Color Your World : When It Comes to Remodeling, There Is a Painting Technique to Suit Almost Any Taste, Style or Budget

The wallpaper ripped during the earthquake and you have just discovered that the pattern has been discontinued.

You’re expecting your first child and have started to decorate the nursery. Somehow, though, you’re just not bunny/bear/ducky people.

You bought an expensive sofa only to discover that no wallpaper book in a 20-store search has anything that matches.

You just leased space for your new business and want to give it an unusual, personalized touch.

What to do? Think paint. Think mural. Think graphics. Think rag, faux, sponge. Decorating with paint has moved light years beyond Navajo white or even Santa Fe peach.

The use of paint for decorating is growing steadily and it seems the only limits are the imagination. There is a paint decorating technique to fit virtually everyone’s taste, style and budget.

There are definite advantages in using paint to decorate your home or business. You can select your own colors. Paint can be mixed to match any color scheme, any fabric pattern, any mood. You can select patterns, textures, murals, graphics.

Paint doesn’t rip. It doesn’t have seams. It is never discontinued.

Finally, if you’re tired of it, just paint it out. No machinery. No mess.

Before running for the yellow pages, however, you may want to know what the local artists/painters have to say about decorating with paint. And, of course, there is that all important question that anyone planning a remodel is going to ask: What’s this going to cost?

Read on.

EXPERT ADVICE

There are as many approaches to decorative painting as there are artists and clients, but there are some basic decisions that must be made in each case.

According to liquid paper specialist Charlotte Bishelli, of Custom Painting Plus in Camarillo, color is the most difficult decision most people have. “With wallpaper,” she says, “the colors are already there. But with paint, you can choose literally anything and that can be difficult.”

Color is one of the most important considerations in decorating. Color can change the shape of a room, the size of a room and most certainly, the mood of a room. The psychology of color has been widely studied and is used frequently in business design. Studies have shown that color has more impact in our day-to-day lives than most of us realize.

Fast-food restaurants often use brighter colors that dissuade you from lingering over a meal. Conversely, restaurants that want to invite an unhurried dining experience will use muted colors, creating an atmosphere of relaxation.

It has been found that decorating, inside or out, with blue, can make your home more difficult to sell, and that color preference often varies with income and education levels. Hunter green, for example, is liked most by those with college educations.

It is important that you carefully choose your color scheme. “Blue next to food can make (the food) look gray,” says Elizabeth Castrejon of Westlake, who has designed a number of restaurant interiors. “So you have to be careful in selecting colors for each area of the home.”

Bishelli, who has attended several color seminars, strongly suggests that a sample be done before final decisions are made. “If a customer doesn’t like the color,” she said, “the design doesn’t matter.”

Sherand Palmer, owner of Simi Valley’s Murals by Sherand, recommends that final color mixing be done at the site where it will be applied. “You have to see it with the lighting where it will be used,” she said.

If you’re unsure about colors, the experts suggest looking around for the predominant colors in your house. “I often look at their towels. That’s frequently a good indicator of the colors people like,” said Bishelli.

Selecting a design is the next most difficult thing, according to artists. Some people have an exact idea of what they want, others have a vague idea, and some have no idea at all.

Nancy Bocash, of Wall Fantasies in Camarillo and a specialist in children’s murals, says most of her clients have some idea of what they want. “For newborns, a lot of people buy their nursery bedding first, so I often match the colors and designs they select,” she said. For toddlers and older children, Bocash likes to involve the children by finding out their interests. “A lot of the fun for me is seeing the kids get excited as the mural takes shape,” Bocash said.

Graphic artist Sheila Webber of Simi Valley, whose specialty is business and residential graphics, spends her first session with a client coming up with a concept. “They rely on me to graphically interpret their themes and feelings, so I try to get a good understanding of their business or personality,” she said.

Most artists agree that it is helpful if the client has a general idea of what he or she wants. Castrejon advises her clients to keep an “idea folder” with pictures of design- and color-schemes they like. “This is so personalized,” said Castrejon, who specializes in trompe l’oeil, “that I find it helps to get a feel for the person, their likes and dislikes, before I start a project.”

For those who have no idea, and are brave and trusting, there are options.

“A few people feel comfortable enough to just turn us loose to create,” said Gerry Massey, who with brother Doug owns Massey Painting in Ventura. That is a favorite, though infrequent, assignment for the brothers. “It takes a really good sport,” said Gerry, “because at any given stage, it may not have the balance it will have at the end. It takes a trusting client, but we’ve never had to paint anything out or do it over.”

No matter what the approach, all artists agree that clients should be very honest in their response to the project. “After all, they are the ones who will have to live with it,” said Palmer.

COST

So, OK--the Beverly Hills and Lake Sherwood types have unlimited funds for continual redecorating, but what about the rest of us? Surprisingly, the customized touch is not as expensive as you might think. It is custom work, of course, so it will be more expensive than the roller-to-wall job.

All decorative painting must be estimated on an individual basis, but there are known factors that affect the cost of a job, most of them quite obvious.

Size is, of course, a major determinant of cost. Two rooms cost more than one, a one-wall mural less than a four-wall mural.

The number of colors used is another big factor, particularly in textured finishes. Sponging a wall three times clearly takes longer than two times.

The complexity of the decorative paint is another big consideration for the artist. Intricate trompe l’oeil, detailed cartoon characters and delicate marbling are more time-consuming than a two-layer splatter paint.

Another, not-so-obvious, factor is the trim: A room with lots of intricate corners, edges and molding will be more expensive than a flat wall with no windows.

The artists mentioned in this article have done decorative work for as little as $125 (small bathroom) to as much as $20,000 (very large house). An “average” mural might be about $600; a 360-degree mural might be several thousand.

The important thing is to be clear about costs and estimates early in the discussion. Neither you nor the artist needs to spend a lot of time discussing options that are out of your budget range.

MIXING IT UP

SPECIAL FINISHES

In the general category of special paint finishes, there is fresco, faux fresco, color washing, dragging, stippling, ragging, sponging or combing, to name a few. Simply stated, each of these techniques is a way to apply color in an uneven manner, without the use of the standard paint roller. These methods are generally used for subtle, rather than bold coloring, although there are no hard and fast rules in the world of paint.

Some of these techniques involve applying the color unevenly over the background paint, others involve applying and then removing color from the background.

FRESCO, the application of tinted plaster, is not commonly done because it requires serious physical labor to trowel on plaster and it is difficult to create the right conditions for bonding between old and new plaster.

FAUX FRESCO, a much less taxing and less expensive alternative to fresco is the application of a “skim” coat of plaster-like materials, such as spackle, to create a surface that absorbs color like a blotter. After the skim coat dries, color is applied. Applications are repeated until the desired color is achieved.

An alternative is to tint the skim compound before application, though control of the color is more difficult with this technique.

COLOR WASHING gives a watery coloring to the wall. Special paint is liberally thinned and dries to a soft finish without hard edges or streaking. Color washing is done by applying color with a brush irregularly in all directions.

DRAGGING is the use of controlled brush marks, usually done vertically to create a subtle, silky appearance. A firm brush is dragged through a tinted glaze. This is a difficult finish to achieve, because it requires a straight brush stroke down an entire wall. Then comes the task of avoiding paint build-up at the start and finish of each stroke.

SPONGING is one of the more popular of the textured finishes and can create a wide variety of effects, depending on the type of sponge, the way it is used, and the number of colors used. Color washes or glazes can be sponged on or sponged off. A sea sponge is most commonly used.

Two-color sponging is often used to get a marbled effect.

RAGGING AND RAG-ROLLING have gained popularity for their softly variegated texture and are most often used with softer colors. Both techniques can be done with rag, towel, cheesecloth or chamois. For ragging, the bunched cloth is pressed onto the wet glaze to remove the color. For rag-rolling, the cloth itself is first rolled up, and then rolled up or down the wall. Twisting the cloth before rolling gives a more dramatic appearance.

COMBING may be used to create a textured effect on a glazed wall. A comb, steel wool, or any of many other implements is used to create textured patterns. According to Gerry Massey, of Massey Painting in Ventura, practically anything can be used to create this sort of effect. “You can go outside, get a tree branch and use that if you wish,” he said.

SPLATTER PAINTING also adds texture to a wall. Splattering is just what it sounds like. Paint colors are splattered from a brush onto the chosen background, creating a festive treatment that can complement any decor.

FAUX FINISHES are special painting techniques that mimic another material, such as marble or wood. Faux marbling is done in two categories. The first is a highly skilled technique that closely imitates the appearance of real marble.

Faux marbling has been done for hundreds of years. Many European cathedrals used faux marble for everything above eye level. Because there are nine different kinds of marble and numerous subsections, this method is generally reserved for a specialized faux artist.

A second option is “fantasy marbling,” which attempts to merely suggest the varied patterns and rich color of marble. This is a much less difficult technique. Marbling is done in several steps. It starts with the chosen background color and proceeds through “veining” with a special brush or feather, sponging the veins, softening the vein lines, finishing with varnish and polishing.

Wood-grain texturing also takes several steps and requires skill and practice. A dry brush is dragged through wet glaze and the lines are then blurred with a soft brush. Any of a variety of tools are then used to create the lines and knots of a wood surface.

DECORATIVE PAINTING

Decorative painting offers the most customized look for your home or business. Decorative paint may take the form of murals, stencils, graphics, or trompe l’oeil, a French term meaning “to fool the eye.”

Most decorative painting is done by the more artistic members of the painting profession. Murals, graphics and trompe l’oeil are individual creations and works of art, so asking your contractor brother-in-law to create a mural may result in serious disappointment.

GRAPHICS and MURALS are an increasingly popular way to decorate the business and home. In earthquake country, many parents are opting to decorate children’s rooms with murals, rather than with objects that can fall off the wall during one of our many aftershocks.

A mural can range from a 360-degree Tom Sawyer scene to simple branches of ivy climbing up from the floor or down from the ceiling. According to artist/painter Elizabeth Castrejon of Westlake, one of the newer trends is the use of phrases--perhaps a simple grace for the dining room, some Shakespeare or Keats for the library, a bit of Beatrix Potter for the nursery. The customer not only selects the saying but also chooses the style of script the artist will use.

Graphic artists can create or duplicate a logo for your business and add a related mural for a unifying touch.

Murals and graphics offer an opportunity to creatively express personality, interests and business pursuits.

STENCILING is a relatively simple, but versatile way to add interest to a home or business. Virtually any pattern can be found or created and any part of the wall or ceiling can be stenciled. Stenciling may be used alone or to enhance other decorative techniques.

TROMPE L’OEIL, one of the most interesting of the decorative techniques, requires the skill of an artist capable of creating the appearance of three dimensions where there are two. Trompe l’oeil creates the illusion of width and depth where none exists.

Often used to solve architectural or decorative problems, trompe l’oeil can be used to balance an architectural asymmetry, to create windows, cornices, molding or virtually anything your imagination can conjure.

LIQUID WALLPAPER is a decorative technique that calls for its own classification because it falls somewhere between faux finishes, stenciling and stamping. Liquid wallpaper requires use of special decorative rollers.

Using a roller equipped with reservoirs for up to three colors of paint, the pattern is rolled onto the wall and, unless you are inches from the wall, it is indistinguishable from wallpaper.

Liquid wallpaper can be used on any surface from walls to concrete, to block walls. In fact, this technique has become the rage for driveways in parts of Florida.

Patterns vary from cartoons to geometrics to floral, to name a few of the hundreds available.