There is nothing like a fresh coat of paint to transform a house, to make it feel new and clean.  While the paint smell might take a couple of hours to get used to, your nose will adjust fairly quickly.  However, painting the exterior of a house poses no problems for the olfactory senses, but it can also really breathe fresh life into a home.

The National Association of Realtors offers several painting tips for the exterior of a home should you be interested in tackling the project,

1. Paint in the shade and avoid painting in direct sunshine. Sunlit surfaces can be 10 to 20 degrees hotter than the air temperature.

2. Don’t paint when it’s too windy. Wind can cause latex paint to dry too quickly as well as cause dust and other contaminates to imbed in the paint, possibly creating a surface ripe for mildew, Zimmer says.

3. Avoid the rain. Wait for another day if it’s rained within the last 24 hours. If several days of rain is forecast, postpone your painting for several days until a rain-free week.

Do not put off painting if it’s time. The sooner you do it, the more likely you are to preserve the value of your home.

My family thinks I’m crazy because they know I love to paint.  I’d be mighty pleased to get a really nice brush that’s a good edger for Christmas or birthdays, but alas… I always get stuck with flavorful candles.  So I’ll just drool over web sites like this one that offer great painting tips.

Coat hanger catches excess paint

Cut the bottom section from a stiff wire coat hanger and bend it so each end straddles the rim to fit inside a paint can. Let the wire overlap the sides and tape it to the can to keep it steady when you rub off the excess paint. When the job’s finished, remove the wire and wipe it clean to be ready for next time.

If you click through, you’ll love what they say about yucky tape that gets disgusting!

The single easiest and possibly most dramatic way to transform a room (or a house!) is to buy a can of paint and apply it to the walls. I adore painting.  I love taping to get a room ready, I love opening the can and putting the wooden stick in to stir it, then pouring it onto my paint tray.  But the magic truly happens when I roll that first coat on the wall.  That’s the point of no return and the point when you see how beautiful the new room will be.

Momma Schmitt is busy transforming her living room with paint.  It’s already looking fantastic!

And ignore the toys all over the floor, just keeping it real. If it’s between 8 in the morning and 8 in the evening, there’s no getting away from them. But other than those little details… isn’t it just a marvelous change? Come on say it.. Oh la la! The color we went with is Sherwin Williams 7534 Outerbanks. I love it, It just infuses light and warmth into the room.

From white walls with a red focus wall to a soft green all around is a perfect decision!  LOVE!

When we finally tackled painting the huge job of tearing down the heinous wallpaper from my kitchen walls, I was determined to get a light yellow color, then hang a Tuscany-like framed picture and clock.  We bought paint chips and worked hard.  In the end, our walls were the EXACT color of the yellow post-it notes.

Nancy Mitchell also shares a cautionary tale about selecting paint colors on Apartment Therapy,

About halfway through, Rachel articulated a worry already taking shape in my own mind – namely, that the color was super, super light. “Is it supposed to look like this? I can hardly tell which parts of the wall I’ve already painted.” I hated to admit that she was right. The only discernible difference between the painted and non-painted parts of the wall was that the painted parts were shiny and wet. “Keep on painting!” I urged. “Maybe it’ll be darker when it dries.” My aqua dream died hard.

Where Nancy did repaint, our walls remain post-it note yellow!

Photo from New Life Office.

The wood on the exterior of our home badly needs some paint.  Right now the part that has not flaked off is white, but I wouldn’t mind changing the color to something different.  How do you pick?  The Minnesota Painting Company describes how to pick a color, how to match the architectural design, and how to find a painter on their recent post,

You can choose different colors to accentuate the specific architectural designs and elements. These colors should contrast with the background color and add emphasis and beauty to your home. You can choose darker shades to add emphasis and lighter shades to show projections. However, remember to avoid stark contrasts as it takes away from the aesthetic value of your exterior painting.

I’m thinking the color of a Fall leaf would go nicely with our brown brick.

It only takes a minute to create your own art work!

This is pretty amazing because 1) it’s quite beautiful really, and 2) it took less than one minute!

Source: Epic Win FTW.

Say hello to warmer colors, and goodbye to minimalism. It
appears that several interior designers and industry insiders are saying you
should be ready to introduce color into your decor. According to Sean
O’Driscoll of the Associated Press in an article Hot Trends Of Home Design for 2008 , Minimalism is out.

“Susan Gutfreund, who designs for some of the most
expensive apartments in the U.S and Europe, said that minimalist white and
beige are being pushed out in favor of color, textures and layers. Speaking
from Paris where she is redesigning an apartment, Gutfreund said there is a
move toward warmer colors and away from the shininess and flatness of interiors
over the last few years.

In 2008, red tones take on a decidedly soft, warm feel,
such as watermelon or a carrot orange. Black and white continues to be used,
but with unexpected combinations of yellow, lime orange and fresh green,"
she said.

Janice Simonsen of IKEA Designs said

“fruit colors such
as lime yellow, kiwi and tangerine will be very popular in 2008, especially
when used in the kitchen. But blue will continue to be the number one color
choice for homeowners. In 2008, blue will be combined with camel and tan, pale green
and yellow,” she said.

Think you’re ready to try out 2008 colors but not sure
what fits your style? CALFINDER (the source for certified remodeling contractors) has an excellent post about basic color
psychology. They say,

"All too often homeowners choose colors without
understanding basic color psychology. Color impacts our mood, appetite, and
energy level. Years of color response research have shown

that certain colors
elicit specific and often strong responses."

Check out their awesome post Color
Options-Painting for a guide to help you narrow the choices when choosing
colors for your home.

Also remember you can get FREE ESTIMATES from CALFINDER for pre-qualified
contractors in your area to do the work for you when you’re ready to add that
splash of color to your life! From painting to general remodeling, to complete home renovations, they have the expert for you.

What colors do you plan to decorate with this year? Leave us a comment, we’d love to know!

Have you got some spare time this weekend, then maybe this is the right time for you to get the paint brush out and do one of those jobs that you have been putting off for some time. But with such a limited amount of time in a mere weekend, what job could be just enough to make a difference, but without taking over all of your weekend?

Well thanks to Coral Nafie from About: Interior Decorating, there are in some great projects that you may not even know about, but can be classed as a great weekend DIY job. These range from, painting walls to painting picture frames, to find out more about what makes a great weekend project, check out the Gallery.

It used it be simple choosing a favorite color, but now there is such a vast amount of choice that it is much harder now, plus everybody’s tastes change. But thanks to a great posting on HGTV finding your favorite color is easy with the David Bromstad Color Wheel it’s easy to use, just place the pointer onto the color that takes your fancy, the wheel turns and you also get an idea of your personality. Because colors and your personality often work hand in hand.

Once you have had a bit of fun with the tool, and found a color that does match your tastes, you can then get some great ideas on how to use this paint and soft furnishing color, with some fantastic design tips and ideas.