814-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 6, 2000 “Trust your instincts when selecting colors,” Lyden re commends. Decorate With Confidence (Continued from Pago B 2) People also want a bit of history preserved in their homes. An tiques and collectibles are incor porated in all decorating styles. Gilded ornamentation adds a lavish touch to formal and con temporary styles. Lyden believes that wallpaper is a quick and inexpensive way to give a room immediate per sonalization. She demonstrated how a red and black plaid wall covering instantly portrays mas culinity while a mix of floral patterns shouts femininity. Studies show that cool colors such as blues and greens soothe people pychologically. Yellow Give Furniture And Walls New Life LOU ANN GOOD Lancaster Farming Staff YORK (York Co.) Do you have a piece of furniture with an ugly finish, but you can’t afford to replace it? Paint it. Do you wish you have a marble fireplace? Paint it. Want a slate floor instead of the dingy vinyl one? Paint it. It’s that simple for Marla Starkweather who demonstrates how to transform bland looking walls into surfaces such as gran ite, marble, and leather. Called faux, which means fake, the sur faces take on a new life that gives them the appearance of granite, marble, or leather de pending on the painting tech nique used. Numerous painting tech niques using the same or similar paints can give entirely different appearances. Starkweather and another decorator from York Wallcoverings compared the different techniques at a recent Faux Finishes seminar. Demon strated were color washing, combing, slate, rag rolling, Tuscan colorwash, dry brush technique, crackling, antique finish, marblizing, granite fin ishes, sponging, bagging, and smooshing. Wood, vinyl, and concrete can be made to look like slate by fol lowing these directions: • Clean floor thoroughly. • Prime entire floor with Aqua Grip or similar product. • Use flat latex paint in the color of grout to paint entire floor. Allow to dry according to the recommended time. • Lightly sponge on flat latex paint in a sandy color over entire floor to give texture. Allow to dry. makes people feel upbeat. Purple is the number one accent color this year. Gray is making a comeback but it has more of a taupe color. Shades of brown remain strong. Hydrangea is the most popular flower motif. When using accessories, mass “like” objects together. Arrange items in uneven numbers. One, three, or five items grouped to gether are more pleasing to the eye than even numbers of the same object. Massing plants together in varying heights, textures, and shades makes a stronger state ment than scattering one here and there. Group together an Marla Starkweather gives furniture and walls a rebirth by marbelizing or painting with other faux finishes. • Tear off strips of removeable paint tape and tear edges to give an uneven look. Place the tape on the floor in a pattern that im itates slate. • Paint surface with light gray latex floor and porch paint. Do not remove tape. • Mix one part of dark gre alkyd floor and proch paint with five parts alkyd glazing liquid. array of scented candles in vary ing heights. “Family photos are your best accessories. Mass frames of var ying sizes together on a table top,” Lyden said. “You can hang pictures in frames with gold, silver, and wood tones if you use one unifying item, such as a frame that combines silver and gold or a wood carving that adds architectural interest. “Trust your instincts,” Lyden said when selecting color and patterns. “When you see a pat tern, you love—buy it.” Often clients who are at tracted to bright or bold pat terns, don’t buy them because they fear they will tire of it. But Lyden said that substituting a bland-appearing piece for an item you love often results in living with colors you don’t really like and that don’t make your heart sing. “If you love something at first glance, you will continue to love it,” she promised. When using accessories to accent your home, Lyden said, “Throw it out if you don’t love it or if it doesn’t serve a useful pur pose.” You may not particularly like the looks of the outdated toaster that sits on the kitchen counter top, but if you use it, keep it. On the other hand, those faded silk flowers serve no useful purpose. You don’t like them, so throw them away. “Decorate with confidence,” she said. “If you like it, display it even if it counteracts deco rating rules, because rules are made to break and make von look clever.” For more information on free decorating seminars or free con sultation with an interior de signer, call York Wallcoverings Factory Store at (717) 854-4285. • Roll glazing mixture over the surface of the floor (only doing an area that you can com plete in 15 minutes). • Take pieces of cling wrap and lay it on the glaze mixture. Smoosh the cling wrap around, continue putting down cling wrap until area is covered. Then piece by piece remove the cling wrap and the tape. The different looks achieved in no-sew window treat ments are multiple and make an effective backdrop for many different decorating styles. No Sew Window Treatments (Continued from Pag* B 2) r SwK» Lay fabric flat with back of fabric facing up and width'at top. Bottom and number of yards is left to right. My<i » 'V sr 6qcK Rbrrf/ To create taper on sides, determine where you want taper to start, from the bottom up. Measurement “A”. Starting at the bottom left corner and the bottom right corner, measure in towards the center and mark the measurement. <S)_ t ds Fold fabric beginning with the top left comer and top right comer. Fold only to the point you have marked across the bottom. This will not necessarily form a 45 degree angle. • Allow surface to dry (what ever is recommended on paint can). • Apply several coats of po lyurethane for durability. A free seminar on Faux Finshes is scheduled at York Wallcoverings Factory Store, 201 Carlisle Ave., York, for Wednesday, May 10, 7 p.m. To register, call (717) 854-4285. ,£-Rpst4+t Iron along dotted line using fusion tape. Turn fabric over, keeping wide side at the top. 4 2 i \ Front / N —'BoHom Proceed to drape fabric over tulip brackets (keeping wide side at the top. To make rosettes, form a 14-inch loop by pulling up fabric at each side of the window. Close bracket clamp, and arrange the fabric to form a rosette. Balloon valance over decora tive pole: Determine finished length of valance, double and add approximately 18-inches for gathering. Divide by 36-inches to calculate the yardage. To avoid seaming fabric, this treat ment is recommended for a window up to 50-inches wide if using 54-inch wide fabric. s*" Be sure to enter our June Daily Recipe Drawing. Turn to page B 6 for complete instruc tions and a picture of prizes to be awarded. Deadline is June 1 so send your entry now. Enter Recipe Contest
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