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...