home & garden
PAINTING A PICTURE
A new color or a faux finish may be just the refresher your space needs—make the most of your next paint job
GOOD LOOKS
FINISHING TOUCHES
CLEANING SUPPLIES BY ©MAGDAL3NA - STOCK.ADOBE.COM; DEUX FEMMES PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF DEUX FEMMES; HEIDI HOLZER PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL JOHNSON
Smudges, streaks, fading, cracking—the signs of a bad paint job are hard to miss. How do you achieve a beautiful, long-lasting result? Doug Kitchen from A. G. WILLIAMS PAINTING COMPANY shares ways to ensure an even coat inside and out. agwilliamspainting.com
Ready to go faux, impart texture or add a decorative flourish to your walls? Here are a few places to start.
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INTERIORS
EXTERIORS
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PRIME TIME “Prime with a primer. Many paints claim to be self-priming, but if you’re using old paint, priming will ensure a longer-lasting finish. Think of it as starting with a clean slate. It’s even more important if you’re using a paint with a sheen like eggshell, satin or semigloss.”
CLEAN SLATE “Ninety percent of homes need to be washed before painting. If you skip this step, you’re painting over a film of dirt, mildew and, if you live near the coast, salt. Paint needs a strong bond with a clean surface to last.”
DEUX FEMMES DECORATIVE ART & DESIGN
dfemmes.com
Deux Femmes Decorative Art & Design is a leader in fine specialty finishes for residential interiors with an established storefront in the Black Rock area. With over thirty combined years in the industry, Deux Femmes’ expertise spans from decorative painting to collaborative design, from color theory to custom work, and from surfaces to furniture and heirloom pieces.
55 WELCOME MATTE “Matte is the latest finish— it’s almost flat but washable. It’s great for an older home that might have rough walls or old patches. An eggshell would accentuate the issue; a matte will hide it.”
56 BRUSH UP “Get quality brushes.Spend $15 to $20 on a decent two-inch sash tool for the trim and get a long bristled three-inch brush for cutting the walls and ceiling. Wash it well after every use and work a little dish soap into the bristles to keep the brush nice and soft. Put hand lotion on your hands before you start painting—they will clean much easier.”
58 REPAIR WEAR “If you see any cracks or soft spots in your trim, repair it as soon as possible. Homes built in the past fifteen years use wood that isn’t matured; when it gets wet and starts to fail (rot), it spreads quickly. It’s much cheaper to catch it early.”
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CREATIVE EVOLUTION
patrickganino.com Patrick Ganino is the owner of Creative Evolution, a fullservice decorative painting and mural studio. Its clients have included business owners, celebrities, high-profile interior designers and many of today’s hit makeover TV shows. His specialty? Creating custom oneof-a-kind paintings that range in size from small pieces all the way up to murals that cover twelve-story buildings. In addition, Ganino specializes in gilding, wood graining and chinoiserie.
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HEIDI HOLZER DESIGN & DECORATIVE WORK
heidiholzer.com
Heidi Holzer Design & Decorative Work creates custom artisan finishes for walls and ceilings using glazes, metal leaf and specialty plasters, often mixing with brass, abalone and other unusual materials. Holzer’s new venture, Trowel & Paper, is a handmade wallpaper company dedicated to creating unique and unexpected designs.
59 GOOD QUALITY “Prime all raw wood with an oil primer, then buy the expensive line of paint. It’s usually only $10 more per gallon, but it will cover better and be easier to apply and maintain.”
above: Intricate disguise work by Deux Femmes blended ceiling fixtures into existing wallpaper
JUL/AUG 2019
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athome
above: Abalone-embedded Venetian plaster with faux tortoise shell trim by Heidi Holzer
above: A master bedroom’s hand-painted mural by Ganino, commsioned by Amy Aidinis Hirsch Interior Design