It’s Sunday afternoon. Lunch done. The house is airy, smells fresh and there’s light all over streaming in through the windows: for a change. And I’m loving it. Here’s a teaser of the colors from the pictures below that adorn the walls now.
This picture has most of the colors used in the house.
It is time to talk about the surprise. 2010 drew to a close on a good note and December was been a fabulous month. Before I begin, wish you all a very Happy New Year. And thank you for stopping by, asking for suggestions and all your kind comments.
There was a time, year 2004 to be precise, when I was hooked onto the makeover and event series on TLC. You know The Wedding story, The Baby Story, The Home Makeover story and such…I would watch back to back episodes. Have you seen those home makeover surprise episodes when a spouse goes away for a weekend? And the husband/wife along with the TLC team renovates the yard/room beyond recognition. When the spouse returns, he/she is in for a HUGE surprise. Imagine the adrenaline rush!
The dream came true. It all began in November end as part of “Surprise your spouse” campaign for Asian Paints. It was like a dream come true. In a way, it was a torture for I couldn’t tell my husband or anyone about it for nearly 3 weeks 
As per the campaign, I could choose a wall to be painted in a color and texture of my choice and Asian Paints Home Solutions would paint it. This had to be done when the husband was away on work. Everything feel in to place in the first week of December as my husband was away on a business trip for 3 days giving us enough window to execute the whole process at ease. I was as thrilled as my son when he gets a new RC helicopter. Alright, more about Royale Play and the process now…
Color and texture selection:
This is perhaps the most important step in the whole process. A lot has been said and written about color selection for walls - furniture, wall decor, artifacts, lighting, furnishings play a critical role. If you do not intend to change the rest, then it is wise to choose a color that blends well with furniture and furnishings.
We are in the process of re-doing our home in parts. After a bright orange drawing room, for two years, I was game for a more subdued and neutral color, preferably monochromatic. I wanted to bring color to the room through vases, flowers and rugs. This limited my choice of colors and the selection process easier. But you never know how it would look once done. This is where the experts help. The Asian Paints’ team leader vouched that silver-Aluminium dapple gives a royale look.
To be honest, even after selection, I was skeptical for two reasons. One, it is easier to transform a room and surprise everyone by painting a focus wall in the darker shade. Though a standard and fail-safe approach, it is not novel anymore. in our case, the hardest part was to move away from a darker shade and still make an impression. Two, as I said before, one can never be sure what looks good on paper will stand out in reality as well.
In continuation of yesterday’s post, I’ll describe the process that you can apply to paint any wooden furniture. So, if you’re game for some hard work, let’s get started.
Preparation:
1. Identify the piece of furniture you want to paint. And, be convinced why you want to paint. Some pieces of furniture look best in their natural form. For instance, you don’t want a yellow paint over a beautifully carved teak wood cabinet, right?
2. Come up with a color scheme. Do a bit of research and use your design gut to finalize colors. To add zing to bare white walls, brightly painted furniture is a good idea. But if you have a thematic wall, already, adding more color wouldn’t bring the object to focus. In this case, a neutral color would work well.
Things you’ll need:
Now that we’ve settled on the colors, let’s go do some shopping. I used the Royale Emulsion (yea, the Saif Ali Khan series) range from Asian Paints for this project. Not that I’m a big fan of Saif, but since Asian Paints were the pioneer in the Indian market to have introduced odorless, water-based enamel.
1. Sand Paper - 6 to 7 sheets. You’ll need many sheets for the sanding process. Don’t go by what’s written on the paint tin. The highest grade you can get for sanding wooden furniture is 120. Keep a few sheets extra as it is costs only Rs. 4 per sheet and you don’t want to be running like me to the hardware shop every other day.
2.Dirty clothes.
3. Newspapers
4. Old paint tin for mixing colors.
5. Two brushes. A wide one and a narrow one. Don’t buy a very wide brush for furniture.
6. 1 liter of Royal Enamel (water-thinnable) - Mango Mood (Orange)
7. 1 liter of Royal Enamel (water-thinnable) - Red.
8. Primer from Asian Paints (again water thinnable).
9. Safety glasses
The total cost for these items was Rs.950. Paint is the most expensive part in this. If you choose a medium range that is solvent-thinnable, then the cost of the project will come down by about Rs.200. I personally find using thinner as a solvent very cumbersome. Cleaning the brushes and the floor is a lot more hard work. And you can’t afford to be negligent as with a water-based one.
Steps for Painting:
1. Spread newspapers on the floor. Wear old clothes. Put of your safety glasses.
2. Sand the surface well using emery sheets. If you are dust-allergic, then be sure to cover your face, or hire someone for an hour or two to sand.This is the most important step and every nook and corner should be sanded well. If not, when you start painting, you’ll find the paint flaking off.
3. Once sanding is done, shake the primer tin and open it. Pour a small quantity of primer in the empty paint bucket. Add little water to this so that it is neither too thick nor too flowy.
3. Start applying the primer using a brush. If you’ve never painted before, this is a good time to get used to feeling the brush in your hands. The strokes don’t matter much now. Ensure the entire surface is covered with primer.
4. Let it dry for 3-4 hours.
5. Sand the primed surface again.
6. Apply one more coat of primer. If you had mixed more primer the first time, take care to cover the leftover until next usage.
7. Let the second coat dry for 3-4 hours. Sand the surface again.
8. Empty the primer bucket. Wash it clean.
9. Mix a little quantity of orange paint in water in the empty paint bucket. Paint the desired area. Don’t take too much paint on the brush. Apply evenly for a smooth finish.
10. Let it dry after the first coat for 6 hours.
11. Follow up with a second coat and if needed, third coat. The cot took 3 coats, something typical of Asian Paints.
12. Once you’re done with orange, move over to red, or whatever color you choose.
It took me about a week and a total of 6 hours to finish painting as I did it in parts. There were times when my husband and my son helped me with a stroke or two. When it started getting messy, I gave them some assorted piece of furniture to try their skills on
Painting is still not viewed as a DIY activity in India. So, yes, you may get a few raised eyebrows every time you go shopping. A few months back, when I asked how much water I would need to mix for primer, the vendor replied, “Don’t worry ma’am. The painter will know.” The I’m-the-painter response from me caught him unawares.
I had a lot of fun painting this bed. I hope you’ll be inspired to paint some thing in your home as well. Don’t forget to share pictures when you do.
Asian Paints is one of the few companies in India that offer comprehensive painting and makeover solutions for interior and exterior walls. Their Signature Wall series is a rage in metros like Bangalore and Chennai. However, my experience with them in Pune was frustrating and I discouraged people from considering Asian Paints. A regular reader of this blog, among a few others in Bangalore, spoke positively about their experiences with Asian Paints and how the painters agreed to re-paint the walls if they got it wrong. Surprisingly, almost every one I spoke to mentioned at least one wall being re-painted in order to get the right look. Anyways, I requested a few pictures and a reader of this blog was kind enough to share them. These may help you in deciding if you’ve been contemplating a wall makeover.
Wheels Theme from Asian Paints
This is the wheels theme for the kids’ room which uses the chalkboard range of Asian Paints. The chalkboard range is a collection of six themes which includes Kites, Santa, Jungle, Light house, and Duck Trails. Wonder how the most sought-after characters such as Barbie and Spiderman are missing? Chalkboard is a 100% acrylic paint which makes it easy to maintain and wipe any dirt off the walls with a clean cloth. The brilliant blues and enticing pinks, no doubt, can transform any boring kids’ room into a lively one. I’m not sure if the painters do any customization to these themes. It looks like they have standard stencils to get the uniform (advertised) look.
French Riviera - Signature Wall
French Riviera - Signature Wall
Another stencil from the French Riviera Signature Wall series. Have you ever wondered why the interiors of a model apartment or the colors in a paint catalog look elegant and stylish, but not so much when you replicate the same in your house. Well, more often than not, the type of flooring, lighting, furniture and the soft accessories can make all the difference to bring the desired effect to a room. So, what necessarily looks good in a catalog may not be the right choice for the size of your room.
Metallic Effects : Spatula
Finally, the special effect called Spatula in the metallic series. Sponging and ragging are my personal favorites in this series, preferably, in some other color.
Image courtesy : A reader of this blog (thank you very much for sharing them)
Are you itching to transform your bedroom, study or, even the living room, for that matter? Tired of seeing the same interiors when you walk in at the end of the day? Has it been a long time since you got that painting job done or spent some money renovating your apartment?
Walls are the most easy spaces in a house to bring about a quick transformation without spending a fortune. There is also enough room for experimentation when it comes to walls. I present you with three quick ways to re-do one wall of a room under Rs.10,000. I say, one wall, because this wall become the focal point of the room and overdoing it can make it look cluttered, small and remove the magic.
1. Cladding: It is a technique for applying non-structural material to the walls of a room. More and more apartment owners are choosing to apply wall cladding to their living rooms, of late. It was a popular decor option for exterior walls but cladding has now moved indoors. Materials range from stones and tiles to fabric and wood. Stone cladding in earthy colors such as sandstone and beige are very popular. Fabric cladding is not very ideal for tropical conditions. A 8*10 ft wall will roughly cost you Rs.7,000 for stone cladding including labor. stones and mosaics come in a wide range of colors and sizes. It takes about 4-6 hours to complete a wall of this size. Once cladding is done, it is easier to maintain. Of course, there is a downside to every good thing. You cannot change the look of the wall easily.
Wall Cladding
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