Mumbai: Painting a home is like giving it a face-lift. The home is young and beautiful again. With the wide range of paints and finishes available, it is tough to make a choice. Here are some guidelines for you.
Choosing the right finishPaint colours should be chosen based on the largest piece of furniture that dominates the room, the focal point of the room, the size of the room, the height of its ceiling, the amount of light that it gets, the uses the room will be put to and most importantly, the feel you want in your room.
Flat or matte paint finish with no shine is best for walls that have minor surface imperfections. These days they have good stain resistance too. Eggshell or velvet finishes with a soft glow are best for living room walls and look elegant and sophisticated. They are easier to clean too. Satin or semi-gloss paint finishes are best for doors and trims and highlighting architectural details. You may also use gloss finish for door, trims and specialty areas according to your choice. The sheen of the walls and the smoothness of the texture in semi-gloss and gloss paints make them easy to clean and scrub. For families with small children, you may want to use washable wall paints that are very easy to wipe and clean.
Highlighting your wallsTo give the room a dramatic effect to highlight one section of the home there are several techniques, which are used by interior designers. Shilp Creations interior designer Charul Shah Said, "You can transform a well painted room to a truly breathtaking one by simple highlighting techniques".
The simplest way to highlight is to paint one wall or a section of a room, in a dramatic contrasting colour. There are several other techniques too. For instance there are paint rollers with stencils attached, which give you a wallpaper look.
Faux finishes are the hottest thing in wall covering since pre-mixed paint in a can. Instead of flat painted linen white, choices can include a soft-sponge cloudy texture in sage greens, or crisp wide stripes in neutral tones, or a scholarly stippling finish in leather browns. The choices are endless and the results can be beautiful when done right.
Says Milind Pai, Chief Architect, Milind Pai Associates, "There are several popular effects which have evolved over time. Some can be created to give the visual effect of a natural material like wood or marble. The antique look using stencils with gold or silver paints give a beautiful look." Going one step further you actually hire an artist to paint a wall instead of hanging a painting.
Complete paint solutionWith the world spinning faster than ever, we look for instant solutions. Paint companies have come up with some.
ICI India has stores that you can walk into and get colour consultant from experts. They have also launched software wherein if you load your home data you can see what the finished product would look like.
Most Paint companies will send a consultant to your home who will examine the wall conditions and give you a quote for both the paint and the labour. This consultancy may be for free or adjust against the payment of their services if availed. Says Abhijit Roy, Senior General Manager -Marketing, Berger Paints, "We have a warranty of three to five years for our precious and exclusive range of products. For the home painting service, we provide one year warranty."
Cost to your pocketPrices are typically calculated on a square footage price based on the desired finish. Finishes range in price depending on preparatory work needed, materials, time, and number of layers involved. The paint companies offering a total paint solution may work out a bit higher than the market rates of hiring a paint contractor but then it is a hassle free job.
Ashok Saini, Vice President- Special Projects, Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited, explains, "The cost of this service is charged as per square feet depending on the product. In the emulsion range, the cost varies from Rs 6 to Rs 13 per square feet depending on the grade of emulsion used and Rs 15-20 for designer finishes."
The cost of a textured paint will vary from Rs 65- Rs 125 per square feet. However, the gold and silver paint which actually have some gold and silver in them can cost anywhere between Rs 600-2,000 per square feet.
Milind Pai said, "The painter is an artist and he can give the effect by simply using a sponge or a comb, so it is not the cost of the material but also the cost of his creativity that you are paying for".
So weigh the pros and cons before painting the home red.
(The author, Shalini Amarnani, is a freelancer)
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