Painting is a quick and simple way of decorating your house

The very first step is to prepare the area ready to paint. This important first step will save you tremendous amounts of your time later. The surfaces have to be smooth, cleaned and primed. Preparation will tremendously influence the ultimate result. Colour washing is a subtle, elegant and straightforward finish to master. It is a type of antiquing with your goal in making the wall looking old. Colour washing works well on textured walls as well as smooth walls. The painter would casually and lightly brush translucent coats of slightly differing colours over a base coat. To reinforce the effect, use more than one glaze colour and work it in slightly. A darker shade of glaze ought to be added all around the perimeter of the wall along with the room corners. It's a good idea to work with a partner when adding a wash on the wall. It will help to hurry the process along with helping to eliminate washing in an unconscious pattern.

Faux leather is a technique that achieves the appearance of leather or parchment. Natural leather does have imperfections, so, donot be afraid if faux leather has has the same. First a base coat is painted over the wall and allowed to dry, followed by a glaze. Before the glaze dries, thin plastic bags or sheets are used to take away the wet glaze. This step creates a subtle texture and calming finish.

Ragging is used to create a diverse texture. It may help conceal an uneven surface. First a solid colour base coat of paint is applied to the area and allowed to dry. Then a layer of glaze is applied with some of it removed before it dries. Roll a dry, loosely wrapped rag through the glaze to generate the desired texture. Various textures may be created depending on the texture of the rag used. Cotton tee-shirts work best, but rags may also be purchased at home or car centres. When choosing colours for the base coat and glaze, choose colours which are close on the colour wheel.

Doors and windows are manufactured using lengths of wood with grain patterns that unavoidably run in numerous directions. To achieve an excellent, professional-looking finish, free from brush marks, you absolutely need to paint them in a sequence that takes account of this grain. Think in advance when painting windows using oil-based paints, as they may take longer to dry than you expect. Or use water-based paint, which dries more quickly and releases much less odour and fumes.

The most important step in painting is to enjoy yourself and take your time. Very often you can find that the more fun you have, the greatest the final result will turn out. The end result will definitely be well worth the wait.