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