Welcome to Painting

Interior Design and Decorative Painting

Anyone can paint a room. But with faux painting techniques you can literally transform a room into a masterpiece. There have been a multitude of decorative painting techniques that have come onto the market in recent years. From the simplicity of a stencil border to the grand effect of a granite wall, the choices for decorative painting ideas are virtually endless. Faux painting techniques can be learned by anyone and decorative painting is also easy on the budget.

If you are looking to spruce up an old bureau or add color and interest to a child's room, you have choices abounding in providing your own artistic flair to your home. Many of the decorative painting techniques that are used today originated in Europe, where furnishings were adorned with faux marble and wood-tone effects. Now it has become simple to add old-world techniques to modern-day homes.

Decorative Painting is Cost-Effective

If you have shopped for wallpaper recently, you have probably found that covering a room in high-quality wallpaper is far from inexpensive. There are also special tools and pastes that are necessary to complete a project like this.

The good news is that with a can or two of paint and some inexpensive tools, you can often create your own personalized wallpaper effect in a room. By using stencils or stamps, you can give a wall a creative pattern with customized colors that blend beautifully with your décor. In a living or dining room, you can add an elegant stencil that can give a European flair to your dress-up spaces.

For a touch of whimsy in a child's room, you can create a mural using an overhead projector and picture as a template. Simply trace the chosen drawing on the wall, and then it is merely a matter of paint-by-number!

Some companies even offer patterns for designs and pictures that can be painted directly to your wall surface. If the idea of a mural intimidates you, there are many fun stamps that can be used to apply images to your walls as well. From flowers and butterflies for little girls to bugs and lizards for the youngest males in your household, you are guaranteed to find the perfect stamp to add a decorative painting touch to any room in your house.

Decorative Painting can Really be Used Anywhere

Well, almost anywhere. From furniture to accessories, and walls to ceilings, there are very few surfaces that cannot be accented with decorative painting techniques. Even kitchen cabinets can sport stenciled borders or stamped patterns.

The key to adding decorative painting is making sure that you have a good smooth base coat in place to act as your canvas. If you are unsure how to get started with a decorative painting project, your local craft store can supply you with endless ideas and plenty of good advice on where to begin and what to paint. For a first-time painter, you can get your painting feet wet with a small project like a picture frame or a jewelry box. Once you gain some confidence you can move on to furniture projects and wall adornments.

The sky is the limit when it comes to your personal creativity. Awaken the inner artist inside by diving into a decorative painting project today! So arm yourself with a paintbrush (and perhaps a sponge and some rags), you can easily and cheaply transform your room from boring to extravagant! Changing the color and texture of your walls by using one or more decorative painting techniques described above will drastically change the look and feel of your room. And the best part of decorative painting is that if you don't like the results, you can easily repaint it!

Start Your Own Wall Painting Business

So if decorative wall painting and faux painting interests you, why not start your own business? We can show you how to get started in a profitable wall painting business. This definitive guide will show you how to start your business, how to do estimates and get the project, and how to get repeat business. Click here to find out more about starting your own decorative wall painting business!

Calendar (The Toledo Blade)

ART Toledo Museum of Art: 2445 Monroe St.; 255-8000; Canaday Gallery: Collecting at Winterthur: Henry Francis du Pont's American Vision: through Sept. 7. Gallery 18: Nova (New Species) paintings by Isabella Kirkland: through Oct. 5. Works on Paper Galleries: Inner Space: glimpses of daily life from the 1600s to the present in photographs, prints, and books from Europe and Asia; through Oct. ...

Calendar -- West Des Moines, Clive & Waukee (The Altoona Herald-Mitchellville Index)

Paintings by Tilly Woodward. July 25 through Aug. 23. Olson-Larsen Galleries, 203 Fifth St., West Des Moines. info@olsonlarsen.com ; 277-6734; www.olsonlarsen.com .

Sylvania fest slated at Lourdes College (The Toledo Blade)

The Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce's 51st Arts and Crafts Festival will be 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 7 at Lourdes College, 6832 Convent Blvd., Sylvania. Displaying their work will be 200 artists. Entertainment, a children's area, and refreshments will be available. Free parking and continuous shuttle service will be from Sylvania Northview High School and Harroun Park. Admission is $2. ...

Weekend Guide (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

A list of things to do this weekend.

1860s-style baseball teams will play at Sauder Village (The Toledo Blade)

A Barbershop Sing and Baseball Game are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio. The Southern Gateway Chorus will harmonize, and the Cincinnati Southern Gateway Chorus will celebrate its 50th year. In the afternoon the Great Black Swamp Frogs Base Ball Club of 1860 will take on the Ohio Village Muffins. Teams will dress in period uniforms and play by the ...