January 4, 2011
courtesy of photobucket
It seems a lot of my design customers are getting ready to re do their kitchens and bathrooms. Many of them have concerns about mold and mildew from excess moisture and concerns about the durability of the paint itself– the ability to withstand repeated washings.
Durability is very important especially if there are kids who can’t keep the toothpaste in the sink or keep the water off the walls after washing their hands. (I know my kids aren’t the only ones who do this:)
Or if they have their very own Emeril who occasionally gets crazy with the pasta sauce. (My husband + cooking = mess on a nuclear fallout level!!)
Instead of installing a sink in the garage for teeth brushing and hiding all the pots and pans, it may be best to look into a more durable paint finish for these areas.
December 28, 2010
Color of the Year 2011
WOW! This color fantastic!! Rich and luscious yet soft and velvety Vintage Wine could be used in any space!
Even these wine bottle corks are the color of the year!
December 20, 2010
What a great gift!
Twelve days of painting? Are you kidding me?
Just to put your mind at ease, your painting project should not take 12 days.
Mine however is a different story. Instead of the usual holiday song, I made up my own version sung to the tune of, you guessed it …
The 12 days of Christmas Painting
♦♦♦♦♦
December 13, 2010
Have someone who loves to do home improvement projects? Have a new homeowner on your gift list? Put Seven’s on your list of places to Christmas shop this season.
We sell empty paint cans which make great gift baskets! Place your gifts inside the can, add a couple pieces of tissue paper and Viola’, a personalized gift with it’s own easy to carry handle!
December 6, 2010
Paint + Primer???
With so many paint + primer products out there these days how do you know which one is the best? Is it really true that you can skip the primer? Do they really work?
First, here is a little information on both. Primers typically have better adhesive properties and are made to bind and seal the surface you are getting ready to paint. Paints have more solids and are made to go on more thickly and give you color and better performance.
courtesy of photobucket
I don’t know about you but this time change has been really hard to take this year. I don’t know if it was because of the great summer and fall we had but I am really feeling it. I suppose I could consider moving closer to the Equator but in spite of my complaining, I still love Michigan. (Plus I hear the bugs are REALLY big in South America. Eww.)
I guess I may be here a while. So to compensate for the absence of light in the late afternoons I have been thinking about using some more uplifting color choices in my home.
November 29, 2010
When I first started at Seven’s I really had not done any real painting. Decorative painting or faux finishing did not require me to be skilled in the areas of cutting in or rolling. Yes, you have to roll glaze on some areas but you don’t have to be fussy because you are usually manipulating the wet glaze with some sort of tool so roller marks are not an issue. You can use masking tape to help with edging to get your tool in close enough to the ceilings and trim work.
So I happily went along without really knowing what it takes to paint. Until I had to paint the first room in my first house. The nursery.
November 22, 2010
_______________
I admit it. I am a push over for Christmas. I love the sights, the sounds, the smells, and I love the holiday colors! The rich reds, greens, metallics and shimmery hues inspire me to paint!
What? Really? Another thing which inspires me to paint? Say it isn’t so!
I admit that painting a room in a color just for the holidays is a bit excessive (even for me). I am on a 2 year painting rotation, not a 1 year — yet…
So what do you do if you need a little holiday cheer but don’t want to do anything permanent?
November 15, 2010
I’m pretty sure in a recent blog post I was complaining about the heat. Hmmm…what a change! As usual in Michigan you blink and the temperature drops 30 degrees!
I went on a paint color search for hues that help give a feeling of warmth and comfort with names that made me feel toasty.
November 9, 2010
Need help figuring out how much paint you need? Check out this handy paint calculator from Benjamin Moore.
(Most paint covers 350 – 400 square feet per gallon)
November 8, 2010
Help!
In just a few short weeks the holiday craziness will begin. I have a rather long list of things to get done before company comes and hope I have enough time to get everything accomplished! I am counting on some help from family members so we will see how far I get. (Hint, hint, family members who may be reading this…)
It has been recent tradition to have Thanksgiving at our house. We used to go to a restaurant for feasting but when I married my darling husband, it all changed. “You do what for Thanksgiving? Why? How can you live without leftover turkey sandwiches? What about the football games?” So we finally volunteered to host it at our house.
November 1, 2010
I am so happy about Pottery Barn’s paint color choices for this fall. Some are rich and color saturated, some are soft and neutral but they are all so livable! Here are a couple of my favorites…
October 26, 2010
Please join us at a special fall event this November 4th through 6th!
We are pleased to be a part of the West Michigan Design Center’s
Fall Color and Design Crawl on 29th Street!
You could even win a flat screen TV!
Seven’s is giving away a prize package valued at $250.00 which includes a custom design consultation! I will be introducing our newest line of colors from Graham Paints and showing off some really beautiful metallic plasters and wallpapers!
Hope to see you there!
October 25, 2010
mmm...
It’s almost Halloween!
I know in my last post I was a bit frantic about getting my touch up done before the holidays. Well, the cleaning and touch- up program at my house has stalled. Well, it never really got going–mostly due to lack of participation (okay, due to absolutely no participation) and the emergency costume making session last weekend.
October 18, 2010
__________________
“It’s time.” I stated to my husband last evening.
“It’s time for what?” he asked, half paying attention to me (perhaps in the hopes that I would just go away). Oh no, my friend. You would be mistaken.
“It’s October,” I replied, hoping those words would be enough of a reminder of what is to come.
Insert his extremely dramatic sigh here: _______ !!
October 11, 2010
York Wallcovering
“Wallpaper, Wallpaper! Where for art thou, Wallpaper?” — A quote from Juliet after having too much time to contemplate her naked castle walls while waiting for Romeo to show up.
I myself have lamented on the rather un-adorned state of my dining room walls and wondered what in the world to do with them. The problem lies not in the lack of choices but in the abundance. Shall I faux finish them, use metallic plaster? Shall I just paint them? Ahh…”Tempt not a desperate man” or woman!!
October 4, 2010
BRRR! Well, that didn’t take long. Was it really just a couple of weeks ago I was complaining about the heat? Yes, yes it was. I’m just never happy!
Instead of counting the goosebumps on my arms, I figured I should get a list together of all the things I have to get done before the snow flies. Thankfully the cooler weather is a sufficient motivator for me to tackle a few things–that and the warmth I will generate by getting up, moving around and working around the exterior of my house.
September 27, 2010
The family and I headed to Art Prize yesterday to take in some culture, admire the art and do a little people watching! What a fantastic place to be on such a nice fall Sunday afternoon.
I gave my kids a mission: Find all of the pianos they could so Mom could take a picture. They did really great! I wish we could have seen them all but our feet wore out after a few hours of hoofing it around town. Here are a few pictures of the ones we spotted…
September 20, 2010
I promised I would take pictures of the piano painting. I stopped by West Michigan Piano to take a few photos and meet the creative people using our paint to create their masterpieces.
Various groups were in to work on several pianos including a group from Byron Center Christian Elementary, Steelcase, Lakeside and Dutton Elementary. Thornapple Kellog had been in a few days prior to paint a couple of brilliant works of music and art.
The creativity and the paint were flying as the students took over the warehouse area and loading dock to work on their art projects. A couple of kids were playing songs on them while everyone was working. I am still amazed by how great these kids are…
continue reading on the next page…
September 15, 2010
Luke Jerram
I pass by a billboard on M-6 every day with a slogan about Grand Rapids that reads “Cool City, Hot Art”. It got me thinking about how Grand Rapids has become so hip and current over the past decade. Although I am no artist, I am a great admirer of other’s creativity. How exciting to have the chance to see thousands of artistic displays in our city. Art Prize definitely puts Grand Rapids on the top of cool places to see. Cool City, indeed!!
Seven’s Paint & Wallpaper has been given the opportunity to work with a ton of artistic people who are painting pianos for Art Prize. They will be placed all over GR and anyone can walk up and play!
