Add opulence to any room in your home with an antique finish. Using a faux finish adds depth and luxury to painted walls. This treatment can be done in several ways. An antique finish can have a leather or “sueded” appearance, and can be done using a tonal color-on-color paint scheme or in contrasting colors.

Get the Look of Leather with a Faux Finish

One type of faux finish that works well on painted walls is a method that looks like leather or suede when completed. This type of antique finish is often created using shades of brown, taupe, yellow or gold. Leather-look paint finish works especially well in dens, living rooms and family rooms. This is one of many ways that paint can take the place of wallpaper. There’s no messy, expensive paper to hang, but the end result is a gorgeous finish that looks rich and aged.

Color-on-Color Antique Finish

Add warmth and interest to a great room with a color-on-color antique finish. Gold over gold, ivory over ivory and pale yellow over pale yellow are all examples of common color on color antique finish combinations. When you choose a color on color, the look is subtle, yet expensive. If you don’t want subtlety, try contrasting colors like gold over red to add high drama to a dining room or an entryway.

Antique finishes, faux finishes and similar paint treatments should be done by professionals. If done incorrectly, the finish won’t look antique- it will just look slipshod. If you’re considering an antique finish for your home, ask the experts at Sundeleaf Painting about processes used to achieve this look. The professional consultants at Sundeleaf will help you choose colors and styles that suit your rooms, your furniture, and, your personal style.

Stencils Work Well in Small Spaces

A foyer or an entryway is the perfect place to use stencils in your home. If you don’t have a sunroom, but love the outdoors, stencils of plants, trees and leaves add energy to a foyer. Your bathroom brings the beach into your home with stenciled saltwater fish, palm trees and sea turtles.  If your staircase is lined with photos or paintings, ornate “frames” can be stenciled on the wall to feature your collection.

Stencils Accent a Beautiful Bedroom

There are many ways painted stencils can accent a bedroom. In a children’s room, sports-themed stencils can be used to bring basketball, baseball and football into the room. In the master bedroom, formal stencils work well- trailing cherry blossoms, delicate florals and bold stripes can turn any wall into an accent wall. Keep a guest room interesting and fun with stenciled walls of gingham, stripes or plaid.

Punch Up Your Kitchen with Stencils

Stencils brighten up a kitchen and add fun to the space where we seem to spend so much of our time. Stencils that work well in a kitchen include nature themes, like ivy, birds, butterflies and flowers. A brocade-like stencil or fleur-de-lis adds luxury to a formal kitchen. And a classic country kitchen sparkles with stenciled roosters, or words and phrases that evoke country living.

No matter what types of stencils you choose, they need to be perfectly applied. The professional consultants at Sundeleaf Painting can help you choose the perfect stencils for your home. Our consultants will help you choose paint colors, show you examples of our past work and provide input to make sure you pick the stencils that are perfect for you.

Painted Paneling Artfully Blends into the Woodwork

Paneling isn’t uncommon in old homes, but it can be a bit of a nightmare when you’re trying to update your home. There are a few options for painting paneling. Most homeowners want to downplay the paneling, so it becomes a less-obvious characteristic of the room. Soft, muted shades work well to deemphasize the paneling. Pale green, any shade of off-white and many lighter shades of taupe can all be good choices for painting paneled walls.

Rejuvenate a Hardwood Floor

Purists will say that it’s always a mistake to paint a hardwood floor, but actually, there can be good reasons for having your floors painted. If an old hardwood floor is stained or otherwise beyond repair, having the floor painted can be a less expensive option to replacing the floor.

A painted floor should be in colors that accent the rest of your room. Black, navy and forest green paint all work well on hardwood floors in living rooms and family rooms. In a sunroom or any room where the feel should be light and airy, pale blue, white or seafoam green will reflect back the sun beautifully.

Bring Molding Back to Life

If your rooms seem dull and drab, have the molding painted to bring life back in to your home. Fresh coats of primer and paint can brighten up any molding. Although many people choose to go with white molding, a classic look, some people choose brightly colored accent colors for their interior molding. If you like to be surrounded by color, having your molding painted can work for you.

Add Elegance to Your Hallway

Painting chair rail is an easy way to bring elegance into your dining room or hallway. Chair rail was frequently added to older homes, but the wood paneling often used with chair rail is sometimes too dark or too light for the rest of the home.  When having your chair rail painted, look for neutral tones that off-set the other walls in the room. If you use yellow in a dining room, use ivory for your chair rail. If you want to draw attention to the chair rail, paint the wood a royal blue or a deep scarlet.

Get help with all of your painting decisions with the pros at Sundeleaf Painting. Our color experts can help you decide what colors will work best with the wood surfaces in your home.

1. Make sure the paint company you are considering is licensed. Simply ask the painter if he or she can show you a copy of their current license. If they can’t, delete them from your list.  In Portland, licensed contractors also need a City of Portland Business License, and if the work is done in a suburb of Portland a Metro Contractor’s Business License is required.
2. Check the contractor’s license history on the CCB’s website. You can find out if their license has ever been suspended in the past, if they have had any disciplinary actions.
3. Make sure the paint company carries the proper insurance. This includes liability, bond and workers’ comp insurance. This information can also be verified on the CCB’s website.
   
4. Look into their references. While most contractors will gladly show you a page or two of happy clients, they will be reticent to discuss any negative feedback they received. You can find out a lot about a company by how they respond to criticism and a problem. Ask a company for negative as well as positive customer feedback.
5. Take a look at their work. Not all painting companies are created equal. Some painters specialize in painting large commercial buildings and bridges while others may paint only very fine homes. Ask if they are willing to share a list of several addresses where they’ve done work. You can then drive by to get a better idea of the clientele they serve and the quality of their workmanship. Also, remember to ask specific questions about their warranty, their handling of wood repairs, stucco damage, and other preparation details. These details are significant because they will give you an understanding of how they prepare a surface for paint.
6. Check how long they have been in the painting business. Remember, being in business for 30 years does not necessarily mean they are the best. The experience of a painting company is just as important. Ask them how long their painters have been painting, how long the owners have been in the industry, and why they are in business.
7. Ask about their employees. This is an important step for finding or eliminating house painters. How does a company hire their staff? What kind of training do they offer? Are they drug tested? Do they receive background checks? Anytime you have people working on your home, you want to be able to trust them and feel safe.
8. Discover how they conduct their business. Ask them about the painting process and what it looks like. Your goal is to determine if they are organized and if they have a good plan of how they would paint your home. Do they give you a scheduled start date? Will they have a project manager assigned to your home? Will they conduct a final walk through when the job is completed and give you a written guarantee of their work? If a paint company looks organized for your first meeting, chances are, they will continue to provide excellent customer service. Many painters have a hard time answering their phones, setting and keeping appointments and completing a project in the allotted time.
9. Finally, go with the person and company you trust the most. Ultimately, you will need to feel comfortable with the estimator and his promises! If you’ve done your homework and you like a particular company, no doubt you will make the right choice.