Paw Painting

I'll start this post by saying I'm a pet lover. Even rescued a dog from a vet clinic I worked in while going to school. So, you could say, I'm pretty familiar with the concept that dogs LOVE paint. Something about the smell.

Anyway. The other day, I'm getting set up to paint a hall way. There are two dogs in the house, so I know I have to be careful wherever I decide to put the paint lids, brushes, etc. I noticed that one of the rooms next to the hall was blocked off by a child gate. I knew it was absolutely brilliant of my to think to put the extra paint supplies in there. That way the dogs could move about in the hall and I wasn't freaking out every 5 minutes.

This worked great. Until, I was up a ladder and the doorbell rang. The lady of the house went to answer the door and temporarily put both dogs behind the gate with pink paint and white carpet. Yeah, you can just imagine how that turned out!

So, both the nice customer and I are on our hands and knees trying to get the pink paw prints off the carpet before it soaks in. She couldn't say sorry enough. She said the dogs were not allowed in the room, but she wanted to make sure they didn't bother me. So, she tossed them in, not knowing that I had set up a painting extravaganza for them to romp through.

On the up side. Since the dogs were covered in this lovely color for awhile. The neighbors got to see what color they had painting the walls.

Wasn't Me

It amazes me how many homes I go into where the previous painter neglected to move furniture when they decided to paint the walls. What amazes me even more is that the current homeowner is always surprised to find bare wall behind refrigerators, couches, book cases, you name it.

So my big question is--Doesn't anybody dust anymore? Or, are people too embarrassed to say they didn't complete a job and would rather point fingers at somebody else?

Ever had one of those days?

Welcome

Thanks for visiting my Blog.

You may ask, why would a painter have a blog?

Answer--because I can. Also because it's a heck of a lot easier to post my before and after pictures and give and get feedback from my customers and the general public.

Hey, let's also be realistic. I'm from NJ and I have a big mouth.

Hall Before & After

Only the feel of an Italian Villa would work for this customer. Since the entry faced North and had a 26 foot ceiling, the hall always had a "cool" feel to it. So, we found a "warm" color to add a dramatic and welcoming feeling. In addition, we used a faux technique just under the stairs to give the hall a unique, copper-like look, at a fraction of the price.

Dining Room Before & After

"Makes me think I'm eating in a vineyard" is what this customer asked. Wine was really important to them. They had visited wineries all over the world and wanted to bring that same feeling into this space. To add a cozy feeling we painted the four walls and the ceiling a dark green color to make it seem as if you were sitting in a field. Then, we added a trellis with hanging grapes border. A faux stained glass window completed the project. It not only let enough light into the room which otherwise could seem to dark, but also allowed for privacy.

Before After

Family Room Before & After

This family room received a lot of sun. We went with a "cool blue color" to visually make the room seem cooler. Since this was also attached to the kitchen as one long room, we used a lighter hue of the same color to tie them together. You can see that color on the ceiling in the after picture. What I like to do is have at least one color from another room as one of the colors in an attached room. It continues the look and feel and helps to tie all the different colors together.

Fireplace After

Ok, so I missed the Before picture here. But, it was boring. I can tell you that. If a fireplace is supposed to be a visual point in a room, than I say go all the way! The burning red color that this customer went with (a bit hesitantly at first) really made a huge difference in the room. We did balance out the other walls with a lighter tan color to match the furniture and design of the rest of the rooms. Although the customer was a little nervous to go from plain white walls to this fire invoking color, she was thrilled with the results.