Painting and Decorating

New Colours?

2012-01-31T13:07:00.000-08:00

Are there actually any new colours?

No. Colours, strictly speaking, are places on the unbroken continuum of light that we see in a rainbow. There aren't any new ones. Scientists have found that people can distinguish at least a million different colours, though we can name only the ones we have names for.

That is, we could have identified Tangerine Tango as "orange" or maybe "red orange," but until Pantone named it their Colour of the Year for 2012, most of us couldn't have distinguished this particular shade of orange as Tangerine Tango.

Pantone has more than 1,100 different names for colours -- many more than most of us would ever use, but still many fewer than our eyes are able to distinguish.

So what does it mean when we have "new" colours each season?

The last time Pantone chose orange for the colour of the year was in 2004, when Tigerlily was the queen of colours.

Chances are good that most of us, asked to pick between Tangerine Tango and Tiger Lily, would have a hard time. Even if we had a clear preference for one over the other, if we then went out looking for a lamp to match one shade or the other, we'd have a hard time picking the "right" shade with confidence.

So why do we even have new colours each season? It's actually something about the human brain. We get used to seeing one set of colours -- say, the warm pinks and greens of 2011 -- and when we see the deep blues and red-oranges of 2012 we find them much more exciting.

This is because our brains naturally quit responding to information we've seen before.They have to. We can't go around getting excited about the colour of the sky every moment that we see it, and equally excited about all the other sensations in the world. We wouldn't be able to concentrate at all if we did that. Our brains protect us by responding differently to new information than to old information.

New colours have been out of style for a while, or they're a bit different from the almost-identical version of the colour that was popular last year, so they look new to us. We may not like them at first, or we may be excited to see a colour we love but which hasn't been around recently. Either way, they get our full attention.

Warm Colours and Cool Colours

2012-01-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

What's the difference between a warm colour and a cool colour? The simplest answer is that all the colours between red and yellow are warm, while those from green to purple are cool.

Looking at warm colours like red, orange, and yellow causes your blood pressure to rise slightly. Additional glucose heads to your brain. It's physically exciting, at least according to some researchers.

Looking a blue or green makes you calm. Your blood pressure lowers. If you were feeling a little angry or upset, those feelings will dissipate. Your blood pressure goes down a bit.

Restaurants are often decorated in warm colours like red, orange, or burgundy. The idea is that you'll feel more excited and hungrier -- but also that you'll finish your meal more quickly and leave so the staff can get a new party in at your table and earn more for the night.

A bright, sunny room can make people feel happier and more awake. Creative work may go better in such a stimulating environment. However, yellow can also make people feel a bit irritable, so you don't want that colour in your conference rooms.

That's fine as far as it goes, but we sometimes talk about warm or cool shade of white or grey. We talk about warmer and cooler variants of red or blue. How does that work?

Think of yellow as the ultimate warm colour and blue as the ultimate cool colour. Any shade of white that has yellow undertones is warm, while a white with more blue tones is cool.

The blues are both cool colours, certainly, and the reds are both warm. But see how the shades on the left contain more blue and the ones on the right contain more yellow. That makes the shades on the right warmer. So teal and russet are warmer than aqua and berry.

Some seasons, even the neutral colours tend to be warmer and some seasons, they're cooler. That difference can affect how calming or exciting a room is. It can also make your room look newer, more up to date, and more sophisticated. When a shade is just a bit different from what our eyes have gotten used to, it can feel more stimulating.

Self-healing Paint

2012-01-24T14:37:00.000-08:00

There are few things as satisfying as surveying your newly painted home or office, whether it's the inside or the outside that's been painted. It's smooth, beautiful, pristine, and perfect.

That lasts until someone tosses a surfboard against the wall on the way in, or smacks a bike into it, or smashes against the corner while carrying in a new appliance.

Glossy finishes don't show smudges and scratches as much as matte ones do, but sooner or later, there'll be some damage. You can touch it up (or have professional painters do it for best results) or just live with it till time to change the colour.

All that may change some day. Since 2005, Japanese carmaker Nissan has used scratch-healing paint on its cars. Now they've figured out how to extend the technology to other items: specifically, to a cell phone case.

Can house paint be far behind?

Actually, there's no plan to make this technology into house paint... but it would be nice, wouldn't it?

When Is a Neutral Not a Neutral?

2012-01-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

This year,neutrals are big. We always like neutrals; the elegance and versatility make them perfect for many painting jobs.

But some neutrals aren't truly neutrals. One of the favorite shades this season is lilac. Not the stunning colour of the flowers above, but the shy colour from the very interior of the palest blossoms. The example below is "Peplum" from Dulux, but all of the paint companies are offering a version.

The great thing about working with a not-really-neutral colour like this year's lilac is that it's as elegant and versatile like an ordinary grey -- but a little bit more exciting. Without calling attention to itself, it gives your room a greater sophistication and drama.

Another example is "Amethyst" from Wattyl. It's in the purple family, just as "Peplum" is, but it comes off like black. Less stark, a little more luscious, but nothing about it shouts "purple."

We're seeing a lot of this type of colour this year, in shades from green and blue families as well. If you like neutrals, but you're ready for something just a little more dramatic, this is the way to go.

Competitive Paint Watching

2012-01-15T04:44:00.000-08:00

As Olympic Fever grips the UK, LocalTraders have organised a completely new competition: watching paint dry. It may not require a lot of physical skill, but it takes plenty of mental stamina to watch paint dry.

Watching paint dry has often been cited as the most boring activity in existence, so it will take lots of intense focus and zenlike concentration to keep it up longer than anyone else. As you train for the event, watching paint dry at your home or office, have someone get a snap of you showing your best form.

Click on the link above and upload your beaut photo. LocalTraders will pick the best paintwatchers and invite them to the finals in England, where they can strut their stuff in front of the media in a brutal competition for the World Champion at watching paint dry.

LocalTraders make the point that watching paint dry is a mental feat by including a couple of questions on the official entry form for the event. Entrants must tell the length of time they spent watching paint dry in order to get the snap, and must also describe their favourite paint colour -- and why it is their favourite.

The greatest challenge, though, may be getting some wet paint to watch. Let Courtney & Wise assist you with this if you're in Sydney or the Northern Beaches. We'll paint your home or office and give you a beautiful paint job to watch.

Solar Paint Update

2012-01-12T16:10:00.000-08:00

We've written before about solar paint: solar power cells in such tiny nanoparticles that they can be suspended in paint and brushed right onto your home. Right now, they're not very efficient and they're very expensive, but we're looking forward to the day when your housepaint can supply all the energy you need to run your lights.

This video gives you an update on where this exciting technology is right now.

Painting for Life Changes

2012-01-10T14:01:00.000-08:00

There are so many reasons to paint your home, ranging from wanting to sell it to simply needing to repaint because it has been many years since the last paint job. Surprisingly often, painting has to do with life changes.

The new nursery you're painting to welcome a new baby. The new, grownup bedroom for the newly grownup son or daughter. The home office that marks an exciting new chapter in your work life. The new color to make a positive statement about a divorce.

There's nothing wrong with recognising life's milestones with a new coat of paint -- indeed, it's one of the nicest ways to do it, and an economical way, too. The benefits outlast the most slap-up party you could ever have, and you'll enjoy them every day.

But let us share some tips for this kind of painting:

Think twice before doing something very different from what you usually choose. Something completely different can be a wonderful thing, but do you want to be stuck with a colour you chose just because it was your ex's least favourite colour? If turning 50 makes you want to paint your bedroom black -- or bright pink -- might that not be a temporary feeling? Let your paint choice be the second or third thought, not the first emotional reaction.
Consider all aspects of the job. Painting the nursery is a wonderful celebration of the new family member who's on the way, but make sure you go with no-VOC paints. Repainting the outside of your new home is a great way to make it yours, so be sure you've seen that new home in different seasons and different lighting to be sure you know exactly how you want it to look.
Enjoy it! Sure, you might find that the brilliant lemon-yellow you choose for Gran's room when she moves in with you actually gets on her nerves, but paint isn't permanent. You can change your mind. Don't be too cautious to get some pleasure from making that change.

Wattyl Colour Forecast 2012: Modern Sophisticate

2012-01-08T14:07:00.000-08:00

Wattyl's "Modern Sophisticate" palette is not quite a neutral palette, but it's neutral enough to use in the most conservative setting.

It's also colourful enough to make a statement. The soft blue of Gracieux paired with Dark Amethyst is offbeat enough to catch the eye, and to refresh it. The greyed biscuit tones will come off as neutral in an office, but they'll still add a fresh, contemporary feel.

We like these colours all together in a single home or office building, drawing the eye on from one room to the next. They also look well together in a single room, picking out the architectural details in a way that could seem aggressive with bolder, less harmonious colours.

Wattyl 2012 Colour Forecast: Coastal Calm

2012-01-05T15:57:00.000-08:00

Here at Courtney & Wise,we know all about Coastal Calm. We've been keeping homes beautiful on Sydney's Northern Beaches for two two generations. So we're naturally drawn to Wattyl's new "Coastal Calm" palette of sandy neutrals and marine blues. The range of blue shades includes several shades that are lovely apart and even more exciting together.

These colours may be perfect for beachfront homes, but they can also bring the peace and beauty of the ocean to city places.

One of the special things about a palette like this is that it can create completely different looks if used in different proportions. A room with its main walls done in Soothing Seas and Sateen Snow trim will be eye catching and dramatic, while Sateen Snow with Soothing Seas trim will have a more traditional feeling. Two shades of blue or two shades of sand give entirely different effects as well.

Instead of painting small boards in each shade you're thinking of using, paint one board with the proportions of the two you have in mind -- and paint another board with the proportions switched. Put them on opposite walls of the room and look at them in different lights during the day and evening to make up your mind.

Wattyl 2012 Colour Forecast: Pizzazz

2012-01-03T15:43:00.000-08:00

Wattyl has a fine selection of colours for 2012, beginning with this palette, called "Pizzazz." They've taken the red orange shades which are so popular this year and deepened them to ceate sophisticated, romantic colours that play well with deep greens and cool greys.

Choose the neutrals, or mix all the colours up in different ways throughout your home. We see these colours creating the perfect backdrop for lots of natural materials with plenty of texture. Stone, raffia, linen, bamboo, and chunky knit wool will all show to advantage against these deep, natural, yet complex shades.

Shortage of Skilled Painters

2011-12-31T15:18:00.000-08:00

A shortage of skilled painters has been a concern for more than a year, and now predictions are that there may be further shortages in the future, since apprenticeships may be affected by continued economic uncertainty.

What does this mean for householders? Simply that it is more important than ever to be certain that your painters are skillful. Some painting companies will resort to hiring untrained workers because of the shortage, and the result for you can be a badly painted home -- or worse.

Correct training of painters covers issues such as safety and environmental responsibility as well as the all important quality of the paint job.

Courtney & Wise are members of the Master Painters Association, and have been for over half a century. We are active in training and education with the MPA. We're also Dulux Certified painters, Lead Paint Management Certified, and have a variety of other certifications and awards. Your painter should be able to show their qualifications as easily.

If you're in Sydney, let us be your painters. Call us at 9958 1099.

Jason Grant's Wonderland Palette

2011-12-27T15:32:00.000-08:00

Murobond has a second palette from Mr. Jason Grant: Welcome to My Wonderland. This is a soft, thoughtful collection of blues, greys, and complementary shades for peaceful -- even dreamy -- rooms.

Mix these colours up and use them throughout your home for a harmonious effect. There are darks, neutrals, and soft colours that work as well in a nursery or bedroom as on an accent wall in a living room.

Bring bright colours into the soft furnishings and art objects, or keep the whole look quiet.

Jason Grant's Road Trip Palette

2011-12-22T05:14:00.000-08:00

Murobond are offering a new palette created by Mr. Jason Grant, stylist and blogger. The look is happy and carefree, just right for summer.

A home using this palette can have a lot of variety while still feeling sure that all the colours will go together.

Paint the foyer or entryway in Beach Street, the living room in Short Shorts, the kitchen in Peas, and the bath in Beautiful Dreamer. Use Glorious and Happy Days for bedrooms, and tie it all together with Horizon (to go dark) or Smoothie. The total effect will be a harmonious patchwork of cheery colour.

With neutrals, brights, and soft colours to choose from, this is also a nice palette for less adventurous combinations. Mix Peas, Hello Yello, and Short Shorts throughout your home for a pretty look. Horizon and Glorious together create a sophisticated feminine look. Page White and Porch are a classic neutral combination with a little bit of extra sass.

Working with a designer-chosen palette can encourage you to take some exta chances with colour -- or you may just fall in love with one shade from the collection.

DIY Woes

2011-12-20T06:41:00.000-08:00

The Wallpaper is Not that Bad is a funny essay in which Sam explains that the wallpaper, any wallpaper, is not so bad that you should try to get rid of it:

It could be too dark, some sort of nearly black faux wood paneling wallpaper, and it gives your house the ambience of a cave, and makes you feel lethargic and depressed and suicidal every morning when you wake up, so that you don’t even get out of bed, you lose your job, you gain 400 pounds, and your family abandons you. Even so, the wallpaper is not that bad.

Why? Sam tells, in excrutiating (but funny) detail all about his attemptes to remove the wallpaper from his kitchen and paint the wall instead. The results were worse than what he imagined as the results of living with bad wallpaper:

At this point on the process, I have scraped, square inch at a time, the grapes out of my kitchen. I have poured a gallon of my blood out upon these grapes. I have vibrated my body into a moaning mass of miserable flesh. I have filled my house with the dust of a thousand deserts. I have saturated the sheetrock that still stands in my kitchen with a cornucopia of toxic fumes. I have turned into a near dead shadow of my formerly healthy self.

It's funny to read about, but it's not funny to live through. What Sam -- and you, if you suffer from bad wallpaper -- should do is call a professional. Courtney & Wise are the people to call if you happen to live in Sydney. We'll come and remove the offensive wallpaper, prepare and paint the wall, and clean up after ourselves, while you enjy your life. Your health and happiness are at stake.

Colour of the Year 2012

2011-12-18T04:37:00.000-08:00

Pantone have announced their colour of the year: Tangerine Tango, a red orange that's perfect for summer right now.

We showed you our favorite blue and orange combo last month:

This colour will also look fantastic with yellows, greens, greys, and with white.

So what does it mean when a colour makes Colour of the Year? For you, it means that you'll be seeing it in home decor items, as well as fashion. This year, a lot of the tempting new things you see in the shops will be Tangerine coloured. You'll see it in magazine spreads and showrooms.

If you already love this colour, grab it while it's in style. If you don't love it, you might surprise yourself by coming to like it quite well.

Stay Cool with Paint, Part III

2011-12-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

In Stay Cool with Paint, Part I, we learned about the physics of keeping cool with paint. In Stay Cool with Paint, Part II, we looked at the chemistry of keeping cool with paint. In Part III, we'll examine the psychology of keeping cool with paint.

Painting the outside of your home white, especially when you use paint containing titanium dioxide or other heat reflective materials such as ceramic insulative particles, actually reduces the temperature of your home. You can measure the difference with a thermometer.

Painting the interior of your home in a particular colour won't make the temperature of the room change. The difference is all about reflecting the sun's light and heat, and the sun doesn't generally reach the paint on your interior walls.

But the colour choice inside your home or office does have psychological effects. A red or orange room, using the fiery colours of the peppers in the picture above, feels warmer than a cool colour like ice blue.

The colours on the right hand side of the colour wheel are cool colours. They make people feel cooler than the colours on the left hand side. Choosing aqua, blue, or green will make you feel cool and refreshed, while yellow, orange, and red feel warm and cozy.

In summer, it's smart to choose cool colours. If you don't care to repaint every season, you can choose either warm or cool colours or neutrals like biscuit and white, and then change your soft furnishings and decorative objects to create the warmth or the cool you're after.

For example, if you have a room with bright yellow walls, you can cool it down for the summer by adding blue and green decorative elements. Paint your room aqua right now to get a cool feeling for the summer, and warm it up with red come winter.

Stay Cool with Paint, Part II

2011-12-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

In Stay Cool with Paint, Part I, we explained the connection between colour and temperature: pale colours reflect more light than dark ones. There's another aspect of reflection that also affects temperature, and that's the fact that some materials reflect more than others.

We see this in daily life, of course, because we can see our reflection in highly polished silver but not in paper. We also know that metal left in the sun will get very hot, while rubber left in the sun won't get as hot. Some things reflect better and some things absorb better.

Titanium dioxide, a mineral used in high quality white paints, reflects better than a diamond. It's also used in sunscreens, so we shouldn't be surprised that this is one of the paint ingredients that protects our homes from the heat of the sun.

Calcium carbonate and other chalk-like minerals are sometimes used as a substitute for titanium dioxide to keep paint costs down. These paints will reflect more sunlight than dark paints if they are light coloured, but they still won't reflect as much heat away from your home as titanium dioxide will. Talk with your professional painters about the kind of paint they choose, and make sure that they're using paint that will reduce your energy costs and keep you cooler and more comfortable in the summer.

Stay Cool with Paint, Part I

2011-12-11T10:56:00.001-08:00

Using paint to keep your home cool and cut energy costs is all about reflection.

You may remember from school that light contains all the colours there are. Objects absorb some of the colours and then reflect others. Black absorbs all the colours and shows none. This is why black objects look black rather than showing our eyes another colour, and it's also why dark things get hotter in the sun and stay hotter longer.

White objects reflect all the colours, showing us just white. Since they don't absorb the light, they also don't absorb heat. That means that white objects stay cooler than black ones. If you put a sheet of black paper and a sheet of white paper in the sun for an hour, you'll find that the whiter paper feels much cooler than the black paper. Put an ice cube on each and you can see the difference.

This is a continuum, of course. Darker colours reflect less light than paler shades. The difference between sky blue and lemon yellow isn't as great as the difference between black and white, but there is a bit of a difference if we had precise tools to measure that difference. The difference between pale blue and deep blue is easier to identify. So even though blue is a cool colour in colour theory and yellow is a warm one, midnight blue will absorb more heat than pale butter yellow, and it will be hotter to the touch in sun.

This is why painting your home in a light colour will make it cooler than painting it in a dark colour. Your roof and your walls should be lighter to keep your energy costs down in the summer. It's not a myth.

Paint Now! Costs are Rising

2011-12-08T07:09:00.000-08:00

The price of paint is likely to rise in the New Year, and that means that the price of having your house painted will rise as well. The reason is simple: titanium dioxide, the pigment that white paint is based on, will become a lot more expensive then.

According to DuPont, an American chemical company and the world's largest user of titanium dioxide, the cost of the raw material for Asia-Pacific buyers will rise by $200 a ton on January 1, 2012. That's only the beginning. Worldwide demand is growing, and Iluka are expanding production, but experts expect the cost of the pigment to double next year.

There are alternatives to titanium dioxide, but they are far inferior to titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide has a higher level of refraction -- that is, it reflects light more -- than a diamond, making it the brightest white available, and the best paint ingredient for keeping your home cooler in summer. It also has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of all minerals, making it far less likely to fade than any other choice.

Are you thinking you have no problem since you plan to paint in another colour besides white? Not so. White is used in almost all paint colour mixtures. Without white, your only choices will be the darkest, most saturated shades of each hue -- not the most popular paint choices.

The only solution is to arrange for your painting now. Call Courtney & Wise at 9958 1099 to book your painting job. Let us lay in the paint you need for your job immediately and avoid the inevitable price rise.

Blue Christmas

2011-12-06T06:40:00.000-08:00

Blue is shaping up to be an important colour for the New Year, so why not go ahead and enjoy it right now? Red and green are traditional for Christmas, and the decorating magazines are showing minimalist natural materials, but for many homes, those just aren't the looks that best suit the decor.

There's no reason your Christmas decorations shouldn't suit the regular decorating scheme of your home. The blue and purple Christmas tree above looks festive enough for any party!

Some blue touches to consider:

Traditional Christmas baubles and fairy lights are available in both soft and rich shades of blue.
There are plenty of blue flowers, from blue pincushions and finger flower to lechenaultia and lobelia. Iris, lilies, and hydrangeas can also be found in blue shades.
We've seen glass Christmas baubles painted with indigenous designs in blues. If you don't care to attempt this, take clear glass baubles, remove the hangers at the top, and drop in a few drops of two shades of blue acrylic craft paint. Swirl the paint around to create a marbled effect -- stop swirling before the colours are completely mixed. Once the paint dries, replace the hangers for some wonderfully original ornaments.

Blue is saucy with purple, but it looks very elegant with silver and gold, and bright and cheery with yellow and white. You can even add it to the traditional red and green or the modern minimalist look.

Painting as a Christmas Gift

2011-12-03T06:29:00.001-08:00

When you're ready to give a slap-up Christmas gift to a family member -- or to yourself -- consider painting. Not a painting for their walls, but the painting of their walls. Few things make as much difference in the quality of life at home than fresh paint in a wonderful colour.

Don't put on your overall and show up on their doorstep with your paint can, though. A better way is to book a job with Courtney & Wise (if you're in Sydney or the Northern Beaches; if not, check with the Master Painters Association to find a qualified painter in your neighbourhood).

Imagine having the chance to meet with our experts to discuss your dreams for your home, and then having your place painted to bring out its best features. Courtney & Wise clear up everything, too -- the only sign we've been is the beautiful new colour on your walls.

For a teen, a young relative just starting a new career, an older relative with an extra room now the kids have grown, a cherished friend starting a business, or your own family at home -- it's a real surprise and a very special gift that continues to bring pleasure for years. Call us now at 9958 1099 to arrange for a gift certificate.

The Earliest Painters

2011-12-01T19:02:00.000-08:00

Courtney & Wise have been painting the finest homes and businesses in Sydney and the North Beaches since 1954. However, we are not the earliest painters.

No, that honor goes to people living in South Africa 100,000 years ago. The people living along the coast of South Africa made red paint from pigment much as people have been making paint for centuries and still do. They stored the paint in abalone shells.

New research shows that the paint included not just red pigment, but also ochre, charcoal, quartz, animal bone as a binder, and a liquid scientists haven't yet identified.

Modern paint is still made with pigments from minerals, a binder, and a liquid solvent. Improvement in technology have made enormous changes in the specific materials used. Now, we use paints with little or no VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which last longer and adhere better to surface than the ancient recipe would have.

While our paint is not commonly stored in abalone shells, we modern painters still store our paints carefully. The ancient painters had tools fashioned from bone and pieces of ochre carved with geometric shapes. We have more highly refined tools now, but we still make notes while we plan and paint.

The recent find, the earliest evidence of painting yet found, just confirms what we already knew: painting is fundamental to the human experience.

Painting in Summer

2011-11-29T18:48:00.000-08:00

Spring and fall may be the ideal times to paint, but summer painting is certainly possible. Here are some particular things to keep in mind when painting in Sydney in the summertime:

Paint that dries too fast won't cure properly, and won't be as durable as it should be. Make sure not to paint in the direct sun. This is obviously an issue with exterior walls, but it can affect indoor walls near windows, too. This is a matter of understanding how the sunlight will move around the house, and planning work accordingly.
Painters want to begin early to avoid extreme heat. However, you can't begin while the dew is still on the ground. Surfaces must be dry for successful painting.
Schedule your painting around the Christmas holiday. If you want fresh paint for visitors this Christmas, book your painter now.

In Sydney, call Courtney & Wise at 9958 1099. In other areas of Australia, check with the Master Painters Association to find highly qualified painters for your job.

Wet Paint

2011-11-26T06:31:00.000-08:00

We laughed at this song about paint from American kids' show Sesame Street, but in real life you don't want to see such a mess. Sydney painters Courtney & Wise can save you from this fate if you're in Sydney, Mosman, Cremorne, or anywhere on the Northern Beaches. The only way you'll know we've been is by the beautiful new colour on your walls.

Immerse Paint Palette from Dulux

2011-11-24T05:02:00.000-08:00

2012 will be a great year for blue! Living on the beach, we always enjoy blue, but the new Immerse palette from the Dulux 2012 colour forecast has some delicious shades we haven't seen for a while.

The very deep True Blue will be dramatic in kitchens and dining rooms, and it makes a beautiful trim for rooms done primarily in fresh whites like Lexicon Half or White on White.

Quantum Blue and Hindsight are quiet, subtle shades that create a peaceful feeling in living room or bedroom. High Blue is perfect for a pretty bedroom. It reminds us of faience and lapis from ancient art. Blue Regent or Wing Commander will be perfect for a masculine bedroom or bathroom.

But the full appeal of Immerse comes from layering the different shades of blue in a room or in a series of rooms, playing deeper shades off a softer ones, drawing your guests on to the next room with a glimpse of a different shade, immersing yourself, if you will, in blue.

We like blue with orange, too, especially the deep red orange tones of the Dulux Time-Honoured palette. Below you can see a collection of blue and orange home decor looks from around the web.

Reset Your Home with Paint

2011-11-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

If you ever feel that life could use a reset button, you should consider Reset, a neutral palette from the Dulux 2012 colour forecast. With both warm and cool neutrals, dark and light, in several different textures, Reset gives you a new feel in traditional settings.

The office certainly comes to mind. Antique White U.S.A. or Whisper White can glide onto your walls without drawing any attention, or you can choose a cooler look with Lexicon Quarter and Moon Marvel. Any colour from this palette will give you a professional, upscale look. Push the envelope with suede and metallic finishes, or keep things simple with black and white.

The simplicity of Reset makes it an excellent foil for the bright colours of a garden or the neon shades designers are turning to in home fashions, while the sophistication of the silver and pewter tones add interest to monochromatic colour schemes indoors. Painting your interiors with Reset lets you cool things down -- or make a simple background so you can rev them up.

Courtney & Wise always enjoy painting with neutrals. Look at some of our effects with white and grey:

As you can see, there's nothing dull about these looks.

What Our Customers Say

2011-11-20T15:01:00.001-08:00

We at Courtney & Wise are proud of the work we do, but we'd rather you heard about us from our satisfied customers. Here's what Jenny Holtz wrote at TrueLocal:

There are painters and there is Courtney & Wise. From the three quotes received theirs was the most expensive, but also the most comprehensive with all bases covered. They even identified issues that we were unaware of. Total professionals from the initial visit right through to the painting itself. Money very well spent.

Thank you, Jenny!
Here's another review, this one from rayv.com.au:

Simply amazing for the quality! Michael and his team are very professional.

Give us a call and find out for yourself why we've been the favourite painter since 1954.

Carnivale Paint Palette

2011-11-17T07:53:00.000-08:00

Carnivale, from the 2012 Dulux colour forecast, is a frankly pretty palette. Shades like Tip Toes and Watermelon Pink are so obviously perfect for a little girl's room or a feminine powder room that you may not think of this palette for other rooms.

That would be a mistake.

We can see less obvious combinations of these shades, such as the metallic Astro Age and Peplum, in trendy offices and elegant master suites. Ripe Rhubarb is a classic shade for a living room or dining room, and Scarlet Ribbons will make your entryway dramatic -- or mix it Velvet Rose and Baby Tone for something much edgier.

Distributed throughout a flat, this palette will look feminine but thoroughly modern, even if each individual room has just one or two shades. The room you're standing in may seem downright traditional, but the glimpse you catch of the next room in another shade will make it clear that the owner of the home is more complex than any one room suggests.

Nurture Palette from Dulux

2011-11-15T07:35:00.000-08:00

One of the new Dulux palettes for 2012 is Nurture, a small but perfect collection of greens ranging from a deep, textured eucalyptus green through sharp yellow greens and a nearly tan shade to the palest hint of green in Handmade Linen Quarter.

We're an outdoorsy people and we like to bring natural beauty inside. Nurture is designed to do just that. Use the palest shades for neutral backgrounds in living room and hallways. They're softer than flat white would be, so they'll look good with natural woods and other natural materials like linen, sisal, leather, and stone.

Wiggle is a vibrant shade of green that will wake up your kitchen or WC. It can be paired with Enigma for a subtle tone-on-tone effect, or with Ecru Quarter for a fresh and stylish look in a bedroom. These bright shades will look a treat with the big pop patterns we're seeing so much of in home decor textiles right now.

Olive Reserve is a more reserved shade, which may not be what Dulux had in mind when they came up with the name, but it can certainly work in traditional dining rooms with wallpapers and chair rails of Handmade Linen. Combined with Wax Way's nearly neutral gold, Olive Reserve will make a masculine effect for a den, living room, or for a boy's or man's bedroom.

Zoe's Garden is a suede finish, so it will go with the highly textured styles predicted for the new year. We see it with Wax Way for living rooms and offices. In fact, Wax Way and Ecru Quarter are neutral enough for a traditional office building, while still having a bit of dash.

Timehonored Palette from Dulux

2011-11-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

In the new year, deep oranges and red oranges are showing up in fashion, furnishings, and even in cars. Dulux sees these colours as nostalgic, homey shades, but they can also be sophisticated and even sexy. This palette is called Time-honoured.

The deepest shades, Red Stop and Carmen Miranda, will give a traditional look to a dining room or a lush feel to a bedroom. They could be married with bright white shades from other palettes to bring freshness, or paired with Copper suede finish from this palette for an overall warmth.

The Copper suede with Spiced Incense will give a nearly neutral look with a great dealt of depth from teh textured finishes. We like this for living rooms, offices, or dens.

Orangeade is a happy colour for a kitchen or playroom. Use it on all the walls for a deep background to wood furnishings or combine it with a lighthearted wallpaper. We're seeing this colour in appliances in the new ranges for next year, but we also like it with black or chrome for a sophisticated look.

All these shades will look great with traditional plaids, with retro florals, and with neutrals. We also like this colour family in complementary schemes with deep blues.

Raw Paint

2011-11-10T13:40:00.000-08:00

Raw, one of the new Dulux 2012 Colour Forecast palettes, is a collection of neutrals, but it's not your usual neutral. As the name suggests, it's an edgier group of neutrals.

We can see European Stone in a kitchen or bath with Peplum Quarter, looking very chic and surprising yet natural. River rocks, rattan furniture, and natural cotton and linen fabrics would suit it perfectly.

Or imagine Moroccan Claypot, a design limewash, and Namadji in your living room with heavily textured woolen knits and raw silk, unfinished wood, and natural marble or stone. The highly polished, brittle minimalist look gives way to a newly inviting natural effect with colours like these.

Raw has lots of texture options, too. Teahouse is a deep charcoal grey with a smooth finish that can bring serenity to a bedroom, perhaps with architectural details picked out in Grand Piano. But the Tuxedo suede finish can give an ensuite dressing room or walk in closet a softer feel.

We can see this palette in the office, too, with soft shades like Silkwort in workspaces and the more exciting Rust and European stone enlivening shared creative spaces and conference rooms.

We like the natural feel of this palette, but also its sophistication.

Dulux Colour Forecast 2012

2011-11-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

We love the colour forecasts every year. Dulux is first up this year with six new palettes that reflect the new products, new looks, and new mood of Australia.

We'll be looking in more detail in the next week, but here's an overview.

We start with Immerse, an all blue palette with blue-white shades. Dulux points out that we now have many more shades of white to choose from than in the past.

Next up is Reset, an all-neutral range with more whites, silver greys, and textured greys and biscuits. This palette is different from last year's neutral collections in having more cool shades.

Carnivale has the pinks and purples we've been loving, but instead of the warm, spicy, startling pinks, these are soft, natural berry tones. This is one of the prettiest palettes we've seen in years.

We're an outdoor-loving people, and we'll always want greens. We're seeing the sharp, acid spring greens we've been enjoying this year, but there are deeper tones and green-whites to choose from in the new Nurture palette, as well.

Paradoxically, Dulux's Time-honoured palette has some of the newest looks, with deep burnt orange shades we haven't seen in a while.

Raw, another neutral palette, celebrates one of the biggest trends of the new year, natural materials. Stone and wood looks will give any room a pick me up.

Come back and see how we suggest using these new palettes!

Relocation Beige

2011-11-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

In the states, they call it "relocation beige": the colour you paint your place when you want to sell it.

Here, we usually go with "biscuit." Or Australia's favourite colour of Dulux paint: Hog Bristle, shown above. It's the same colour.You might go a bit paler, to Dulux Antique White U.S.A., but somewhere in the biscuit range you'll find that inoffensive colour.

Why are we always advised to go with such neutral colours? Surely we should choose something eye catching and trendy that will make our home stand out?

Ken Jansen, a real estate agent, explains it: "People don't want to think about your things in the house. They want to imagine their own. Making your place less personal helps prospective buyers see their own things in the room. If they can visualize themselves living there, they're more likely to buy."

Fresh paint makes your house look clean and new, too, so it's a good idea to repaint even if you've got biscuit paint on the walls already.

With the Australian housing market continuing to be tough,you need every bit of advantage you can get. Fortunately, repainting your home is one renovation that you can expect to earn back in the sale price of your home. If you live in Sydney, Mosman, or anywhere in the Northern Beaches, call Courtney & Wise at 9958 1099 to schedule a new paint job before your first showing.

Antimicrobial Paint

2011-11-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

Anti-microbial paint is one of the most exciting new types of surface coatings. For hospitals, schools, restaurants, and food manufacturing companies, a paint that kills or neutralizes bacteria can make an enormous difference.

Certainly, the additional protection from germs is impressive. It may be just as important, though, that this protection comes without the cost of bringing toxic chemicals into the space.

Some antimicrobial paints work with nanotechnology, using tiny amounts of silver, a natural antimicrobial element, in the paint. Other coatings are designed to invade the membranes of viruses, killing them with no dangerous chemicals at all.

With antimicrobial paint, a facility can avoid using chemicals like chlorine that cause environmental damage in the course of their production, or antibacterial chemicals that can actually reduce the effectiveness of the immune system.The problem of having germs become resistant to chemicals designed to attack them is also avoided. And of course a solution that doesn't depend on people's taking medications or even changing their behavior circumvents many of the problems of controlling contagious diseases.

The simplicity and elegance of the solution makes it ideal. It may be some time before most public buildings begin to use anti-microbial paint, but once the technology is in place, it's only a matter of time.

Painting a Hotel

2011-11-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

Painting the exterior of a hotel offers challenges in the area of safety and and logistics, but the interior painting can also require some problem solving.

The painting must be done with a minimum of disruption to the schedule of the hotel. A very low emissions and low odor paint is of course a must, but it may also be wise to bring in a larger crew or use a longer day schedule to limit the amount of time a room is unavailable to guests.

Taking a wing out of service while the painting is done may be an option, but common areas may need to be painted at unusual times to avoid losing revenue while the painting is completed.

Areas of the hotel where food is served or prepared have special requirements as well. In general, the surfaces must be painted with light coloured gloss paint. Washability is also essential in commercial kitchens.

Putting the work off is no solution, since the cleanliness of a hotel is a primary concern for guests. Dingy walls and woodwork give the impression of a grubby place, even when they're clean.

The best solution is to meet with your professional painter and work out a schedule for completing all the interior painting. Bring information about the scheduled events in the various rooms of the hotel, and schedule in advance of the busiest times so your painters have more flexibility in scheduling.

Painted Ceilings

2011-10-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

This type of painted ceiling is not practical for the average home or office, but that doesn't mean you have to stick with a plain white ceiling.

Here are some other possibilities:

A blue ceiling makes you think of the sky. Even the palest blue will bring a breath of fresh air to a room.
A ceiling a bit lighter than the walls will make your room look more open, as though it has higher ceilings. Think about the palest grey Peplum in the palette below on the ceiling, with walls in Musing and trim of Wild Dove.
A ceiling a bit darker than the walls will make your room look cozy.Think of Soft Suede walls and a Pumpkin ceiling, with Oriental Spice for moldings and trim.
Neutral walls and ceilings painted in biscuit shades like Fair Bianca or Sarah's Place, make a good backdrop for wallpaper borders right at ceiling height.

Painting and Decorating: the Intangibles

2011-10-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

Painting and decorating is a very tangible product: you can see the difference right away when your home or business is freshly painted.

When you choose a painting and decorating firm, though, you should consider the intangibles. Certainly, you'll want a firm that's certified as Master Painters, certified for Lead Management, fully insured, able to work to Australian Standards, and which meets all OH&S, EPA and legislature requirements.

Ideally, though, your painters should have more than those technical qualifications.

At Courtney & Wise, we believe that good painters should also be good at communication. You should feel confident that your tradesmen will be respectful of you and of one another. Clear communication makes a job go smoothly, and makes it a pleasant experience for you.

Sometimes it's not just the painter and the homeowner. We strive to work cooperatively with designers and other tradesmen as well; you'll never hear that the roofers got in the way of the painters or that it's all the plumber's fault. In fact, our project management keeps your job running right on schedule.

When we work in strata complexes, we assign a resident liaison officer to co-ordinate with residents. Residents appreciate being kept up on the developments, and access issues are simplified by good communication.

Respect for you and your property are shown by a clean finish, and you can expect that from a good firm of painters and decorators as well. With Courtney & Wise, the only sign that we've been at your property is the beautiful new finish on your walls.

If you're in Sydney, Mosman, or anywhere in the Northern Beaches, contact Courtney & Wise at 9958 1099 to discuss your painting and decorating needs. If you're not in Sydney, keep the intangibles in mind when you choose from among your local firms.

No New Housing in Your Future?

2011-10-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

New housing starts are down all over Australia. The ray of light for the construction industry is with commercial construction, not homes, and that trend doesn't seem likely to shift soon. Chances are good that you'll be keeping your old digs for a while.

If you're not finding a new home, your best bet is painting your current place. Exterior house painting has the best return on investment of all home maintenance and remodeling jobs, often increasing your home's selling price by more than you paid. The average return on exterior painting is 90-94%.

Interior painting, with an average return of just over 75%, is not a bad investment either. The number is lower because it includes DIY painting and also because colours are a very personal thing. The number of buyers who'll think, "Ooh, I must get rid of this aubergine wall" has to be taken into account. Still, compared with the 60% return you can expect from a new roof or the negative return from a swimming pool, that 75% is very good.

A good paint job is also likely to make your house more appealing when you sell it, so that it will sell faster and for a better price.

Beyond the numbers, a fresh coat of paint will make your place more appealing to you. That's the most important thing if you're staying put. People who start out painting their home in hopes of selling often find that they love it and want to stay -- and that's a nice feeling.

If you need a Syndey painter, call Courtney & Wise, Master Painters for Sydney and the Northern Beaches since 1954, at 9958 1099.

House Colours

2011-10-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

Choosing exterior colours for your home requires consideration of a range of factors:

Any covenant requirements
Colours of neighbouring buildings
Colours in the natural setting
Colours of any unpainted home elements, such as roofing materials or bricks
Environmental factors, such as a need for heat control or protection from sun

That's a lot to think about!

In a sense, your home simply needs to fit into the colour scheme of its setting. A harmonious effect is better for buildings than a startling contrast. Take your colour cue from your surroundings, and you won't go wrong.

Feature Walls

2011-10-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

A feature wall, also sometimes called a focal wall, is a wall painted or papered differently from the rest of the room. In this example, a white room has one wall in eucalyptus green. Why choose a feature wall?

Enjoy the contrast.
Use a colour you love, but which might be too much if used throughout the room.
Make a splash with a pricey paper without breaking the bank.

How can you create a focal wall that looks intentional and stylish -- not as though you just didn't get round to painting the rest of the room?

First, plan well. You can paint or paper just one wall in a room that's already decorated, but be sure to choose a colour or pattern that works well with the existing decor.

Second, prepare the surfaces well. Getting the surfaces ready is always important, but in this case, you don't want to end up with one wall that looks new and fresh while the others look old. Nor, if you're painting or papering the whole room but using a particularly dramatic colour for a focal wall, do you want the room to look as though the other walls are less important.

Third, paint well. Nothing spoils the grand effect of one ruby red wall in an otherwise grey or biscuit coloured room like a wavery edge between the two colours. Painter's tape, a steady hand, and quick clean up of any smudges will help.

Paint, Preference, and Peace

2011-10-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

Colour choices can lead to disagreements that interfere with the pleasure of redecorating. What do you do when you want Honeysuckle Pink and your spouse wants Biscuit? What about the kid who wants black walls when you know how hard it will be to cover that colour when he moves out and you convert that space to a sewing room? How do you keep the peace?

One option is to tone down the colour. If you could be happy with blush instead of a shocking pink, your spouse might be able to accept it. And maybe a soft, pale grey would work as well as black on the teen's walls.

Maybe not. If you really feel strongly about that colour, maybe you could have it full strength, but in a smaller space. Painting the woodwork bright pink or flat black is less of a commitment, but still lets you enjoy the shade. The inside of a closet, the back of a cupboard, or even just a small room like the WC or laundry room might satisfy your desire without overwhelming the people who don't want that look.

If it's a practical objection rather than aesthetic (how many coats will it take to cover that black?), consider wallpaper. Black wallpaper is no harder to remove than white.

Paint vs. Paper: Part II

2011-10-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

When your decision is between a plain colour and a pattern, your first thought should be paint for the plain colour and wallpaper for the pattern.

But that's only the first thought. A good scrubbable wallpaper in a solid colour may be a better choice in the kitchen than paint would. A stenciled "wallpaper" may be a better choice in a humid space like a bathroom, where the paper might be steamed off in short order.

A painted wall can also be much less costly than a papered wall. If you have something special in mind and the budget won't quite stretch to a wallpaper, a painted wall can be a better choice.

It can also be the only choice if you have something really special in mind. Portraits of your family? Your kid's favourite cartoon character? A mural depicting all the planets and stars you can see from your window? All become possible with a custom painted wall. But only if you're an artist.

Even with a painted, patterned wall, start with an honest reckoning of your talents. Try painting a bit of canvas or board and be brutally frank with yourself: will your wall look good?

If you're not going to create a stunning piece of artwork for your wall, you might be able to stencil a beautiful design. Stencilling involves a cut shape, and it requires only a steady hand, not a lot of artistic talent. Again, try it out first and see how it goes on a bit of board. Check not only how neatly you can reproduce the design, but how well you can space the repeats, how evenly they butt up against one another, and how straight you can keep the rows.

If you've got the knack, think about the amount of time involved. A stenciled pattern on a wall may require you to paint the same shape hundreds of times, with a great deal of concentration required for even rows and a balanced pattern. You have to do the maths involved in calculating how to get the pattern properly centered on the walls and make it fit correctly at the corners.

Wallpaper can be a lot less trouble.

If you still want a painted pattern on your wall, or a mural, and you've decided that doing it yourself isn't realistic, contact a professional painter. Better yet, a firm of painters and decorators who do both wallpaper and paint. They'll be best able to tell you whether paint or paper will be the perfect choice for what you have in your mind's eye.

Paint vs. Paper: Part I

2011-10-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

It's an age-old decorating question: paint or wallpaper?

Start with the easiest part of the decision. Paint and paper both have advantages, and sometimes it makes sense to go with their strengths.

What's great about paint?

Paint is an economical choice. Nothing freshens up your room so well for so little money as paint.
Paint is a temporary choice. If you don't like it after all, or when you're ready for a change, you can paint over it with just a bit of prep work. Paper generally has to be removed first.
There's an unlimited range of colours for paint. If your stockist doesn't have just what you want, you can have it mixed up to match the colour you have in your mind.

What's great about wallpaper?

Wallpaper can be washable. You can't give all wallpaper a good scrub, but when that's what you want, you're more likely to find a paper than a paint that meets your needs. This makes wallpaper a good choice for the kitchen and the loo.
Wallpaper is versatile. Murals aside, when you want a really fancy pattern, wallpaper is a much easier way to accomplish it. You can have anything from whimsical animals for a baby's room to the most elegant designs for a formal space.
Wallpaper is a fast way to set a tone in your decor. Find a paper you love, and you have the colours, the mood, and perhaps even the theme of your room settled.

Bright for Spring!

2011-10-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

Bright colours are big this spring, with orange emerging as a favorite. You can bring sharp citrus shades into your home without overwhelming or overstimulating, as long as you keep a few things in mind.

Very saturated, bright colours are exciting, but they're best in smaller doses. Don't go with all four walls and the ceiling and floor in orange peel orange. A focus wall, trim, or soft furnishings will be better choices. Pair the brightest colours with neutrals or toned-down versions of the hue -- or with its complement, the colour on the opposite side of the colour wheel.

A bright, clear colour in a light texture, such as a lampshade, lightweight curtain, or delicate accent item is exciting and refreshing. Patterns and textures keep the eye moving. Heavier pieces, such as a velvet sofa or a blocky table, may look better in a neutral shade.

Spring 2011 Neutrals

2011-10-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

We've gone soft! Silver and taupe shades mix with dusty colours for Spring decorating. The look is soft and dreamy. How can you get a rich, romantic effect with neutrals, rather than a -- well, a neutral look?

Mix them up. Multiples tones and textures make your decor luminous, not noncommittal. We're seeing gleaming gold tone-on-tone stripes, multiple shades of natural linen, and lots of puffy cushions. The play of light on these neutrals gives them depth.

Suede or pearl finishes in paint support this effect.

Add soft colours like rose and green to mixed neutrals with ceramic, paint, or opaque glass. The effect is like pinning a flower onto a simple, neutral hat, or adding coloured beads to a metal chain.

Think about a hazy blue ceiling in a room with walls of grey or biscuit. The look is fresh and romantic without being too daring.

Economy, Housing, and Paint

2011-10-02T06:27:00.000-07:00

Australian homeowners represent $3.6 trillion in wealth, the largest number in Australia's economic equation. Our housing market isn't generally volatile, and housing continues to represent a solid value, but buyers and sellers both remain cautious. Not so many people are ready to take a chance on a new home, and those who are selling aren't ready to lower their prices, either.

Result? We'll still be in the same house, most of us, for the rest of this year.

That means it's time to paint. Nothing gives such a good return on your investment as paint: you can expect to get very nearly your entire investment back in a higher price if you decide to sell, something which you cannot count on with remodeling or new appliances.

If you stay, then a fresh coat of paint will give your place a new look and feel for much less than the price of new furnishings or landscaping.

Contact your local Master Painters and discuss your needs. In Sydney and the Northern Beaches, that's Courtney & Wise, your painters and decorators for two generations.

Organizing Made Beautiful

2011-09-29T17:07:00.000-07:00

A good spring clean does wonders for a room. While you're turning out your cupboards, take one more step and give them a lick of paint or a bit of wallpaper.

In such small spaces, you can splurge on the fanciest decorator paper -- or take the other tack and use up scraps and samples. Papering shelves or the fronts of drawers with a variety of papers looks fresh and fun. Choose an adhesive suited to the surface you plan to paper and finish with a good sealant to protect your handiwork.

You can use scraps and samples of paint, as well. Storage boxes and bins will often take paint well, though they might need a primer. Sealant is a good idea here, too. If you choose to store all your bits and bobs in containers with matching paint or paper, do yourself a favour and label them so you'll know what's inside.

As with any decorating job, preparing the surface is key. Clean all surfaces, let them dry thoroughly, and think about priming them, too.

Pink Kitchens

2011-09-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

It's spring at last! Celebrate with a shot of honeysuckle pink in your home -- but where? Hot pink in the main living spaces of a house can get old fast. It seems like a good choice for the bedroom or bathroom, but it can feel too feminine for a couple, making him feel like it's not really his space. In her sewing room or studio, it can actually make it hard to concentrate, research shows.

Pink can feel right at home in a kitchen, though. it's a work space, but not a place where you usually do much deep thinking. You're in there enough with family and guests to enjoy a shot of pink, but not so much that it begins to feel like just too much. And, in a traditionally feminine space like the kitchen, a guy can't find pink unwelcoming.

Here are some ways to put your kitchen in the pink:

Paint the walls! Often, kitchens have less wall space than other rooms, since they're broken up by cabinets, cupboards, appliances, backsplashes, and shelving. That means that you can go with a boulder colour here than you would want in a living room or bedroom.
Add touches to cabinets and cupboard doors. Decorative painting can bring just the right amount of sharp pink in with white, deep coffee brown, or mustard yellow. Pink looks fresh with natural or stained wood and glass, too.
Not that bold? Use hot pink in your soft furnishings, such as window treatments and table linens. If it feels too bold after being in use for a while, you can trade them out with another colour. If you love it, you can paint those walls after all.

An unusual colour like pink can cost the earth when it comes to countertops, tile, or appliances. In paint, there's no extra cost for trendy colours, so that's the way to go when you want to make a splash.

Creative Workspaces

2011-09-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

Creative people need creative workspaces. With creativity and innovation of increasing importance in the work world and in education, it's time to include this fact in our decorating plans.

Here's how:

Don't think this is one size fits all advice. One person may find purple walls stimulating while another needs a clean, neutral space to fill with ideas. Think about what you need, or observe your staff at work if you're preparing a space for others.
Make change possible. If there's one thing unchanging about creative workspaces, it's that they need to be able to change. Furniture that can be moved into different groupings according to the need of the moment is a better choice than fitted units. Empty surfaces that can be used for every-changing groupings make more sense than formal arrangements and tablescapes. Art on the walls can be stimulating, but the single large painting or sculpture may be less useful than cork boards or marker boards. Think about magnetic and chalkboard paint, too.
Accommodate play. Literal toys are part of a lot of creative workspaces. If that's not your cup of tea, consider playful touches in office supplies, windows to stare out of, or even just plenty of pacing space. Creative work benefits not only from intense focus but also from diversion.
Choose stimulating colours. While yellow can be irritating, it also stimulates creativity. Don't go with bright lemon yellow throughout the workspace, but do include touches of this colour, either as an accent for a colour like green or blue that helps focus attention, or in the undertones of the space. A gold, a sharp yellow green, or a buttery shade can be stimulating without causing stress.

Organising for Redecoration

2011-09-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

Redecorating your home with paint, wallpaper, and fabrics, maybe new furnishings and decorations -- it's fun, a lot of work, and a very satisfying way to mark the change of seasons.

It can also get overwhelming. When you're up to your knees in paint colour chips, fabric swatches, wallpaper samples, and decorating magazines, it can all begin to feel less like fun.

Keep it enjoyable by keeping it organized.

Pictures torn from magazines can do you more good than piles of magazines. Put them into a scrapbook or file them in an accordion file so you can find them later when you need them.
Make yourself a mood board. Use a bulletin board, a big sheet of posterboard, or even just a sheet of paper which you can then put into your file or scrapbook. Put samples of colours and fabrics you like, but also add pictures or objects that capture the feeling you're going for.
Start a notebook. If you use an organiser or daily planner, you can make yourself a section. Otherwise, used tabbed dividers and paper and keep all your notes, images, and inspirations in one place.
Use a site like Stixy or Pinterest to collect everything online. You can easily share this with other members of the household and with your painters and decorators.

Online Decorating Tools

2011-09-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

From all over the world, decorating tools you can find online!

MyDeco has a collection of online tools, from designing a mood board to applying new colours to a photo of your room. It's fun and easy.
Better Homes and Gardens has a very robust site called Arrange a Room. It requires registration, but it's free.
iVillage Room Designer includes a variety of flooring and cabinetry to play with, as well as colours.
Dulux MyColour Visualiser lets you try out Dulux colours in your room.
Colourlovers is all colours, all the time. Go there to try out different palettes, and to see palette ideas from around the globe. Share your own ideas, too!
Design Your Own Room from Benjamin Moore is the one in the picture at the top of this post. As you can see, it's fun to play with. It also allows you to save your ideas to work with more in the future.

House Painting and Self Expression

2011-09-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

Painting your home can be a simple matter of keeping your property value high or protecting your home from the elements, but it can also be a way to express your personality.

That doesn't mean that you have to pick up your paintbrush and palette and paint what you feel right on the walls.

You probably already realise that hiring professional painters and decorators will give you the best results. The question is, how can you work with your painters to ensure that your home looks the way you want it to?

Make a good choice in the first place. Courtney & Wise are Master Painters who've served Sydney and the North Beaches for more than half a century, so you can feel confident when you hire us that we'll pay close attention to what you want -- and that we have the skills to achieve it. If you don't live in our area, look for equally qualified painters if you have something special in mind. Hobbyists who are learning on the job while they paint your house can't be expected to produce the same results as qualified painters.
Do your homework. Spend some time looking through magazines or visiting decorating sites like this blog. Play with some of the online tools and apps available and get an idea of what you might like. We can help you decide, but the more you know about what you want to begin with, the better we can do at fulfilling your decorating dreams.
Communicate. Waiting till the work is finished and then deciding what you don't like about it will cost you more. Make sure that you communicate with your tradesmen well before work begins, and during the process as well.

The pleasure of planning your decor will be increased by the pleasure of having just the look you want when the decorating is finished.

Paint: Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?

2011-09-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

Does your household paint contain natural substances? Very likely it does. It may have mineral pigments, plant substances like linseed or citrus oil, and even animal proteins like casein. Many paints still contain petrochemicals, too.

Mineral paints like lime and chalk washes bond very thoroughly with the surfaces they're brushed onto. Their colours are part of their nature, so they are very durable and fade resistant, though they will wear away and weather just as the surface beneath them does.

Plant and animal substances break down more quickly. They're also more likely to cause trouble for people in terms of respiratory allergies. However, they are the most renewable paint source.

Synthetics may be less expensive than natural paints, but they are less environmentally friendly and have varying degrees of durability.

Discuss your paint choices with your professional painters.

Recycling Paint

2011-09-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

Did you know that paint can be recycled? Excess household paint, often poured onto the ground or dried out and put into landfills, can be put to use in new forms:

Premium recycled paint can be used again in another home or commercial painting project.
Ordinary recycled paint, sometimes called "fence paint," is handy for utilitarian painting.
Paint can also be recycled in products like road base or concrete mixes.

Dulux participates in a closed loop recycling program called Paintback, accepting unused paint which it then recycles in its Fence Paint. SITA accepts household paint, as well as cleaned steel or plastic paint containers. Contact your local council for information about paint recycling opportunities in your area.

Day Rooms and Night Rooms

2011-09-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

The era of the morning room, breakfast room, day nursery and night nursery is long gone. No room in our modern, smaller houses is only for night or only for day. But some rooms are used much more at night than in the daytime.

This simple fact makes a big difference for decorating.

If your bedroom is a nighttime sanctuary which you rarely use during the day, you should decorate it with that in mind. Don't look at the paint colours in bright daylight and make your choice. Look at them under artificial light, both the light cast by reading lamps and the light of candles or other types of lighting you enjoy.

Similarly, your living room may be a happy play space, a work place, the place where you hang out all day -- or it may be the place where you unwind in the evenings or entertain at night, while the family room is the hangout during the day. Choose your colours with the appropriate lighting.

Rooms for night use may look better with rich, deep colours that look warm and inviting by lamplight or firelight. Day rooms may look better with sunny, light colours.

Colour choices are still very personal, but considering the paint options under the light in which you'll most often see them will ensure the best possible effect.

Leftover Paint

2011-09-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

Paint is one of Australia's most common household chemical waste substances. Oil paints are classed as potentially hazardous substances, and even latex paints present complications when it comes to disposal.

What can you do with leftover paint?

Have your painters dispose of it properly. When you hire painters, you should ask them whether and how they dispose of leftover paint.
Use it. There's nothing like a bit of leftover household paint to freshen up the inside of a closet, or even old furniture. While you wouldn't choose household paint to refurbish a chair or table, it will do the job. You can also paint canvas for a floor cloth, or boards for shelves.
Save it. Many householders keep paint on hand for touch ups. Keep the can tightly closed, and be sure to clean the lid before reclosing it, so it doesn't become sealed shut with dried paint. Paint can last for as long as a decade.
Donate it. Are there schools, community organisations, or even other householders in your area who could benefit from that nearly-full tin of paint? Ask around. Even small amounts can create a special striped wall for a nursery or waiting room.
Recycle it. More places are beginning to recycle household paints. Even if your city doesn't yet have a paint recycling program, they probably have household chemical collection programs. In Sydney, CleanOut is a program of the Office of Environment and Heritage. Click on the link to see the collection dates in your area if you're in NSW.
Dry it out. If there's a small amount left in a paint can, you can let it dry and then dispose of it as you would any rubbish.

Spring Cleaning!

2011-09-08T07:19:00.000-07:00

A good spring clean can make it feel like spring even if it's still a bit of a wait.

Here's how to tackle a room.

Remove artwork from the walls. Clear out the furniture, or push it to the center of the room. Cover it with an old sheet or a tarp to keep it clean. Use a feather duster or long-handled string mop to clean the ceiling and light fixtures. Dust the walls as well, and vacuum to remove all the dust you've brought down to the floors.

Wash painted walls gently with sugar soap or bicarbonate and warm water. Don't scrub more than you need to, and don't leave the solution on the walls to soak. Get them clean and dry as fast as possible to avoid removing paint along with the dirt.

If this is not successful, it's time to repaint.

Once the walls and ceilings are clean, return the furniture to its places. This is a very good time to think about changing the arrangement of the furnishings. It's also the perfect time to dust the furniture, clear out drawers and cupboards, and replace anything that has seen better days.

If you move furniture, you may need to move lamps as well. Think about the function of your furniture groupings: a corner for relaxed conversation will need different lighting from one for reading.

Once everything is clean, tidy, and in just the right place, consider adding decorative touches. Don't just return the same objects d'art to the same places, though. A new vase, or even just swapping a collection from one room with a dramatic single piece from another can give both rooms a fresh new look.

Now enjoy your clean, new room!

Complementary Colour Schemes

2011-09-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

Complementary colours are those on opposite sides of the colour wheel: red and green, yellow and purple, blue and orange. A complementary colour scheme looks classic and pleasant. It's no wonder this is a favourite approach for home decorating.

Choosing a primary colour and its secondary complement gives a bright and simple effect. Sports teams often use these schemes, and that simple boldness can look great in a kitchen, a child's room, or a den.

Looking for something more sophisticated? You can still stick with a complementary colour scheme. Just choose shades and tones of the colours instead of the pure, saturated colour. Above you can see two variants of red. Mix them with the greens below and you have something quite different from a plain red and green.

The same thing is true of the other complementary colour options. Pale, pale blue with a deep terracotta gives a completely different look from a deep cobalt blue with melon and peach.

This bright yellow has a very different look with a soft mauve...

Than it does with a deep burgundy. A bright violet or gentle lavender would give yet another effect.

So don't reject complementary colour schemes as too simple -- look at all the options for this classic approach.

Painting a Gallery Wall

2011-09-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

You may not literally be painting a gallery wall, but if the art on your walls is the important part of those walls, it's an important factor in your decorating planning.

First, of course, you must be sure that your walls don't clash with your artworks. Try a sample of the paint colours you're considering before you decide. The easiest way is to paint on a board and put the board near the artworks where you can see it in the different lights that occur in the course of a day in your room.

It's likely that a neutral colour will give the best effect and conflict least with your artworks. A flat white may not be the right choice, though. Instead, consider a slight wash of blue or pink.

If you have a number of large or heavy pieces on your wall, cleaning it will be the last thing you want to do. You should therefore choose a semigloss finish.This will show dirt and grime less quickly than other kinds of finishes. Washability won't be a primary factor in your paint choice, but you will want to choose the best quality paint so it won't need redoing soon.

Furniture Materials for Spring 2011

2011-09-01T05:15:00.000-07:00

Furniture shows and decorating magazines are looking forward to spring with a new take on furniture. The big news: surprising materials like cast iron and powder-finshed metal turning up with natural materials like bleached rattan and mixed woods.

What does this say about the paints you should plan on for your home in the upcoming season?

The mixed neutrals everyone is showing include both pale golds and taupes and lots of black and deep coffee brown. Both these shades are very popular on walls this year, and you can even combine them. Murobond's Atelier range includes plenty of options:

On the other hand, with so many neutrals in the furnishing this year, it's the perfect time to try out some really bold, brash colour on your walls. Dulux Mirage palette has gorgeous blues and blue-greens that can provide the perfect setting for metal and wood furnishings.

A third option is to go with natural greens. The natural almost neutral feel of eucalyptus or straw greens suits the feel of the natural materials while providing some relief from the blacks and browns. Re-vive from Dulux is perfect for this approach:

The choice is yours.

Solar Paint Update

2011-08-30T05:55:00.000-07:00

We told you that solar paint was on its way. Developed by a physicist at the University of Newcastle, solar paint was featured as an almost-ready idea on ABCs New Inventors last spring. The problem was, the "pain" was really only very thin solar cells which still had to be applied and attached to roofs in sheets. The University of Melbourne, the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization, and researchers in Padua have been collaborating on a much thinner version using nanoparticles.

Again, not quite paint.

Mitsubishi recently announced that they have come up with spray on solar cells which they plan to use to coat cars so the cars can use solar energy. The process should make it possible to move ahead on the concept of solar paint.

In the meantime, paint home exteriors and especially roofs with light colors and "cool paint" to reduce cooling costs.

Painting for a Change

2011-08-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

A coat of paint is one of the best ways to signal a change. Your restaurant has a new menu, or your business is under new management? Let people know that things have changed by painting the walls in fresh new colours.

Painting a house in new colours makes it yours, even if it's a century old. We mark milestones in life by painting a new room for a new baby, or repainting a room to signal the new grown up attitude of the child who lives there. When the kids grow up and move away, we might paint their old rooms to recognize the room's new life as a guest room, sewing room, or office -- just as we'll help the kids paint their new flats.

Sometimes the change is more abstract. If you've taken a new job, if you're ready to move on after a loss and a time of grieving, if you feel that you're on the verge of a new adventure in your life, you can signal those changes with new paint, too. The fresh look in your home or office reminds you and tells others that a change is in the air.

Long Lasting Paint Jobs

2011-08-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

In this box you can see paint pigment from 1856. It was in an American steamboat that sank into the muddy bottom of the Missouri river and stayed there for almost 150 years. When it was dug up, it was cleaned and dried out and -- as you can see -- it still has its colour. This was a shade that was in vogue that year, and it could be on a stylish wall this year, too.

Pain pigment comes from natural minerals that naturally have the colour they give to paint. There's no reason for a pigment to change colour, because that colour is part of its nature.

So why do some houses need to be repainted every year or two?

Pigment isn't all that's in paint. There is a binder to make the pigment into a liquid that can be spread on a wall, and a solvent to keep it from becoming too solid to spread. The quality of these two elements is one of the reasons for paint failure. When you have your home painted, make sure that your contract specifies the pain your tradesmen will use.

Another factor in how long the paint will last is the surface and how well it was prepared. If the surface is dirty or peeling, the paint will adhere to the dirt or whatever is peeling from the wall, not to the wall itself. When the outer layer that the paint is on comes away, the paint naturally comes away with it.

Finally, the quality of the painting itself can't be overlooked. Getting a smooth, even, consistent coat everywhere in your home or on the exterior of your building isn't always easy. A slapdash job of painting, even with quality paint, can lead to early paint failure. Be sure your painters are qualified.

Will your paint job last 150 years? Probably not: wind, weather, and sun all take their toll. However, a good job done with good paint can last for a surprisingly long time.

Modern or Traditional for the Office?

2011-08-23T05:43:00.000-07:00

Much depends on the kind of message you want to convey. Is your company established, secure, trustworthy -- or is it fun, trendy, cutting edge, agile?

Part of the equation is colour. Using bright, unexpected colours in the office, especially in combination with modern furniture and electronics, says, "We're a modern company." Using traditional office shades like biscuit, oxblood, and charcoal, especially with traditional office furniture, says, "We're a traditional company."

Those aren't the only options. While it's not easy to give a traditional-company statement with brilliant acid green walls, you can choose traditional colours and kick them up a notch with newer interpretations and formulations.

For example, replace traditional off-white and biscuit tones with a warmer neutral such as a very pale gold or a warmed-up grey, trim it with an almost-black shade of eggplant or green, and you've automatically given your traditional colour scheme a sophisticated edge.

Use traditional dove grey shades of paint with a suede or pearl finish, and the traditional becomes almost playful. You're saying, "We're steady and established, but not staid or outdated."

Be more daring by combining very traditional furniture choices with a pink wall or trim that predictable business biscuit with a new blue like Threadbare in the palette below (Murobond).

Let your office colour choices speak for you before you say anything at all.

One Colour Colour Schemes

2011-08-21T04:52:00.000-07:00

Artist Marco Ugolini shot photos of monochromatic shopping baskets for his blog. He gathered up all the green stuff in the store in a basket and photographed it, all the black stuff in the store, and so on through quite an interesting series of images.

This is not how a monochromatic household colour scheme should look. You don't want people to walk in and think, "This is so orange!"

A monochromatic colour scheme can feel restful and pleasant, not as though you've been trapped inside an orange. Here's how:

Vary the tones. If you want orange on all your walls, choose various shades to provide subtle variety.
Vary the textures. A matte bedroom wall with a slubbed silk duvet and gleaming floorboards gives the eye the changes it needs.
Use neutrals. You can choose a brown that is more orange in tone or a white with a delicate peach undertone, but do include some neutrals in the look.
Don't be afraid to add accents. While the monochromatic colour scheme makes a strong statement, it will feel fresher to you if you make an occasional change -- yellow flowers, a blue vase, something to refresh the eye and make the orange more pronounced.

Always choose a colour or colours that you love when you paint your walls. The rest of the colours and furnishings in the room can be changed at any time to give the room a new look.

Colour Confidence

2011-08-18T05:02:00.000-07:00

We've probably all heard that blue makes people fell calm, red makes them hungry, and yellow makes them irritable.

New research suggests that colours can also make people feel confident. Shades like deep teal, burgundy, and bottle green increase people's sense of capacity and help them feel that they can take on the world.

Think what this could do for the boardroom or conference room, the waiting room in a clinic or office building, a hair salon or music studio.

The colours that do the trick are rich, deep colours, colours you might think of as jewel tones or dark brights. Why these colours give people a take-charge attitude is uncertain, but you might as well consider them in settings where people may need a shot of confidence.

Some current paint palettes that feature these shades:

Dulux Forbidden:

Murobond Travelers and Magicians:

Clashing Colours

2011-08-16T05:47:00.000-07:00

Last time, we talked about using the colour wheel to identify great colour schemes. We've also suggested examining the palettes created by the designers at our paint suppliers. We even recommend hiring a good colour analyst.

But let's suppose that you have a couple of favourite colours that you really want to use -- and they don't fit into any classic or trendy colour scheme. Maybe your favourite shade just doesn't work with the equally favourite shade of your new flatmate. Maybe you need to bring your new-to-you suite of furniture into a space that is already home to something completely different in the way of colours.

In short, how can you combine colours that aren't already friends?

This old poster pits a yellowish brown and a brownish yellow against a purple-pink mauve. The effect is startling and unattractive. It might have been fashionable in its place and time, for all we know, but we would discourage you from painting your walls mauve and picking out the architectural details with mustard.

But look how the border on the right uses the same colours in combination with other colours. The green brings out the pink of the mauve, the blue cools it down a bit, and the neutral black and white anchor the bright colours. Instead of fighting with the mauve, the yellow provides a pop of colour.

Adding more colours and balancing the quantities of the clashing shades can bring harmony to a colour scheme that seems difficult at first.

Look for a piece of art or a fabric that brings both of the colours together. Notice the balance and the other shades that help bridge the two difficult shades. Experiment with different arrangements. And then bring in professional painters and decorators to make it work. In Sydney, Courtney & Wise will be your first choice. In other areas, check with the Master Painters Association to find well qualified painters.

Mixing Colours

2011-08-14T05:47:00.000-07:00

This season's favourite colour combinations are eye-catching, and even a little jarring. How can you mix colours up in ways that charm rather than clash?

Start with the colour wheel. You might think that will just lead you to boring old classic looks, not the exciting new ways with colour -- not so.

Refresh your memory on the old, classic approaches to planning colour combinations with the colour wheel:

Monochromatic colour schemes usea single colour on the colour wheel, such as green. They may use lots of shades, and you can also vary textures to keep the look rich.
Complementary colour scheme use colours on opposite sides of the colour wheel, such as red and green. Again, they can be any shade -- the spicy pinks and acid greens we've been seeing together are a complementary colour scheme.
Analogous colour schemes use colours next to one another on the colour wheel, such as green, blue, and yellow. The balance of colours in this type of scheme make a big difference.
Triadic colour schemes use three colours evenly spaced around the wheel, such as green with orange and purple.

See how "Tender is the Night," an exciting palette from Murobond, uses complementary colours and analogous colours? This is actually a "split complementary" scheme, which means that complementary colours are used (red and green shades) with the analogous colours of the complement (orange and yellow).

Depending which colours you choose from this palette, you can have a monochromatic room in green or warm pinks and reds; a complementary colour scheme of green and red; an analogous scheme of red, yellow, and orange, or a split complementary scheme that brings in all these shades for a rich and lively look.

Are we just saying pick any colours and there'll be a name for it? Not really. The two colours below frankly clash. If we want to use them together, we'd have to do some fancy things to bring them into harmony. Using the traditional colour wheel method gives you myriad options which will naturally work together.

Kirrily Johnston for Dulux

2011-08-11T06:10:00.000-07:00

We looked at the Dulux colour forecasts at the beginning of the year, but there's one we never discussed: Kirrily Johnston's palette of neutrals with a bold dash of red.

Johnston likes striped walls -- a great look, but one that definitely should be left to professional painters. The palette includes silks and pearls as well as "wash and wear" basic paints, so there are texture and finish options as well as colour choices.

Stripes, whether going with shades of brown and grey or bringing in the panache of the red, make excellent focus walls. Striped walls paired with floral and geometric prints in the soft furnishings echo the mixed prints trend we're seeing in the spring fashion forecasts, while a tone on tone stripe brings just a hint of audacity to a room full of natural fibers in neutral shades.

Mocha Pearl, Raw Cotton, and Whisper White from this palette will add a bit of distinction to an office or professional building without losing the professional air. Smooth Chocolate and Spice of Life will give the break room a bit of punch.

These are also beautiful shades for the home. Consider Nambia with Blind Date for a modern, masculine look, or Raw Cotton paired with Spice of Life for a kitchen or bedroom. Mix up stripes and solids throughout your home to tie the look together.

Vintage, Undecorated, or Shabby Chic!

2011-08-09T04:45:00.000-07:00

A combination of the increasing green aesthetic, the trend toward mixing old with new, and a desire to make our homes look different from our neighbours' homes has launched a new style that makes found objects the focal point of our home decorating schemes.

Instead of choosing some mass-produced decorative object that will be in dozens of homes in your neighbourhood, you can choose something surprising, special, and unique.

How can you make sure that your decor says "chic" rather than "cheap"?

Communicate with your choices. When you pick an item from the op shop or salvage an architectural find, make sure it says something about you. Items you love will do that, but you can also watch for references to your favorite places, hobbies, or foods.
Pick a theme. In fashion and decorating this year there's a move toward mixing patterns and using surprising colour combinations. When you see how the professionals are doing it, though, you'll notice an underlying feel, a common thread, something that pulls the look together. In the snap above, you see an Italian fresco look behind a classically styled angel -- Christmas bulbs are the kicker, but they're a surprise in an otherwise harmonious arrangement.
Keep it tidy. An artful clash and a surprising element will give a completely different feel from a bike helmet and a banana left unintentionally on a table. However, if the bike helmet and banana (and dog brush, tights, and toys) are there, your clever undecorating may blend right into the disorder. That makes an overwhelming effect that can even be stressful.

What paint colour should you use when you're undecorating? Choose a shade that pulls the look together, whether it's a neutral that lets your collection of masks pop, or a coral pink that tones with all the souvenirs from your travels.

This is the year to let your eclectic side show!

What's New in Wallcoverings?

2011-08-07T06:01:00.000-07:00

Wallpaper is the decorators' darling this year, but you don't have to stop there. Look at the amazing new options:

Temporary wallpapers, using the same technology as Post-Its, for people who don't want to commit themselves. While these papers cost about half as much as traditional wallpaper and don't last half as long, they're great for teens and kids who change their minds often. People who rent may also prefer them -- when you move, you can take them along.
Slate, granite, and mica papers have minerals applied to their surfaces, and end up looking much like a wall carved from rock. Because they're light and flexible, they allow you to bring this look into spaces where you ordinarily couldn't. They're much pricier than the average wallpaper, of course, but they're less expensive than building a granite or slate wall.
A Danish company is using light emitting diodes (LEDs) to create luminous wallpapers. You can't buy these yet, but gently glowing walls may be an ordinary part of our future homes.
Researchers at an American university have printed photovoltaic cells onto paper, so another future wallpaper might be solar powered. Getting the solar power from the wallpaper to the appliances in your home is a piece that isn't in place yet... Maybe they could get together with the Danes and create solar powered LED wallpapers.

Nothing on the list appeal to you? We're sure there will be more innovations coming along.

Just What is Paint?

2011-08-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

You know what paint is, of course: it's that colourful stuff you spread onto your walls to make your home beautiful. What's in paint, though? We know it isn't likely that happy paint company elves go into the woods and tap trees, filling their buckets with smooth and creamy colour, so what's in the bucket?

Three things, essentially: binder, pigment, and solvent.

Pigment is the colour. It's powder, generally, and it's usually made by pulverizing minerals. Azurite, for example, is a stunningly blue mineral resulting from the weathering of copper ore. Not surprisingly, azurite when powdered creates a lovely azure hue.

Cinnabar, or mercury sulfide, is a crystal with a range of red colours from quite bright scarlets to the more complex brownish shade we often call by the name "cinnabar." Ochre creates yellow to brown shades.

While most pigments are mineral in origin, there are examples from plants, such as indigo blue, and from animals, like cochineal, a brilliant red from insects.

There are also covering pigments, which make paint opaque, mixed with the colouring pigments. Lead used to be a common pigment used in house paints, but now its health hazards are well known and house paints use titanium dioxide instead. Lime was very common and is still sometimes used.

Early artists used pigment just as it was, or mixed it with water or blood as a binder. By the time people began painting houses, they had moved on. You could just rub ochre or azurite onto your walls and achieve a colour, but you'll get a smoother and more economical effect if you use a binder, or vehicle.

Egg yolks, milk, and oils were common in early house paints. Nitrocellulose, a combination of nitric acid and plant fibers, was another that created a hard lacquer finish. All of these substances will harden into a polymer. Polymers are long chains of molecules; plastic is a common example. The binders, then, allowed the pigment to harden into a solid surface rather than rubbing off again.

Latex, a relative of rubber, is a common binder now. Linseed oil is still used in oil-based paints, but so are modern oils synthesized from soybeans.Modern binders create durable surfaces without volatile organic compounds, and are better for the environment.

The solvent in paint keeps it from becoming solid quickly. Water, the universal solvent, is once again the solvent of choice for housepaints, replacing the petrochemicals that were popular -- but damaging to the environment -- in the last century. New formulations of paint allow the use of water as a solvent without giving up the durability and rich colours we love in house paints now.

Now you know.

True Blue Decorating

2011-08-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

Blue is, worldwide, the most common answer to, "What's your favourite colour?" Perhaps it's because of the blue of the sky and sea; blue reminds of something elemental about our world.

Blue is also thought to be a calming colour. While empirical evidence for the widespread belief is slight, anecdotal evidence is strong enough that Japanese train stations have installed blue lights in hopes of lessening the number of suicides on their premises each year. Restaurateurs have long chosen warm colours on the theory that those colours are more exciting and cause people not only to feel hungrier but also to eat faster, leading to more turnover of customers along with more lavish meals. Again, evidence for the claim is sparse, but it's enough to make restaurants, food manufacturers, and food markets turn to red and orange in overwhelming numbers.

Blue, on the other hand, is said to be calming, to make people feel relaxed and confident, and to reduce conflicts.

That makes it a can't miss choice for decorating. A calming room for baby, a living room that invites relaxation after a long day at work, or a bedroom that encourages sound sleep can all add to our quality of life.

Where Should You Put the Desk?

2011-07-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

So many of us have a desk at home nowadays, either for a home office, for telecommuting, or for the myriad home management chores a modern home requires.

Where to put it is always the question. Often there's no ideal answer. A desk in the kitchen can serve as the household command center, with permission slips for the children and supplies for paying the rates and bills, postage and materials for homework.

A desk in the kitchen is hardly ever a quiet workspace, though, in a family home.

A desk in the bedroom is away from the hurly burly of family life, but there are disadvantages to it. For one thing, the desk user's work schedule may not fit neatly with the sleep schedule of his or her spouse. For another, working in the same room where you sleep leads to poor sleep hygiene. It can also, depending on the individual, lead either to mornings lazing in bed when you should be at the desk, or nights at the desk when you should be in bed.

A desk in the living room combines the disadvantages of both the previous alternatives.

If you don't have a separate room for an office, though, you may have little choice. Built in desks in a broad hallway are sometimes seen, but if it wasn't part of the plan, you're not likely to find enough room there.

The solution is probably to push the desk into the best space available, and then think carefully about how you paint it and the surrounding walls. If you have a desk in the kitchen, think about surrounding it with calming green or blue spaces to help counteract the chaos of the kitchen.

If you have a desk in the bedroom, fit it with a cover or cabinet that can be closed. Paint the closed surfaces to match your walls so the desk will fade away visually when it is closed, helping you to separate work from rest time.

A fitted hallway desk can be an oasis in the dull desert of the hall, with stimulating patterns and colours on the wall to which it is attached. You won't spend much time looking at it when you're not using it, so it can be a bright spot.

That living room desk? Choose one that looks as much like the rest of your furniture as possible and consider a rolltop or armoire style to close off the workspace when you're not working.

Are you lucky enough to have a whole room for your home office space? Paint it in your favourite colour, make it as happy a room as you can, and shut the door when you're not using it if it doesn't suit the rest of the house.

Walls: Plain and Fancy

2011-07-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

Houses and flats for sale or let often have one special thing in common: white walls. Maybe they'll get as bold as pale biscuit. That's about the range of expression for the average ready-to-live-in house.

There's a good reason for that. Wall finishes are the most striking, the most eye-catching element of a room. It can be hard for house hunters to look past that kicky geometric wallpaper and imagine their traditional chintz sofas and armchairs in the room.

For your own home, though, you can be bolder. Decorators now are going with bold papers, whimsical murals, and textured finishes. You can, too.

The problem is, what if you go ahead and add foil effects, faux jewels, and trompe l'oeil touches and then you hate it? Fancy wall finishes are more expensive than plain ones, more time consuming, and require more skill. Whether you do it yourself or hire it done, it's more of a commitment than stroking on a coat of white paint.

Here are some options:

Prepare a good-sized board or piece of foamcore with the treatment you plan. Set it up in the room and live with it for a while.
Use a visualizer tool such as Anderson's Room Designer or Mannington's Virtual Decorator. These tools don't let you get very elaborate, but you can change wall colours and flooring materials to help you envision the effects.
Use AutoCAD software to get the best idea. Your decorator might be able to create a view for you.
Leaf through decorating magazines. More and more rooms are showing rich wall treatments. Remember to compare your own furnishings with what's in the magazine, though.

Your painters and decorators can also help you. Their experience will help them think of the ways that your room might be more suited to one effect than another.

Paint Colour Names: Making Sense of Them

2011-07-24T04:28:00.000-07:00

Rapunzel or Butter Ridge? Chocolate, nougat, toffee,or coffee liqueur? When it comes to colour names for paint, it can be hard to make sense of the system.

Fortunately, you don't have to.

English has only about a dozen truly distinct colour words: red, blue, yellow, green, purple, orange, black, white, grey, brown, and pink. We also have more specialised colour words on which most of us more or less agree, such as fuschia, ecru, and bottle green.

But the human eye can distinguish millions of different shades and variations of colours.

Paint companies bring out new palettes every year, and there are a lot of paint companies, so they ran out of obvious colour names for their paints a long time ago. Now it's up to marketing departments and copywriters to come up with names. The point is to communicate the feeling of the colour, and also to appeal to consumers.

Rapunzel, the beautiful shade of yellow at the top of this post, should bring to mind the long golden hair of the fairy tale heroine trapped in her tower. Butter brings to mind the creamy luxuriousness of that dairy product, but Butter Ridge is also the name of a town and a wine. If you happened to know that, the associations of those things might affect how you saw the colour.

All the shades of brown paint with tasty names like Nougat and Toasted Marshmallow make simple, neutral shades of brown sound more delectable. These examples are a matter of thinking of things that will bring the specific colour to mind and give it an attractive association or feeling.

Sometimes, though, the name is not connected with the colour in any obvious, visual way. Tuscany and Aurora, below, may feel Tuscan and Auroreal to you, but neither name really gives any hint of what the colour will look like. Murobond has a deep black called "Falconer" and a dark brown called "Chimney Sweep," when logically it might have made more sense to swap the terms and give the sootier shade to the sweep.

In choosing paints, then, it makes sense to disregard the name and go entirely by the visual effect of the colour. However, more than half of respondents to a recent poll admitted that they pick their paints at least partly by the name. Clearly, the paint companies are doing a good job.

Play the Paint Game a colour matching quiz using paint colours from the Dulux range.If you can tell Mexican Mosaic from Bongo Jazz, you're a Paint God!

Licensing Painters

2011-07-21T04:29:00.000-07:00

Only Victoria and Tasmania still have no registration for painters, but the national plan to license painters would benefit all of the states.

A recent study in Tasmania found problems with surface preparation, paint choice, and overall workmanship, not to mention jobs that simply didn't get finished.

However, the move to license house painters isn't based just on the quality of work being delivered. There are health and safety issues as well. An uninsured painter who is injured during a job sometimes becomes the responsibility of the homeowner -- something that homeowner surely didn't foresee.

The solution, until the national licensing scheme is settled, is for home owners to take the initiative to check references, make certain that the painters they choose have all served their four year apprenticeships and completed training, and to check on the insurance of the painters and decorators that they hire.

Create a Gallery Wall

2011-07-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

Gallery walls are a fun style that we're seeing more often in decorator showcases, but they're classic enough that they'll never be out of style. You can group family photos, a variety of objects as in the snap above, frames filled with wallpapers or fabrics as in the picture below, or even empty frames that let your beautiful wall colour show through.

A successful gallery wall requires a collection of objects, a clear expanse of wall, and an eye for design.

If you have a fine collection of small and large framed art pieces, you're in luck. If not, you can let your creativity lead you to create one. Here are some ideas for objects:

Family photos. If they're all the same size, you can mat them and put them into different sizes of frames.
You can also use pictures that are all the same size; if you do, put them into a regular grid for the best effect.
Illustrations from books or calendars.
Papers or fabrics.
Canvases that you paint yourself. Use random stripes and blocks of colour, or stencil them.
Fairly flat objects like plates, tiles, or signs.
Mirrors.
Sea shells or other light objects.
Maps.

Now create your gallery. Here's how to do it yourself:

Use a big piece of butcher paper, the same size as the wall section where you plan to put your gallery.
Lay it on the floor.
Lay all your objects on it and move them around till you like the arrangement.
Draw around the objects and note what goes where -- just write by the outline, "photo of Jim" or any phrase that will help you remember.
Use a craft knife to cut out the outlines.
Hold the paper up to the wall and transfer the markings with an X of painter's tape.
Using the paper for reference, hang your pictures or objects on the wall.

Now step back and admire the effect. Your gallery wall will have as much impact as a single large artwork -- but at a much lower cost.

Follow the Sun?

2011-07-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

"Follow the sun," when painters use the term, refers not to the Beatle's song nor to sophisticated methods of global outsourcing, but to the practice of working around the outside of a building while painting. The idea is to be in the shade while painting, so that the paint will not dry too quickly and the painter won't suffer from heat exhaustion.

Heat exhaustion isn't an issue on cool days, but following the sun is still good practice. Winter sunlight directly on your paint will give you a streaky paint job just as surely as summer sun will.

For a good exterior finish, it's essential to paint with a smooth, even coating and to blend the new paint into the paint that's already on the walls before it dries.

Winter Decorating

2011-07-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

Winter decorating can be summed up in just a few words.

Warm A warm tone like gold, terra cotta, or spicy pink will make your place feel cosy all winter. Reds, oranges, and yellows are all warm colours, and these colours will actually make people in a room feel warmer. Metallic gold or bronze touches, lanterns like the ones in this picture, candles, fires, and cushy textures also carry that warm feeling.

Cool It may seem like a contradiction, but effective winter decorating is just as likely to be cool as warm. Blue, silver, white, and icy pastels look wintery even if you're keeping your room toasty warm. Make a bouquet of bare branches and white hothouse flowers for a wonderful winter effect. Purple or pure greys mixed with any shade of blue will feel crisp and cool.

Sparkly Get a frosty feel with sequins, spangles, and glitter. Mirrors, glass prisms, and tinsel fabrics make a cool shine, while yellowed light glinting from amber glass or polished brass gives a warm glow. Either one is perfect for winter.

If you want to paint your home or office in wintry tones, look at neutrals like these, both warm and cool. Then choose ideas from the lists above to carry out with soft furnishing and decorative objects. Add a bit of sparkly cool to the pale greys and whites, or cozy up the golds and ivories. Either way, you'll still love the look when spring comes.

Birds and Paint

2011-07-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

At this time of year, birds may be seeking shelter from the cold, and they may be doing that seeking right around your home. You may be happy to have birds under the eaves, but that doesn’t mean you want them in the vents. It certainly doesn’t mean you want the staining and smell of birds on your paint work, or that you want to have to clean the surface of their debris when you get ready to paint your home or your commercial building.

The worst time to take care of this problem is when there’s a nest full of babies in spring. The best time is when the birds haven’t yet nested. Check the vents under your eaves, as well as any stove vents or dryer vents, and remove any nesting materials left from previous years.

Then put wire grids onto the vents. This will allow air into and out of your home, but will prevent nesting. It takes about 20 minutes to install either a specialized bird vent guard or simply to tack wire mesh in place, and the cost is minimal.

Your painters will thank you -- and you'll be glad not to pay for the extra time involved in dealing with birds and birds' nests while painting.

The Future of Painting?

2011-07-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

Economics research reports say that painting will be among the top ten growth industries of the decade, as Australians continue to prefer skilled tradesmen for projects that used to be more often done by home owners.

Partly this reflects the increasing population of the country and improvements in the economy, but it also reflects a growing appreciation of our time. "Time-poor" is a description that fits a lot of us nowadays, and anything scarce becomes more precious.

When you make the sensible decision to hire a professional to do your painting and decorating, you should also take sensible precautions. The growing demand for our services will encourage newcomers to the trade. We don't object to newcomers, of course, but you won't be happy with a job done on the cheap by unqualified people looking to cash in on the opportunity.

Are the painters you're considering Master Painters? Have they received any awards? Are they certified by a well known company such as Dulux or licensed? Are they OH&S compliant, with green tickets and working on heights tickets? Will they know how to deal with issues such as lead or asbestos if they come up in the course of your project?

Do yourself a favor and choose an experienced firm of painters and decorators. If you're in Sydney, call Courtney and Wise at 9958 1099. We've been in business since 1956, and our credentials will satisfy the most discerning homeowner.

Can You Paint in the Winter?

2011-07-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

We don't like to let winter change the way we live our lives. Even if you surf all winter long, though, you should think twice about painting exteriors in winter.

Even if you're not discouraged by the possibility of slippery ice and shivering, you need to have specialized knowledge and skills to paint in colder weather. New paint formulations are designed to allow painting in cooler weather than used to be possible, but you can't ignore dew.

The moisture that comes out in the mornings on plants or causes little ribbons of mist over damp grass looks picturesque. The moisture that comes out of your walls can cause blistering in your paint. It can cause "bloom," a milky discolouration. It can even freeze and expand, causing paint failures on freshly painted surfaces.

Professional painters still paint in the winter. How do we do it? First, we wait till later in the day, when the surfaces we're going to paint are more likely to be dry. Second, we stop earlier in the day, before evening moisture sets in. Third, we give the paint a longer drying time between coats.

This means that painting can take longer in the winter. Since you're less likely to end up on a long waiting list, though, it may work out the same in the end.

Note that all these points are for exterior painting. You can paint indoors in the winter, on dry days, with proper ventilation. Cooler temperatures can actually make indoor painting more pleasant.

Warm Colours for Warm Homes

2011-06-30T12:24:00.000-07:00

When it's cold outside, warm the inside of your home with warm colours. Warm colours actually make you feel as though the temperature is higher than cool colours.

Which are the warm colours? They're the ones on the left side of this colour wheel: reds, oranges, and yellows.

Painting your walls a rich gold or vivid orange can raise the apparent temperature of your room and let you get by with less heating. Murobond's Tender is the Night palette is an example of a warm palette.

Another example is Lost Memoirs from Dulux:

Use colours like these to make your home feel cosy even in winter.

Covenant Requirements for Painting

2011-06-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Does your neighbourhood have covenants restricting your options when it comes to exterior painting or decorating?

Are you sure?

More communities are making requirements about the materials, colours, and maintenance required of homeowners. We've seen covenants requiring all of these things:

Painting must be approved by the council before beginning.
Any changes to colours must be approved.
All colours must be pre-approved by the council.
No more than 70% of the exterior of a home may be of a single material.
Only earth tones may be used.
Air-conditioning units must be painted to match the walls.

Some of the requirements of neighborhood covenants might be predictable, but some might not. The best plan is to check and see what is required before beginning your decorating project. Having to redo a paint job because it violates the rules of the covenant is frustrating, and it's easy to avoid. Just check the rules before you get your heart set on anything. Your painters and decorators can help you plan a look that will satisfy you and your neighborhood covenant.

Painting and Decorating Your Commercial Building

2011-06-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

When you think about decorating your commercial property, be it a hotel, a block of flats, or a suite of offices, you may think first about the lobby. The executive offices or reception area, the meeting rooms or other obviously public spaces come to mind next.

The last thing you think of might be the back stairs. The restrooms. The kitchens. The hallways.

And yet these places are on view. Not only are they visible to your clientele, but they also matter. In a recent study, 69% of respondents said they wouldn't return to a restaurant if they felt they restrooms weren't up to par. Another study showed that people who were dissatisfied with the state of a company's building would complain to an average of five other people.

Certainly, cleanliness is a basic issue. However, shabby paint and paper can make even a clean room look dirty. Take a fresh look at your premises. If you were a new visitor, what would you think?

If you can see that it's time for an update, give your local professional painters and decorators a call. If you're in Sydney, call Courtney &Wise. You may be pleasantly surprised by the affordability of redecorating, and by the return on your investment.

Save a Bundle on Exterior Painting

2011-06-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

Some homeowners try to save money on an exterior painting job by choosing a lesser quality of paint. This is a mistake. It just means that the job will need to be done again sooner. Since much of the cost of a painting job is the labour, the cost of painting more frequently ends up being far higher over time than the additional cost of a good quality paint.

Other homeowners try to do the job themselves, thinking they'll save money in that way. Unfortunately, by the time they buy the tools, put in the time, and possibly have to do the job again sooner because they didn't do it well enough (see above), the savings can be negligible.

You can certainly save money, however, by doing the preparation.

Clear away any debris around the house.
Move furniture or decorations that might interfere with the painting.
Check for any boards that need to be replaced.
Hammer in any protruding nailheads.
Clean the building exterior.
Cover and protect anything that can't be moved, such as plants (don't forget your neighbor's trees if they come within reach) and statuary.
Remove the old paint.
Remove any crumbling caulking, too.
Do any patching or caulking that needs doing.
Sand the surfaces.
Prime all the surfaces, including the patches.

Many of these tasks can be done by people with very little skill or experience. Take the time to do some of these jobs yourself, and you can cut the time your professionals painters need to spend on the job.

Where Do You Get Your Inspiration?

2011-06-18T04:05:00.000-07:00

Inspiration pieces for a room are usually a work of art, a rug, a vase, or a fabric. There's no rule that says they have to be a piece of the room's furnishings, though, or even something you plan to put into the room.

We read recently about a bathroom with a decorating scheme inspired entirely by the packaging of the homeowner's shower gel. The colours of that cardboard box seemed just the perfect combination to him.

The story reminded us that design inspiration can come from anywhere. A case in point: the picture at the top of this post. Not something we'd want on our walls, perhaps, but the contrast of the blue green and russet, with the surprise of bright yellow and a warm tan shade from the ground and the girl's skin -- what a great colour scheme for a living room or study!

When something catches your eye, look at it with an eye to its colours, no matter how far removed it may be from the room you're planning. You never know where inspiration might lie!

So Your Room Has a Chandelier?

2011-06-16T03:47:00.000-07:00

Chandeliers are a breakout trend in decorating this winter. Small chandeliers, the sparklier the better, are showing up not just in dining rooms but in bedrooms and bathrooms as well.

How do you paint a room with a chandelier?

It is possible to remove a chandelier before painting, and you may want to do so if you have a valuable antique chandelier. It can be very difficult to remove stray paint spatters without damaging an elaborate fixture. If you decide to take the chandelier down, have an electrician in to do it safely.

If you're ready to take a chance with your chandelier, be sure to cover it securely, just as you do electrical outlets, before you paint. Wrapping and taping it is the best plan.

Then carefully paint the surfaces nearest to the chandelier with a brush and a steady hand before using a roller or other tool for faster paint coverage.

Of course, you must always prepare and prime your surfaces fully before painting.

Use a rich colour like the one shown in this picture for maximum drama. Then you can dress up your chandelier even more for special occasions by adding beads, ribbons, or flowers in matching or toning colours.

Trends in Office Decorating

2011-06-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

After going through a rough time financially, many businesses are celebrating the upturn by redecorating their offices. While new office decor trends during the economic downturn tended toward fantasy looks (who was going to buy it?), the new looks for offices are sleek and serious.

Your office chair this year won't look like a tree or have enough attachments to make it look like a cross between a spaceship and a squid. Instead, you'll be seeing streamlined shapes in top quality materials.

What kind of wall goes with this new look? Take your pick:

Go with the luxe feeling and choose a suede effect or a stylish wallpaper with a bit of mica. Choose colours like charcoal grey, old gold, or a purple so deep it looks like brown.
Keep it minimalist. Chinese white or a neutral paper with a hint of texture makes a terrific background for furniture that reminds you of a race car.
Today's business shows off by keeping things simple, but top quality. Choose a neutral colour but make it look really sharp by picking out architectural details in a contrasting or toning colour. Impeccable paintwork and natural materials keep the look upscale yet natural and sincere.

Whether you're redoing your office to reassure clients or just because you deserve it, be sure to make your walls part of the plan.

Mixing Wallpaper Patterns

2011-06-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

Mixing wallpaper patterns is very popular right now. Here are some fun ways to bring in multiple patterns:

Paint or paper with a solid color or muted print. Then cut out big shapes in a variety of wallpaper patterns. Animal silhouettes in a circus parade make a fun effect in a child's room, while a pattern of squares can spark up a hallway or living room.
Use one paper on the walls, and a different one as the backdrop for shelves and cabinets in the room. Floral walls with gingham backings on the built-ins look fresh and pretty.
A border at the edge of the ceiling with a bit of mica shimmer is very trendy right now. Mix it up with a coordinating patterned paper.

General tips for mixing patterns:

Mix up the scale. A large-scale pattern will work more easily with a small pattern than with another large one.
Don't mix up the colours. Stick with different shades and tones of one colour or of complementary colours.
Use patterns that are designed to go together. When you see a toile, a plaid, and a floral combined in a magazine picture, chances are good that they really are made for each other -- they don't just look that way!

Patterned Wallpaper

2011-06-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

Wallpapers come in such a range of patterns that it can be very hard to decide among the choices.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Very small patterns will appear almost solid from a distance. Be sure to look at the papers you're considering from the distance at which you'll see them most of the time -- across the room.
Patterns often come in more than one colourway. Try not to be so swayed by the colour you see in an example photo or someone else's room that you overlook how you might feel about the paper in another colour scheme.
Asymmetrical or even random patterns are more forgiving if you're doing the papering yourself.
Consider the overall style of the room you're decorating in choosing your paper. Even if you fall in love with the wallpaper design in a sample book, a romantic floral can look odd with your chrome and leather furniture.
Consider the size of the room, too. If you love a big, bold paper and you're papering a small room, think about papering one wall and painting the others. You can also paper one wall with the knockout print and paper the others with a coordinating, smaller pattern.

Pendant Friezes

2011-06-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

As wallpaper regains its popularity, we're seeing more creativity. One idea from a previous wallpaper heyday is the pendant frieze. "Pendant" means "hanging," like the pendant hanging from a chain in a pendant necklace. A pendant frieze in wallpaper was like the more common wallpaper border, but with "pendants" -- motifs hanging down from the border. Sometimes there was a single pendant, sometimes they were very close together, and sometimes they were grouped to create a focus.

A pendant frieze often came with wallpaper and borders in a set. It wasn't uncommon in the Edwardian era to mix a number of different but coordinated wallpapers in a single room. There might be a patterned border near the floor, a stripe or another pattern up to the chair rail, another design above the chair rail, a special frieze or mural style on one wall, another border, perhaps including a pendant frieze, and a final border edging the ceiling. Very sophisticated and lavish effects could be created in this way.

Now, interior designers are mixing whimsical wallpapers in small doses with larger amounts of geometric patterns. A pendant frieze is a perfect way to do this.

Most papers of this kind are sold "to the trade" -- that is, designers and manufacturers sell only to tradies and not to homeowners. Contact Courtney & Wise in Sydney, or your local decorator if you're out of our area, and ask for options with this effect, or for the particular paper you've seen and liked.

If you prefer DIY, be sure to measure and plan carefully so that the pendant parts of the wallpaper frieze work as a focus in your room. You certainly don't want to end up with a pendant cut off in a corner! Measure to the center of the wall and position the center of a pendant there for best results, and calculate the space to the corners before attaching the paper to the wall.

If you plan to use companion wallpapers and borders, draw out your plan ahead of time and be sure to decide on any points of overlap before you begin pasting.

Brown Paint -- It's Not the Way It Used to Be

2011-06-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

If you love brown, you haven't seen much of your favourite colour in decorating mags lately. If you're seeing brown at all, it's showing up in natural materials like wood and leather that just happen to be brown.

Earth colours have tended toward gold, caramel, and flesh tones rather than a straightforward brown.

For the upcoming season, though, we're seeing a new kind of brown paint. Not paint made with brown pigment, but yellows and reds mixed together for shades that are more complex and nuanced. A modern brown paint might be almost purple, almost pink, or a yellow shade like the hottest mustard. Greyed browns in the taupe family are gaining ground, too.

Are you determined to go with chocolate brown or espresso brown? Pair it with teal for the newest look. For exterior painting, save that deepest brown for the shutters and doors of the house, and choose a taupe or toffee shade for the main walls.

Really, really love brown? Go ahead. It's your home. Fashions come and go, but your favourite colour can make you happy regardless of the trends.

Numerology and Colour?

2011-05-31T12:32:00.000-07:00

House Beautiful, an American decorating magazine, has developed an iPad application for home colour schemes. You can scroll through almost 700 colours and mix and match them up on the screen, saving your favourite applications in your Paint Box. You can also type your name in and see the perfect colour for you -- accordingly to numerology.

There is an immediate implausibility to this idea, of course. Are we really prepared to say that every woman named Emma Williams should ave the same colour scheme? And what are we to do about the married women?

But it's a fun idea, and you might as well find out your perfect colour according to numerology -- maybe it will turn out to be the perfect colour for you for other reasons as well.

Emma must find all the numbers of her name and add them together:

5 for E
4 for M
4 for M
1 for A
5 for W
9 for I
3 for L
3 for L
9 for I
1 for A
4 for M
1 for S

The total is 49, so keep adding: 4 plus 9 equals 13 and 1 plus 3 equals 4. Emma's lucky colour is green -- and lucky Emma, since green is a popular colour for home decorating this year, she'll have plenty of choices.

If Emma marries Jack Smith, an 8, she'll need to combine rose with that green, creating a nice colour combination for a bedroom or bath. Doing up the whole house in this mixture might be too feminine for Jack.

Go ahead: figure out your colour destiny and see if you agree!

Summer Dreams in Winter

2011-05-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

There are two approaches to winter decorating: you can go cosy, with wooly throws and deep, rich paint colours, or you can go into decorating denial and make the inside of your home an oasis of summer warmth.

Some things hold true whichever route you take:

Warm colours make a space feel warm. Icy blue and white may be pretty, but warmer shades of teal and terra cotta feel warmer. In the picture above, the greener shade of blue in the ocean, warm terra cotta tile, and golden rattan chair give a general feeling of warmth. Use these colours to give your home a sunny, warm look that will make winter more bearable.
Textures add warmth. Use lots of different textures: deep knitted cables on an afghan or throw will work perfectly with a nautical theme while also keeping your toes toasty. Thick sheepskin rugs or sisal squares, nubby cushion covers in linen, raw silk, or matelasse, and rough pottery keep a beach house feel while keeping the room's temperature up.
Close off areas. Make your heating more efficient by closing off rooms, hanging heavy draperies, or setting up dividers to keep more warmth in your living spaces. Smaller spaces feel cozier, too, even when the smaller space is an illusion. Bead curtains or bright screens can do the trick while looking summery.

When the weather gets warm again, you can pare down the extra items and keep the colour scheme for a year-round beach feel.

Feng Shui and Your Office

2011-05-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

We're not experts on feng shui and we make no claims for its truth or value, but we were interested to see some claims about the effects of paint colours in your office, according to feng shui principles.

Green is for growth, and is said to stimulate learning and emotional development.

These green shades from the Dulux Re-vive palette could make your office a place of growth and prosperity.

Red is said to distract people and make it hard to focus, but it is the colour of luck and wealth, so you'll want some red in your office. Don't mix it with purple, another hot, distracting colour in feng shui, or you may not be able to focus well enough to get your work done.

Instead, mix reds with grey -- a colour that promotes incisive thinking -- as Murobond does in their Atelier palette. Touches of gold are auspicious, too.

Don't choose red or gold for rooms in which you conduct negotiations. Aggressive colours can make it harder for people to agree. Instead, choose blue, a soothing colour that is good for your career prospects.

The Mirage palette from Dulux offers myriad blue tones -- one will surely be the perfect colour for your board room or office.

House Painting: Change a Little or Change a Lot?

2011-05-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

Do you like to change your paint colours often? Or do you want to paint once and have done with it, repainting in the same colours only when the old paint job shows signs of wear.

It's an important question, and one that can help you decide what colours to choose next time you paint your home.

If you like change...

You can take advantage of trends in home decorating, changing your look as trends change. For the coming season, we're still seeing spicy pinks and golds, creating romantic boudoir looks and exotic effects in living and dining rooms. If you're willing to make changes, you can warm up your winter home with these hot colours, and change in a year or two when decorators strike out in another direction.
You can use less durable materials and techniques. Some paints and paint finishes are harder wearing than others. If you want to go for a decade in between paintings, you can't use delicate finishes, however much you like the look. Frequent redecoration lets you use matte finishes, trompe l'oeil effects, or suede finishes.
You can experiment. Maybe you won't love an all-black room or an aubergine floor, but if you know you'll be redecorating in a year or two, you can chance it. A decade or two with a look you don't love could be depressing.

If you don't like change...

Choose classic looks. Colour trends come and go, but neutral shades will always work on your walls. If you choose a special, unusual colour and are determined to stick with it, you'll have to have it custom mixed when you repaint.
Choose versatile colours. Sticking with one colour for paint doesn't mean you can't freshen up the look of your home. White walls will complement your furnishings now and look good with other furnishings, too. White walls with white furnishings is a completely different effect from white walls with red and turquoise furnishings.
Don't ignore wear. Just because you don't want to change colours, don't let your paint get shabby. Paint protects your surfaces, as well as producing much of the effect of your decorating. No paint job lasts forever.

It's a matter of taste and temperament. However, if you hesitate to change paint colours because you find it difficult to decide, don't forget that you can hire a colour consultant to help you with the all-important decision.

Does Your House Colour Draw Insects?

2011-05-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

Winter's settling in, but we still have some issues with insects in Sydney as the remaining bugs move into the warmth indoors. And of course if winter comes, spring will surely follow, with wasps, bees, mosquitoes, and all the rest of the buzzing hordes.

You might not know that the colour of your house can affect the degree to which you have insect troubles.

White and yellow exterior paint draws insects, especially those that feed on flowers. Blue, on the other hand, is invisible to most insects. Tan and biscuit shades are also less appealing to insects. If you want to discourage bugs around your house, consider a pale grey-blue shade for eaves and doorways.

Paint Your Floors!

2011-05-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

Painting your floors is an inexpensive way to liven up a room. Choose the right paint for your surface and prepare it thoroughly. Chances are, it will need a complete cleaning as well as priming.

You can paint your floor all one colour, from white to soften and cool a room's look to black or deepest aubergine for drama. But floors are fun to paint in more elaborate patterns, too. Stripes are a natural with floorboards; you can simply paint one or more boards in each colour. Still, it's wise to use painter's tape to keep your edges clean.

Checkerboards and parquet patterns are just a little more difficult. You can even choose a decorative pattern and transfer it to the primed floor and paint in the pattern. It's less taxing than doing the same on a wall.

With any decorative treatment, you can do the entire floor or create a faux rug by painting the design only in the center of the room.

Finish up with a coat of varnish.

If you want a similar effect with less permanence, paint a canvas floorcloth. Use interior wall paint and varnish the canvas before laying it onto your floor. You can even do this first and live with it a while before painting the floor itself.

Naturally, a floor gets more intensive wear than a wall or ceiling, since people walk on it, so your paint job won't be as durable as the paint on your walls. Nonetheless, it's a fun way to dress up a room.