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Welcome to Penny Harris’ Blog

Hi! My Name is Penny and you’ll see all my interesting (at least for me) post on various interior designs tips for women and beginners.

~ Penny for Design, Not Design for Penny ~

When Is The Best Time To Paint Your Interior?

11.23.2020 by Penny //

Winter.

Okay, so that was a short answer. So, here’s the explanation.

We hear a lot about spring cleans and summer makeovers. And it seems like August is the go-to month for remodels across the land. However, the best time to undertake interior house painting is paradoxically winter, especially in Canada where winter is long and local house painters in Calgary or other colder cities have a longer window for interior painting compared to the exterior one.

This is not the same necessarily for exterior house painting, where colors might respond poorly to humidity and temperature plunges – but for indoor residential house painting projects, winter is by far the best time. 

So, here’s why.

You’re already bored 

As if corona-isolation hasn’t been enough already, the winter is a natural lockdown in itself. You will already be trapped at home, with only a ton of mince pies for the company and your bodyweight in chocolate. 

You’re not going anywhere, and you might as well do something to avoid turning into a giant Christmas pud. 

The Paint will dry quicker.

It might seem hard to believe, but paint dries faster in the winter because the air is generally dryer. However, this does mean opening the windows to allow air in. Central heating is also drying compared to the humid summer heat, leaving paintwork remaining tacky to the touch for longer.

And watching the paint dry beats hands down the Christmas TV schedule anytime.

You can get professional help for less.

House painting professionals costs can put you off hiring a pro, but contractors are more likely to be at home, twiddling their thumbs in the winter.

This can mean ease of booking, but also money off when you hire in the winter. There’s also more chance that they will be flexible as they’re less likely to be nipping off to another job afterwards. 

It frees up the summer for something else.

Getting all your painting job chores out of the way in winter frees up the summertime for something rather more fun. Summer is about lounging outdoors and never-ending barbeques. You don’t want to waste that fretting about match pots and streaky paintwork. 

Doing the house painting in the winter means you can focus on landscaping the garden or exterior painting, which requires better weather to achieve. 

Winter mornings have good light.

Although days might be short in the winter months, early mornings still have resonance, and these are good times to undertake interior wall painting. 

Winter sunrises bring a lovely natural light into a room, making it easy to paint under. 

It’s the perfect time to indulge in crafting hobbies.

When it’s cold and wet who wants to go outdoors anyway? Winter is the perfect time to take up a new crafting hobby and house painting is a creative way to pass the days. 

In the summer months, you will have other things to do!

As if these are not enough reasons to undertake your residential house painting in winter, then there is also the appeal of getting your home ready for Christmas! 

Categories // Design

5 Things You Must Know About Interior Painting

11.15.2020 by Penny //

Interior painting is a cinch, isn’t it? 

Well, unfortunately, no.

House painting is one of those tricky things that look oh-so-simple on the tin, but in actual practice can often turn out to be anything but.

Because it’s not just an exterior house painting that can go wrong, and there’s a lot more than just the color to worry about when it comes to interiors.

So how do you achieve perfection when it comes to residential painting?

Banish lap marks ~ Lap marks are the work of the devil, but they can be avoided with a bit of foresight. You should roll the paint to the full length of the wall. Then you keep an edge wet. We recommend mixing your paint in a bucket to ensure even consistency and color before the start. You should also paint the edges and borders of your walls first to eliminate lap marks. 

Prime your walls ~ We know it’s dull, but to get really wow results you need to prime your walls until they are even and flat. This means sugar soap and elbow grease. Additionally, it may mean Polyfilla and primer too. Even paints which promise one coat can disappoint if walls are inadequately prepared.

Never skimp on quality ~ No matter how low your budget, we would always insist on the highest quality paint you can afford if you are going to compromise, it really shouldn’t be here. You need the best paint you can get. 

 Your walls will love you forever!

5 Things You Should Know About Painting

Knowledge is power ~

In both interior and exterior painting, color is power. 

So, before you launch bubblegum pink all over your kitchen diner, it’s as well to know what you are getting into.

It should go without saying that you should do a test patch before starting – in the same room and good lighting, so you can see what it looks like.

 Top tip: when you do your match pot, give it ample chance to dry in before deciding anything radical. What a color looks like wet and what it looks like dry can be very different. 

Likewise, the style of lighting can affect your color, too – so look at it in daylight and good artificial lighting before making your choice.

Color is power too!

Different colors bring out other qualities in a room. In general, remember that: 

Blues – are calming and pure. This can be the right color for the bedroom but also for areas where you are working too. It is also a perennial favorite in the bathroom. However, avoid darker shades as it may induce melancholy. 

Reds – reds bring life and energy to a room, but they are not for everybody. Too much red can stifle and even lead to panicky sensations. You are also likely to be hungrier in a red room, which might make it a good choice in a dining area!

Yellow – yellows evoke sunny memories and feelings of warmth. It is a good choice for any room, but especially bedrooms and lounges which need brightening. Yellows can help make small spaces seem more expansive but should always be broken up into larger areas.

Green – like blue, green can evoke calm and makes a great bedroom color, but it can also be used in kitchens and bathrooms for enhancing a feeling of wellbeing and calm. 

Purple – not to everyone’s tastes, but purple has a regal feel to it, which can work well in master bedrooms and anywhere else you might like a “pamper” element.

Follow these tips and your interior walls will look like they’ve been decorated by a pro! 

Categories // Design

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