Wildlife Painters or House Painters?

Courtney & Wise are house painters, but we sometimes have to deal with wildlife, and you might have to do the same if you try a little DIY or do some of your own preparation. How can you avoid problems with animals when you're painting?

• Look before you paint! We didn't expect to find this bloke in our way. 
•  Make some noise. This will usually convince the creatures to move on.
• Don't try to pet or pick up wild animals. Startled animals can bite or scratch out of fear, even though they'd rather run away.
• Clean thoroughly. For your health, and for the quality of your paint job, clean any areas where animals have been living. 

You might enjoy an encounter with a little animal like this one, or you might jump out of your skin. Either way, remember to snap a picture, as we did. Unexpected visitors can make a good story later!

Painting is Now the Most Popular Renovation

Recent global studies tell us that exterior painting is now the most popular renovation in the world.

It makes sense. First, in tough economic times it certainly makes sense to invest in the renovation that gives you the best return. Painting is one of the few renovations that pays you back. People who paint their homes can expect to get very nearly 100% of the costs back when they sell their homes. This is not the case for updating the kitchen, adding a swimming pool, or replacing the roof.

Second, exterior painting can have a real effect on your quality of life. Not only does it improve the look of your house, but the right paint can also reduce your utility bills. You won't see that from a new bathroom or upgrading the carpets.

Finally, a good quality paint, properly applied, protects your home from the elements. That means that other kinds of renovations and repairs may not be needed until far in the future.

The bottom line: painting your home pays for itself. If you're in Sydney or the Northern Beaches, call Courtney & Wise at 9958 1099 to schedule  your painting job.

Pollution Eating Paint?

We at Courtney & Wise  are very environmentally conscious, and we always use environmentally responsible materials and techniques. naturally, we were interested to hear about the project in Manila to clean the severely polluted air with a special paint. Called KNOxOUT, this paint uses special technology to capture chemicals that pollute the air.

We've seen before in this blog that many technologies, from nanoparticles of silver that create antibacterial surfaces to solar cells, have a place in paint technology. Paint can, in fact, serve as a delivery medium for an impressive range of solutions to problems.

These innovations may not be practical for everyone today, but we are encouraged by the prospects for paint in the future. It's gratifying to be part of something with so much potential for good.

Courtney & Wise Win Customer Service Award

Michael Peters, owner of Sydney painters Courtney & Wise, accepts the  Customer Service Award from the Master Painters Association.

Courtney & Wise have won MPA awards before for the excellence of their work, and adding the Customer Service Award is very satisfying. Customer service has been a priority for Courtney & Wise throughout the two generations they've spent serving the homes and businesses of Sydney, the North Shore, and the Northern Beaches. Dedication to making the painting and decorating experience an exceptional one for all customers is central to the Courtney & Wise business model.

The judges phrased it like this: "Courtney and Wise have in place a good example of the systems and procedures needed to ensure their commitment to excellence in customer service throughout the entire life cycle of their projects.”

Criteria used by the judges to choose the recipients of the award included "10 Key Service Activities" ranging from providing good information through customer contact by phone and in person, billing, response to any problems, and following up after the job is completed. "The Service Cycle of Business"  was also considered.

We at Courtney & Wise are proud of the award, and committed to continuing to uphold our tradition of excellence in customer service as well as the technical quality of our work.

Painting the Dining Room

Not every home today has a dining room proper. Often, the eating area is a nook in an open plan kitchen/great room or a bar in a kitchen.

If you have a dining room, take the opportunity to use a colour that you might not choose to look at day and night. Dining rooms can look warm and welcoming painted in bright or bold colours. Plum in a living room might feel overwhelming, but in a dining room, it can be very inviting.

Be sure to consider how your wall colours will work with furnishings and with your precious china or heirloom silver. In the dining room above, painted by Courtney & Wise in a Sydney suburb, yellow walls, white paint picking out the architectural details, and stained wood combine with the dark wood and rosy upholstery to make a pretty effect.

If your dining area is part of a larger room, or a casual space that lets onto a veranda, you might prefer a simpler colour scheme. The fresh white of walls and ceilings in this room never goes out of style, and it makes a good backdrop for art works.

Dining rooms often feature bay windows, French doors, and other interesting touches. If yours does, give some extra thought to trim. A contrasting colour for trim can be very fetching. Keeping the same colour family but using a different texture or finish is another idea: glossy trim against matte walls of the same colour is attractive yet understated.

Market research for restaurants has shown that warm colours like red, orange, and yellow increase appetites. Your dinner parties may be especially successful if you paint your dining room walls in these colours.

One Paint Colour or Many?

Choosing one colour for your painting project can be a challenge, let alone choosing a number of colours that will all work well together. It's enough to make you stick with biscuit throughout your home. Give some thought to the question, though: do you want a single colour or set of colours, or do you want to use different colours in each room? 

In this home, painted by Courtney & Wise in Cheltenham, a sunny yellow brightens the entryway, and you can see that it continues in the living room.

Both rooms have warm russet woodwork, and the continuation of the yellow walls creates a smooth transition.

The home theatre uses the same soft yellow with white gloss trim. Moving from the more public rooms to the bedrooms, though, we see a change from yellow to blue and white. Seeing a new colour through a doorway acts as a signal of change to a new part of the house.

The bedrooms are painted in different shades of white, very pale blue, and cream.

Throughout the home, the colours used are soft, traditional ones. White is used extensively for trim and the kitchen and utility areas are painted white. The overall effect is a consistent light, bright feeling.

The days when our homes were divided into The Blue Room and The Yellow Salon are past, but you can still use different colours to distinguish the different parts of the house, or to reflect the personalities of different people in your home. Just pay attention to the way the colours work together, and how they look as you move through your home.

Colours for Men

Does the name of a paint colour make a difference? Canadian paint company CIL tested the question, and you can see their results in the video here. Tip: the colours on the two sides of each sample? Identical.

What About Plants When You Paint?

You might think that the plants around your house shouldn't be an issue when you paint. They're outdoors, after all. You don't usually dust them or make special efforts to keep them clean. So perhaps you just go ahead and paint without considering the plants.

Not true. Remember, plants get energy from the sun through photosynthesis. The energy from the sun goes to the cells of the plant, which act like tiny solar panels, changing the electromagnetic energy of the sun into glucose, which is usable energy for the plants. Plants use this energy to grow, to heal damage to cells, and to perform all the other tasks that keep them alive.

Paint covers those cells and prevents them from gathering and transforming the sun's energy into fuel that keeps the plant alive. A drop of paint on one leaf won't kill your plant, but no amount of damage is necessary when you paint.

In the photo above, you can see how Sydney Painters Courtney & Wise prepare to paint near plants. Ladders and walking surfaces are carefully placed to avoid damage, and we cover the plants with protective drop cloths where they might be affected by drips of paint.

Your painters should do the same -- or you should do this yourself if you are your own painter.

Painting Gingerbread

This charming Sydney house has lots of nice "gingerbread" -- the carved trim that characterises Victorian architectural styles. Courtney & Wise painted this trim white to contrast with the warm stone and charcoal grey roof. The effect is like lace trimming, or frosting on a wedding cake, and that's just the look you want for gingerbread.

Contrast is the most important point about this type of trimming. Painting millwork like this to match your home causes it to lose its effect. It can be painted with several different colours picking out various elements of the design, but with this particular building, the style and setting are better suited to the more austere effect of all-white trim.

The upkeep on all white trim is also less demanding than a multicoloured paint job would be. The look is still ornate and impressive, but it's realistic for modern homeowners.

Before and After Painting

What a difference a good paint job can make! This pretty Shadforth Street house in Sydney had plenty of charm, but it had become shabby.

Paint lasts a long time if it's a good quality paint, applied correctly, but it doesn't last forever. This paint was showing a lot of wear.

Now, with a fresh coat of paint, it looks cleaner and more welcoming.

We took the opportunity to give it a more sophisticated colour scheme -- not a big change, but the new look, with slightly less contrast and brightness, suits the surroundings of the house better. 

The owners will enjoy their home more now, and feel proud of it again. Contact Courtney & Wise to

Painting Your Veranda

A veranda, big or small, adds charm to a house while also expanding the living space. Even quite a small veranda expands the living space significantly. You wouldn't think of sitting in a room as small as the space below, but once you're outdoors, it's a perfect place to enjoy the day, talk with friends, or read a good book.
 

These examples, all painted by Sydney Painters Courtney & Wise, show how clever use of colour can make a veranda stand out. The example above, an award-winning heritage paint job, uses glossy bottle green and soft butter yellow to create a beautiful space.

The example at the top of this post and the one below both use neutral colours with strong contrast to dramatic effect.

The photo below is just a reminder: the veranda needs to provide a good view from the inside, as well.

We Won!

Our new business page at Spoke won in the March Spoke-a-Thon.

Courtney & Wise widget provided by Spoke

We're one of the first Aussie businesses at Spoke!