Solution for Formica and Table Tops- Granicrete

We can save you the headache and inconvenience of ripping out your old countertops and give you look of Granite for a fraction of the cost. We are SO excited to share this amazing new product called Granicrete. And Average to art is the ONLY Tennessee Valley company that has a certified Granicrete installer! Granicrete simulates the look of Granite, marble, slate and other natural stone. We custom color and design your countertops to match your décor. It is heat and scratch resistant. Seriously, you have to see it to believe it!!! Call us ASAP! 256.658.0657


As seen on ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Stencil of the Month- Wallpaper Stencils

Do you like hanging and taking down wallpaper? Neither do we, but we do love wallpaper stencils. Because of the end result of repeating patterns, they are often categorized as all-over patterns. We have used our favorite pattern, seen above, as a raised stencil (white) and with only paint (blue). So the next time you are thinking about wallpaper, think again. Why use a product that will peel and fade with time, when you can custom create a pattern that you will adore AND save you a headache when it is time to change your décor… simply repaint.

Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park

Average to art is in the process of completing a 10 canvas mural series for a local defense contractor in Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park. It has been a creative challenge, but even more, it has been rewarding on so many levels. We have been able to research and learn about our country’s defense systems and agencies. Growing up in the military and marrying a marine, I thought I knew a lot, but after this project, I have even more respect and admiration for everyone involved maintaining our country’s freedoms. Thank you to the families and service people who sacrifice everyday for a young lady, like my self, to be able to wake up everyday with a dream of creating art and having the freedom to make it a reality.

Never say Never

Ok, This blog was started to strictly type about the finishing industry ONLY… it would never go personal. Well, never say never. We rescued these kittens from a fantastic local Huntsville, AL animal shelter the ARK, http://www.arkinc.org/. Their names are Junie and Graco. AND I might add, this is still an industry entry because Graco is named after our paint sprayer, so there.

Wash that Average out of your shower!

So you are lathering up the suds in your hair, put your head back to wash them out, you look up and uhhhhh! A white ceiling… How average is that, ewww! Turn your shower ceiling into art. Paint is always a great option. Paint a mural, try a ¼ or ½ formula of your wall color or better yet, trowel yourself some tile. Simply tape off the design you like, trowel on professional-grade plaster, glaze, seal…AND presto- it’s ART!

Profession-Grade Plaster & Lime Wash

Check out the before and after for this fireplace! Our client had a narrow mantel and could not use sheet rock to cover the brick above because it was too thick. So what can we use that will cover the brick and leave enough room for decorations? This goes to show, when you use professional grade plaster, you can go over virtually any surface with ease and not have chipping or cracking. And the finishing touches, we lime washed the lower brick. Beautiful!

Welcome Our New Nursery Artist, Cindy Pressnell, of Pigtails and Snails

Have you ever walked into a room and saw artwork that you connected with immediately? That’s what happened when I saw Cindy Pressnell’s children’s canvas art a little over a year ago. Then when I met the woman behind the canvas art, it made me love her work even more. Cindy is an incredibly considerate friend and employee. Average to art is blessed to finally have Huntsville’s newest professional artist on our team. Here is her first official mural as our nursery artist.

Faux Wood Beams...Favorite New Product

* The cat mural is in progress at this point. The "beam" the cats are on is painted and two faux beams were installed about 11.5' across the room.
We recently completed a series of horse/stable murals in the bedroom and bathroom for our client. In my research, I had seen exposed beams in stables and wondered if /how could we incorporate beams into the design. And because everything happens for a reason, I saw real wood beams installed in a living room on an HGTV show to break up a high ceiling. Perfect! But real beams were not an option… more research led me to www.fauxwoodbeams.com These beams look 100% real and are incredible light weight and easy to install. They also offer faux panels like bamboo and stone (and we are so excited to incorporate panels into a design in 2007!).

Excited for 2007!

Pardon our delay in posts. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. We have quadrupled our staff and have steadily been working on commercial and residential projects. This month, I am determined to post our monthly features, share about the new services our new employees bring to us, and other fantastic projects. We are extremely excited about 2007 and until then… Make every room your favorite.

Faux Finish vs. Decorative Finish

Average to art designs and creates decorative finishes, and faux finishes upon request.
Faux means fake. There is nothing fake about custom art for your walls or furniture. Yes, we may simulate marble, stone and other elements from nature, so I will give you a faux on that. However, we design and create art using paint and plaster just like the fine artists of the world. I always ask my clients if they would like their walls to be the backdrop or the centerpiece of their life, then create their custiom decorative art. We work directly with clients and/or builders and designers to decorate with decorative finishes.

Are Your Cabinets Outdated?

Cabinets have styles and trends, just like our hair and clothes we once thought were “rad”. Refinishing, Painting and glazing your cabinets are great ways to update and makeover your kitchen for a fraction of replacement cost. Another way to instantly update your cabinets is to refinish or change your hardware.

Do-it-yourself refinishing:
Remove your existing hardware, scuff, prime, paint and seal for a lasting finish.

Easy refinishing/painting ideas for hardware:
1. Paint your favorite color to add personality and pop*

2. Spray your favorite (faux) metal finish*

3. Antique glaze for an "old world" feel*

*All materials can easily be found at your local home store.
Questions or more want more options call Average to art...

ON-LINE DISCOUNT

NOVEMBER = AMAZING discounts

Cabinet Painting and/or Glazing

Why choose Average to art? Becasue the difference is in the details. Give your kitchen a makeover for half the cost of replacing your cabinets. From cleaning every inch of the surface to muliple coats of sealer, we treat your cabinets as if they were our own.

Book your cabinet MAKEOVER in the month of November and receive:

$200 OFF cabinet painting OR

$500 OFF cabinet painting & glazing

We book a several months in advance, so we will honor the November discount until February 2007 when you schedule by November 30, 2006. Space in limited, so please call for a consultation and reserve your cabinet makeover today!

Cabinets, Cabinets, Cabinets!

Welcome to the month of cabinets. Refinishing, painting, glazing and more. We are overwhelmed with the number of clients who request information and our services for cabinet finishes, so by popular demand, we will share some tips of the trade. Ready or not, here we go…

Primer, our true love...

We love primer... yes, LOVE. One trick of the trade is to tint your primer. Many people do not know you may tint a gallon of primer up to 6oz of color or more.

Our 4 favorite primers (no particular order):
1.Unconditional Best Friend- Kilz original (oil based)

2. Our first love- Gripper (water based)

3. Won our loyalty- Kilz 2 (water based)

4. We’re not worthy- IL (water based)

Let the primer debates begin:
When painting red or blue (or a dark color over white), use grey primer. Every time we use grey, we have never had to paint more than 2 coats of color.

Tinting primer at the store:
If you are painting a light color on your cabinets, you will most likely be able to achieve a color match when tinting your primer.
The most common comments from the paint person when tinting primer at the local home store are 1.You can’t tint the primer. AND 2. It won’t come out to match the color you are requesting.

Your response: Kindly point out the amount of ounces of color the label declares you may put in the can. And give them the confidence that you understand it may not come out to the exact color and you will take the mixed primer home even if it is not an exact match. And if all else fails, tell them we said so!

People and colors... choose wisely

November is all about cabinets and we are so excited to share more tips... tomorrow. November also sets the stage for the beginning of the holiday season. With the last entry of the month, we thought we'd touch on sentiments of the season with a little color connection.

We may not get to choose the family we are born or married into, but we do have a choice in the people and colors we surround ourselves with. By surrounding yourself with people and colors that uplift and motivate you, life begins to make sense on your terms. So when choosing what surrounds you, colors or people, remember you deserve the best. So many of our clients ask if a color is ok to paint? We say, “Any color is ok, if it makes you feel AMAZING.”

Here at Average to art, we are blessed to have the best employees who exemplify the highest ethics and character. We refuse to settle for anything less than exceptional on and off the job site.

Follow your bliss and you will succeed…

Joint Compound vs. Professional-Grade Plasters

We are unwavering supporters of ONLY using professional-grade plasters for decorative finishes. It is true, “you get what you pay for”. When hiring a professional finisher to create a textured finish on your wall, specifically ask what kind of plaster they will use. Joint compound (a.k.a wall mud) is meant for smoothing out drywall seams, it is not a reliable decorative finish. A reliable plaster will not chip, crack, and in most cases self sealing. Feel free to call Average to art and they will be happy to direct you to the appropriate plasters for your decorating needs.

Choose a Wall Color

Let's start in the bedroom... Can't decide what to wear or what color to paint the walls. Well, I can help with the latter. Paint is one of the least-expensive investments in the room, so choose the color from an element in the room that has personal value or invested value. One way to choose a wall color is to look at your rug, comforter, window treatments, or an inspirational accessory special to you. Look at one or several of these pieces and find the least dominate color. By matching an accent color in the piece, it will coordinate with your décor and make the accent color pop.

Metal Finishes

Any primable surface can be turned into a metal or oxidized metal finish. The picture shows an average concrete statue, purchased at The Catbird Seat garden center in Madison, AL, turned into a copper-green patina statue. We are currently working on turning a white frame bed into a rusted iron finish for a cowgirl inspired room. To see a sample of rusted iron, click on the link below. We will have a before and after picture of the bed next month.
Other ideas for a metal finish are: Chandeliers & Medallions, Picture & Mirror Frames, Walls & Furniture

Painted Furniture

Take an average-inexpensive piece of furniture and turn it into art! We are not quite finished in this client's room, so better pictures to come... But I could not wait to share my favorite furniture finish! We treated the furniture to an antique white and gold foil make-over and it looks beautiful in the regally designed bedroom.

Stencil of the Month

We have been obsessed with rattan for several years now and came across the perfect rattan stencil at http://www.stencil-library.com/. The rattan stencil (MD18) is in the Modern Design section and comes in 4 sizes. The photo above shows the large size with a 3.85” hexagon- a brilliant floor design. Other stencils in the photo are from their Modern Design and Japan ranges (also a favorite given we lived in Japan… more to come next month).

Stencil-library.com has been our favorite stencil website for years because of their amazing selection of over 3500 quality designed stencils. It is a site we frequent, not only to purchase stencils, but also just looking at their designs makes us happy. They ship worldwide and have great customer service.

Visit http://www.stencil-library.com/ to view the most inspiring stencils EVER!

***Stencils and photograph copyright The Stencil Library. The copying or reproduction by any means is prohibited.****

Tool of the Month

Blue tape is your best friend for almost any custom art project. Prepping the work area is the most important part of the job. If you do not tape off properly, no matter how great your work is, it will not look good without clean lines. Burnishing the tape is key to achieve clean lines. To burnish tape, we prefer using a paint stick rubbing it over the tape with quick, firm and short forward and backward motions.
Blue tape can be used for, but not limited to:
1. Tape off a furniture design (pictured above)
2. Tape off base boards and crown molding
3. Tape stripes on the wall

PS Check back soon for the gorgeous AFTER picture for the furniture above...

MY COLOR...

For as long as I can remember, I have been a fan of chocolate, the candy, color and ice cream. Chocolate Brown has received great attention over the past couple years in design. Some may see it as a trend, other’s still haven’t seen the light, but for those of us that have never been fair weather fans, we know its eternal beauty. Friends used to laugh when I would say brown goes with anything and I am so proud that my color is getting the popular respect it deserves.
My top favorite color combinations with Chocolate Brown (CB) are (in no particular order):

- CB and Black- YES! Décor, fashion, you name it, I love it!
- CB and Blue- Has been a trend recently, but always beautiful
- CB and Mint Green- YUMM!
- CB and GOLD- Yellow, red or green gold, bring it!

Creative Kids

Think back when you were a kid and how many times you would just lay on your bed staring at the ceiling? Inspire a child’s creativity by using their bedroom ceiling as a design element just like the walls. I don’t know about you, but growing up I spent a lot of time in my room, by firm parental request and by choice. A child’s bedroom is a refuge from the world, especially in the teenage years.
Five great ideas for inspiring a child’s creativity on the ceiling are:
1. A map of the world, painted (pictured above)
2. A pre-printed mural “glued” to the ceiling
3. A space theme with a moon, planets, stars, and galaxies (pictured above)
4. Numbers and letters in primary or their favorite colors
5. Musical notes
Each idea listed can be hand-painted or elements of the design can be purchased on-line or at a local hobby store. All children deserve just to be kids and daydream…

Ceiling Medallions

BEFORE.............AFTER- Match the Chandelier Finish

Ceiling medallions are an inexpensive way to dress up any room. Our recommendation is to look for a design you like and purchase it unpainted. Why settle for a high-priced “designer” medallion that does not perfectly match your décor?

For our clients we have painted them in a number of ways, for example:

1. A conservative approach- paint in the flat ceiling color
2. To add a touch of interest- paint in the ceiling color but in a different sheen i.e. satin or semi-gloss

3. Add antiquing glaze, stains or gels to compliment decor

4. OUR FAVORITE- match the chandelier finish (pictured above)

And if you don’t want to mess with glaze, stains or gels, most home stores offer a selection of spray paint in various metallic or natural finishes. And if you are really bold, repaint seasonally or annually and treat as an accessory, matching your changing décor. Create a conversation piece your guests look forward to talking about at your holiday parties.

Stencil of the Month

Our goal is to feature a fabulous stencil every month. To start us off we wanted to share, http://www.stencilsearch.com , a fabulous site that searches countless websites to find the perfect stencil for your project. Type in a key word and stencilsearch.com will instantly retrieve hundreds or thousands of stencils that match your search. This brilliant website saves you time and headaches. The top ten most popular stencil searches include “flowers", "border stencils", and “mural stencils". And if that wasn’t enough, stencilsearch.com has an on-line directory of artists and websites, a forum to talk shop or ask questions, a resource guide, and you may also sign up for a newsletter. We recommend you check their site often, even if you are not looking for a stencil, to stay current on special sales, news, and features only stencilsource.com provides. The picture above is a ribbon stencil found via stencilsearch.com. Happy searching!

Summer Awards and Recognition

ATA won the best booth award at the 2006 Huntsville Business Expo: Austin Ramsay and Alissa Murnane pose infront of thier award-winning display. Owner and lead artist, Alissa Murnane, was honored as a Young Professional of the Year Finalist. For more details about our awards and news, link to ATA News.

Tool of the Month

The mini roller is one of our favorite tools because it is extremely versatile. The mini may be used to cut in when base painting, paint panel doors with ease, apply glaze or plaster for a finish, and so much more. When purchasing your mini, make sure you buy one that DOES NOT have the plastic tip. The plastic tip is suppose to keep the paint off of the trim when cutting in, but we have found they do not work as intended. Buy a mini with the nap all the way around so you can paint corners and almost any surface. Another reason why we like the mini is because it holds enough glaze for about a 3' x 4' wall area which is the perfect area to work, given your glaze's open time. They come in various sizes and naps. We prefer the 4” or 6” woven mini for most projects.

Welcome to Average to art!

Average to art(ATA) is your source for decorative finishes, custom murals, painted furniture and cabinet glazing/painting. Our job is to make every room your favorite! We hope to share industry stories and custom art projects you will enjoy. My name is Alissa Murnane, the owner and lead artist for ATA. Let's get started...