What is Decorative Painting?
For centuries, artists have been using glazes for building up flesh tones, deepening shadows and adding depth or luminosity to paint colors.
Glazing is now being used regularly to add that same richness and depth to the walls of homes and businesses. The glazing medium is mixed with paint and then manipulated with various types of materials such as cheesecloth, plastic, combs or brushes to achieve a wide array of affects. The critical component is selecting the right colors and the right technique for the room’s décor.
Decorative painting can be used to solve design problems such as rooms being too small or too big, ceilings too high or too low. Few homes are built with perfect proportions and decorative painting can be used to minimize those design flaws.
Decorative painting is enjoying recent popularity, but it’s actually thousands of years old, and includes decorative art techniques such as color rubs, washes, combing, marbleizing, frescoes, ragging, stenciling, and strié. Whatever you choose, MaisonArt strives to match the right decorative painting technique or mural to the room in your home.
What is Faux Finishing?
Faux finishes are part of the decorative painting equation.
“Faux” is French for false. MaisonArt can create a variety of faux finishing “looks,” including stone blocks, stucco, wood graining, and marble. It may not be practical to use the “real” materials, but there’s no reason why you can’t have faux finishes provide the real look.
What’s the difference between Faux Finishing and Murals?
A mural is a painting directly on a wall or on canvas, which is then attached to the wall. A mural can be a picture of your favorite vacation spot, or something imagined. It can be used to add an architectural element, such as a window with an expansive view, or to create a new environment, such as a view from a terrace overlooking a country scene in Provence.
Decorative painting or glazing is a paint treatment – to provide depth of color, texture or a pattern.
I’d like to have some decorative painting done in my living room. What should I do prior to meeting with MaisonArt?
Assess the room. Are you changing the window treatments, the carpet or the furniture? If you are, have samples of them available for the consultation. The colors and painting technique will be pulled from those items.
What should I expect from our consultation?
When MaisonArt meets with a new client, questions will be asked about the room’s use. Concepts and ideas for the room will be discussed. Brenda will also look at the elements of the room (the fabrics, furniture, flooring) and make suggestions as to which painting technique would be best.
How can I see what the different techniques look like?
Clients look through Brenda’s MaisonArt portfolio that contains samples of the techniques available.
How will I know what my color and technique choice look like?
Once the painting technique has been determined and colors are selected, MaisonArt will make up a sample board using the colors and the selected technique for the client to see in the actual space.
What if I don’t like my sample?
Sometimes the colors don’t read the way you expect, which is why we always do a sample board. If changes need to be made, we schedule another meeting to revise the sample.
How well does a decorative finish hold up compared to a regular painted wall?
The finishes are all washable after the 30-day curing period. Also, there are some techniques that hide marks and fingerprints and are useful in high traffic areas or where children are present.
When the time comes to redecorate, does the decorative finish need special treatment?
The walls should be treated the same way as a regular painted wall: it should be sanded, wiped clean and repainted. There are one or two techniques such as combing and painted stripes, which will require more vigorous sanding to level the paint.
What is MaisonArt’s price structure?
We charge $75/hour for all services: color consultations, sample boards, decorative painting, and murals.
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