 | John Niedens is part owner and one of the systems operators of Texturite, LLC. John has no problem expressing who he believes his favorite teacher to be. It is Marvin, his father. John began at the very young age of 14 in the construction and remodeling business as a framer, pursuing a maintenance and remodeling business of his own when he started high school at Kapaun Mount Carmel. John has had experience in everything from kitchen design to all facets of construction and remodeling. Since his tenure with Texturite, John has created Sahara, Texturite's most popular wall finish. Incorporating neutral colors with texture and sand, Sahara can hide old wallpaper, and turn it into an eye-popping work of art. To find out more about Sahara and all of the Texturite processes, visit www.texturite.com. To contact John, call (316) 210-7800. |
Home Improvement
2007-03-01 11:06:00
Home spring projects-help!
I have thought about my big home project for this spring, and what I would like to do is to create excitement in my children's rooms. I have a 6-year old boy and an 8-year old girl. What can I do?
ANSWER: My, but you are undertaking a big project! Because this may take some time, you might want to plan accordingly so that you don't hamper those end of school fun times with your children by concentrating on too big of a project in too short of a time. I am assuming that you are wanting to do this yourself rather than having an interior decorator do it for you. It's too bad you can't just order such finished rooms out of a catalog. I imagine that is really an option if a person wanted to look long enough. But imagine the sense of accomplishment you will have when this project is completed. There are unique and inexpensive choices in the world of Faux painting, and this avenue is what I will highlight today. Faux is a current rage. You may already have themes in mind; however, this is your first step. Even though at your children's ages there may be Power Rangers and Barbies all over the place, unless you relish the idea of doing this again in several years, it might be wise to remember that they will be growing up. Thus the room should be decorated so that it can grow with them. This is relevant both in choosing a theme and in any murals you might be considering. Planning is the most important part of the project. Before you start, you will want to know where you will want any murals, where heavy furniture will be located, and where heavy traffic will be entering and exiting. Some have put murals above where a chair rail would come or even in a corner. Others have painted a mural on their children's closet door because this is one spot where furniture will never be put. Once again, when picking your theme or even a mural try to avoid fads or characters that might become out of date. Think ahead about when your son turns thirteen and whether he might be embarrassed by the Power Rangers he thought were so hot when he was eight years old. If you decide to do an entire room in one mural, you still wouldn't have to completely cover every wall. You might get just the effect you want by creating a simple mural. Your budget will probably be the final determining factor in your project. What about a landscape painting for a large blank wall? You can combine free-hand painting techniques with stenciling and create a beautiful and unique wall mural. If you use a Faux finish in the background, you can create more depth and texture. Your imagination is the limit as you create Faux painting masterpieces. How about using colors themselves as a theme and matching with curtains, bedding, and wall decorations? Or what about your son's room done as a "jungle" as that is general enough so hopefully he will be happy all the way up to when he is 10 or 11 years old. Okay. Now it is time to start the work. Think of the four walls as blank canvases for your creativity and debut. Pick a solid color of paint especially if it is a bright and cheery color? Those little hand prints will be much easier to clean off by also selecting a semi-gloss rather than a flat paint. Now try your hand at that Faux finishing on the walls. After the solid color base is on, dampen a natural sponge, dip it into the second color of paint and dab it lightly on the walls. Look at the effect. Remember you can't mess it up. If you don't like it, just paint over the top and try again. Not only will it be a creative project for you, it should be FUN! Here are a couple of specific effects you might consider. What about glitter in your daughter's room? A glitter gun is simple to use to broadcast the glitter onto wet paint. Glitter can be used with any type of paint and comes in silver, gold, or clear and can be purchased at your neighborhood hardware store. Another suggestion for either of the rooms would be to achieve a cloud effect on the wall. You will want to select a blue shade for the background. The actual clouds can then be created by using very extra white paint and then blending in small portions of black to make varying shades of gray. It is important to let the background color dry overnight if possible but at least for 4 hours. Then mix the paint that you will use for the clouds with some Faux finish latex glazing liquid. This will give you more time to work on your cloud creation. You can use a synthetic sea sponge to assist in creating the cloud effect on the painted surface. There are different cloud effects. One is the procedure to actually form a cumulus cloud. Use the sponge and create a horizontal line the length of the cloud. Then add puffs of cloud that rise up from this base. It will be important to blend the edges of the clouds as the glaze color runs from the sponge. You will need a damp clean sponge for this procedure. Another idea is to use magnetic paint in a certain area and then find cute magnets to match the rest of the room décor. Or better yet, hang a magnetic strip around the room as a border at chair rail height. How fun for your children to be able to hang up their artwork that they bring home from school. I hope these ideas will help you to see that it doesn't take a fortune to create excitement and imagination and to transform a child's room into their "fantasy world." So plan and HAVE FUN!
