Interior Design Tips and Techniques
for Painting and Window Treatment

Interior design tips and techniques as featured in this article will serve as a guideline for home owners to start a renovation project. It is by no means complete. Rather, it is an overall view of what is required should you decide to undertake this task.

As this potentially will grow into a wide and in-depth topic, we will start on the most basic techniques to quickly transform a room into a better looking one. What you should realize that it takes a little bit of imagination and some work to create a totally brand new look for a room. We are talking about a paint job and window treatment.

Interior design tips and techniques for painting

We know that even a three year old can paint her palm prints on the wall. While on some quarters it is considered as an art form, most parents would gasp and quickly clean or paint over the cute prints. Therefore, the first thing to consider is the quality and type of paint that you can afford to use. Think also on the surface that you are going to paint - is it concrete, metal or wooden? Is the surface smooth? Do we need to get rid of peeling old paint? Is there any holes made by power drills on the wall?

Since there are now so many kinds of paint for walls in the market, from the non-smelly one to non-dripping ones, the factor of cost and ease of application rule. How to choose? Again, look at the needs and your budget.

The tools come next. For a big surface, using a roller helps to get the work done faster. For corners and detailed work, you would need a selection of paint brushes. As preparation, remove all things which are stuck on the wall such as old bluetack or double sided tapes with a sharp scraper. For unused drill holes or cracks, buy a container of PolyFill (for wooden or concrete surfaces) and fill up these unsightly marks carefully, also using a flat scraper.

For a more professional look, the wall needs to have a layer of undercoat. However, if you are using a very good quality paint, the undercoat layer may be skipped. Before painting, make sure to get a few rolls of masking tape too. Mask the area between the borders like the wall and the ceiling, around the electrical switches or between the wall and the door frame. It is also a good idea to get a large tarpaulin on the floor to catch drips which are bound to happen. Newspaper works too but it is less durable, gets torn easily and also messy to use.

Emulsion paint does not need any turpentine or thinner. It only sometimes needs a little water for mixing to get a good consistency. Please be careful not to add too much water because it will cause you to have to paint another layer later on as the result will be too thin.

Clean up spills quickly. Wash the brushes and rollers as soon as the day's work is done to avoid them getting hard with paint residue. Washing the paint off quickly will also lengthen the lives of these tools. The lids on the paint cans should also be closed at all times to avoid the paint from solidifying when it is exposed to the air.

For added aesthetic value, the painted wall can be decorated with stencils and also divider wall paper. Choose the right motifs and colors and no one can tell that it is a DIY job!

I know the explaination above seems lengthy enough but why not visit this very educational site that describes DIY painting in much more detail. Have fun with your project!

Interior design tips and techniques for window treatment

After the wall is nicely painted, now it is the time to decorate the windows. Again, the choice is endless. It also boils down to your requirement and your budget.

If you are going to purchase a curtain rod, blinds or ready-made curtains, make sure you measure the dimension of your window. The shop assistant can guide you to the right size to purchase for a particular type that you want.

Before you buy, determine how much light you want to enter the room at any particular moment. Variable height blinds are very versatile. The blinds can be made out of plastic, canvas, bamboo or rattan. Think also about the ease of maintenance before settling on the type of window treatment. A heavy suede curtain may require expensive dry cleaning while white lace curtains show up dirt very quickly.

Left out to the elements (intense sunlight and moisture), fabric curtains may disintegrate within half a year if they are not washed regularly. A lot of people seem to forget that. Since the curtains will take a large proportion of the home decoration budget, not everyone can afford to change them regularly. It is also hard work to remove and install the curtains. Therefore, you must choose wisely before committing yourself to the type of window treatment.

It is also fun to sew your own curtains. They are so many kinds of curtains you can make. Scallop edges, pleats, roman blinds - to name a few. It was also fun to choose the tassels to tie them up.

Lastly, do not forget that window treatment should enhance the other features in the room. The curtains may take center stage, but their presence should be complementary. They must also be functional, we do not want sheer curtains in our bedroom that enable people on the outside to look inside when the light is on. Likewise, dark and heavy tapestry curtains in the living room can create claustrophobic effect.

Applying a new coat of paint and hanging up a fresh set of curtains can truly transform your rooms. After reading the interior design tips and techniques above, we are sure that you cannot wait to start on a project. If it seems like a daunting task, help is close nearby. Simply contact ZF Mirage Venture for a professional service in interior design and decoration. That said, more interior design tips and techniques will follow soon in this web site.

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