall, makes the wall magnetic.

Magnetic paint isn't strongly magnetic; metal objects won't necessarily stick to it well enough not to fall off the wall. However, magnets will. You can make any surface into a message board.

Magnetic paint can be used as a primer under other paints. In the picture above, you can see it under chalkboard paint for a perfect message center. We think the great thing is that you can use any colour over it, so you don't have to limit it to walls where looks won't count. Your child's pretty pink room or your sunny kitchen can have a magnetic wall without spoiling your decorating plans.

Prepare your surface well, and consider using an ordinary primer under the magnetic primer. You may, in this way, be able to use less of the expensive magnetic primer. Be sure to use a thick nap roller to apply the magnetic paint. Mix the magnetic paint very well; you'll find that it's a bit difficult.

Let the magnetic paint dry completely before you paint over it with your decorating colour.

Blackboard Paint

Chalkboard paint is a special type of paint that can be painted right onto your walls like any other paint. Once you've got the walls painted with chalkboard paint, your walls will be blackboards and you can write on them with chalk and erase them just like the boards at school.

You must prepare and prime the wall  in the usual way. Use a foam roller for smooth coverage, but realize that chalkboard paint is a bit harder to work with than ordinary interior wall paints and give yourself some extra time if you're trying this as a DIY project.

What can you do with chalkboard paint?

• Make a chalkboard wall for your children's room or playroom. Add a bucket or bin of chalk and some erasers, and plan to wash the wall every couple of months to keep it from getting cloudy. Redo the paint once a year to keep it working well. 
• Chalkboard walls in an office or workroom can encourager creativity and come in handy for meetings.
• Make a chalkboard in your kitchen or laundry room. Paint the front of a cabinet, a small section of wall, or even just a board which you then hang on the wall. If you're planning to paint part of a wall, you'll need to give some serious thought to how you'll make it mesh with your overall decorating scheme. However, a chalkboard wall in an adult space may not need as much upkeep, since it is likely to get less use.
• Cut shapes from plywood or foam core and paint them to serve as special chalkboards. Animal shapes in a child's room, abstract shapes in an entry way, or a flower outline in the bath or bedroom can make a charming effect.

Chalkboard paint is a lot of fun, but it's not quite as functional as a real chalkboard. Good quality chalk works better than the cheapest brand on chalkboard walls, and art chalks are especially satisfying.

Murobond, one of the companies which provides paints for Sydney painters Courtney & Wise, produces chalkboard paints in a wonderful variety of colours.Call Courtney & Wise at 9958 1099 to discuss your project.