Summer Home Improvement Ideas

With the weather getting warmer and the days getting longer, most homeowners are starting to think about ways they can improve the look and value of their homes. Summer is a great time to tackle some of those big home improvement projects and Colour Solutions is always happy to help homeowners check some of these projects off their to-do lists:

Deck and Patio Maintenance1. Deck and Patio Maintenance
Get ready for those summer cookouts by giving your patio, deck or porch a makeover. Whether your wooden deck needs staining, your cement patio needs pressure washing or your front porch could use a fresh coat of paint, Colour Solutions can provide a wide range of services to make your outdoor living space the envy of the neighborhood. And the floor surfaces aren’t the only places that may need attention – porch ceilings, posts, doors and exterior walls can also be painted, stained or washed to give your space a completely new look.

Interior Painting2. Fresh Paint Indoors
Summer is a great season to paint indoors. Here in the Southeast, high outdoor temperatures can make it challenging to complete exterior paint projects in the summertime, but interior paint jobs can be done quickly and easily without worrying about the heat and humidity complicating the project. If you’ve been thinking about giving your indoor rooms a new look, Colour Solutions can offer homeowners top-quality interior painting services at reasonable prices. From choosing a new color scheme for your bedrooms to painting your kitchen cabinets to adding a faux finish in the dining room, we can provide clients with a full range of options – after all, painting is our specialty! Adding fresh paint indoors can also take care of those pesky scuff marks and scratches that may have occurred throughout the years. Colour Solutions knows how to effectively prep the wall surfaces to ensure your new paint job covers up small imperfections.

Yard with Fence3. Beautify Fences
If your home has wood fencing, you might want to consider having it professionally cleaned or painted. Because fencing is subjected to the elements every day, all day, it can tend to accumulate mildew and lose its original attractiveness. Quick, fairly inexpensive ways to improve the overall look of your home is to thoroughly clean or paint your fences. If you’re thinking of paint, Colour Solutions can even offer professional consultations on choosing a complementary color and offer suggestions on the type of paint to choose. This project is best done in early summer, before the extreme heat of North Carolina sets in; however, if you do decide to hire us to paint outdoors, we at Colour Solutions can strategically perform the task to ensure the paint doesn’t dry too quickly before it has time to set.

No matter what time of year, Colour Solutions is dedicated to offering clients throughout the Wilmington area the best painting and home improvement services at affordable prices. To get started on your next summer home improvement project, feel free to give us a call. In addition to painting, staining and cleaning, we can also do light carpentry, wallpaper removal, yearly maintenance packages and more (see our Services). Call us today to hear more about our services. (910) 686-3067

Three Unique Ideas for Interior Painting

Faux Finishes for Stained CabinetsWhen people think of interior painting, they usually just think of painting the home’s interior walls, baseboards, doors, window frames, and maybe the ceiling. But did you know that there are a number of unique home painting projects that can add a whole new look to your home’s interior? Believe it or not, there are plenty of painting projects that a homeowner might hire a professional for – that don’t have anything to do with the home structure itself!

Here are three examples:

1. Furniture – Even though a lot of folks decide to paint furniture themselves (after all, it’s fairly easy to do and doesn’t cost much), others prefer to hire a professional painter. It could be for any number of reasons. Some people just don’t want to devote the time it would take, others would rather trust a professional to make sure the paint job is completed in the best way possible and some people, while they love the look of freshly painted furniture, just don’t have the desire to do the work themselves. A few ideas on painting furniture to transform the look of your space include, kitchen tables and chairs, large items such as a hutch or buffet, living room end tables, coffee tables, dressers, bookcases, and so on.

2. Upholstery – That’s right. You can actually paint the fabric on your sofa, armchair, pillows, etc. The process is a bit more complicated that regular painting, which is why hiring a pro might be a good idea for this particular project. In order to successfully paint upholstery, you will need to use a mixture of water, fabric medium (can be found in craft stores and some home improvement stores) and latex paint. Be sure to let your upholstery dry thoroughly before allowing anyone to sit down on it!

3. Appliances and Fixtures – From refrigerators to washers and dryers and even countertops and faucets, you can bring a new level of style to your home by adding a fresh coat of paint. The most popular type of paint for appliances and household fixtures is metallic, but you can go with something simple like black or white as well.

If you’d like to hear more about unique ways to improve your home’s interior through painting, contact the painting professionals at Colour Solutions. Serving the Wilmington, NC area, Colour Solutions can offer expert advice and helpful design suggestions for your painting needs. Call (910) 686-3067  or visit Colour-Solutions.com today for a free estimate!

Ideas for Chalkboard Paint

Chalkboard paint is very popular these days. It’s fun, simple and offers a way to feed your artistic side when at home. Chalkboard paint can also be used to create more practical projects. From functional organizing to labeling to list-making, chalkboard paint can provide numerous ways to help you get organized in style! Here are a few of our favorite ideas for chalkboard paint:

1. Kitchen – No matter how you use it, chalkboard paint can really come in handy in the kitchen. Paint it on a wall or wall section to jot down recipes, plan the week’s menu or make grocery lists. Decorate your kitchen’s backsplash area with colorful, changeable chalk drawings. Add paint to the inside panels of your cupboards to leave hidden messages. Here’s a cool example from Pinterest.

2. Kids Playroom – What kid hasn’t tried to draw on the walls at some point, leaving their moms and dads with a major mess to clean up or paint over? Well, with chalkboard paint, drawing on the walls is the whole idea! Add some in a nursury, playroom or child’s bedroom to bring loads of fun and creativity to your kids’ world. And here’s an extra tip – affix some upside down drawer pulls to give kids a place to store their chalk when they aren’t using it.  A Pinterest example.

3. Office – If you work at home, you know how important it is to stick to a schedule and stay organized. By adding chalkboard paint to the walls in your home office, you’ll be able to easily jot down any phone numbers, appointments or last minute tasks. You can also use it to create a large, wall-sized calendar that can be changed every month. This would come in handy in keeping track of meetings, Skype conferences and deadlines.

4. Furniture – Repurposing old and vintage furniture items is quite popular these days. If you’ve got an old piece that could use a makeover, consider using chalkboard paint. The great thing about this paint is that it is so versatile – it can be used on just about any type of surface. Coffee tables, dresser drawers, dining hutches and headboards are just a few examples of furniture pieces that can be boosted by chalkboard paint. Here’s a neat idea for using chalkboard paint to repurpose an old footboard.

5. Doors – Entryways can get a whole new look with a bit of chalkboard paint. Use it on the entire door or simply paint the panels for a nice contrast. Use it to leave love notes in your bedroom, shopping lists in your pantry or just go wild and use it to write or draw whatever you want! That’s the beauty of chalkboard paint – you’re free to do whatever you choose, and if it doesn’t quite work out, you can just erase it and start over! Oh, and that reminds us…chalkboard paint isn’t just limited to black, gray and green. You can get chalkboard paint in a wide variety of colors. For instance, check out this bright pink chalkboard door.

Have more ideas? Leave a comment and let us know your favorite ways to use chalkboard paint at home or at work!

Deck Staining and Painting in Time for Summer

Deck Painting Wilmington NCIf you want to have your outdoor deck looking ship-shape in time for summer, the time to schedule your staining and painting service is now! Colour Solutions offers high-quality, professional deck staining and painting at affordable prices, which is why we’re already booking up fast!

Summer is a time of backyard barbecues, family reunions and other at-home gatherings. If you’d like to impress your guests with an outdoor space that’s attractive and functional, a deck painting or staining project may be just the thing. You’d be surprised at what a difference a professional paint or stain can make for your deck!

Naturally, wood decks are subjected to the elements year-round, which can cause a lot of wear and tear as the seasons change. In North Carolina, our weather can fluctuate wildly, which means keeping your deck properly protected is essential to extending the life of the material. A high-quality stain not only makes your deck look more attractive, it protects it from Mother Nature’s challenges. Staining can prevent mildew, protect from ultraviolet rays and can help keep the material from rotting. Additionally, deck stains come in a variety of shades to suit your personal style. From rich, dark tones to light, natural shades and a few things in between, Colour Solutions can help you find the right choice for your wood deck stain.

If you’d rather have your deck painted, Colour Solutions can recommend a paint material that works well for outdoor wood surfaces. In addition, Colour Solutions will completely prepare the surface to minimize the risk of moisture and other environmental factors that may compromise your deck’s material. Like staining, painting your wood deck offers a variety of protective benefits, but may require a few additional steps; applying an exterior wood primer, for instance (see: Deck Painting Ideas in North Carolina) . But don’t worry; Colour Solutions has a team of highly experienced home improvement professionals who will treat your project with the utmost care and professionalism.

Instead of trying to do it yourself, hiring a professional wood deck stainer or painter can save you a lot of time and energy. If you’d like to begin planning your deck staining or painting project, feel free to contact Colour Solutions today. Give us a call at (910) 686-3067 or simply fill out our contact form online – but don’t delay! Our schedules are quickly filling up as people begin preparing for spring and summer!

Kitchen Cabinet Makeover

Ideas for Painted CabinetsOver the years, your kitchen cabinets will get a lot of wear and tear. Instead of spending a small fortune to replace them, why not simply refresh their look with a new coat of paint or an attractive faux finish? Colour Solutions offers professional cabinet painting services to give your kitchen a totally new look for a fraction of the cost of replacing them.

With a very wide selection of colors to choose from, including the basic neutrals as well as attractive shades to suit just about any style, Colour Solutions can help you choose a look that works well in your kitchen. Whether you’re going for a more modern look or you want to capture a rustic “shabby chic” motif, Colour Solutions’ design experts can create a custom painting project suited to your tastes and budget.

Need a few ideas to get started?

  • Choose a bright white to create the illusion of a bigger, more open space. This works well in small galley kitchens.
  • Want something more unique? Consider experimenting with deeper shades of colors found throughout your home.
  • Consider the layout of your kitchen and how color will play into it. Does your kitchen open up to the dining/living area? You may want to break up the monotony by choosing a different color that complements the color in those areas. Likewise, you may start out with the idea of painting your kitchen and find that you’d like to have that color flow through the entire space.
  • Two-tone effects are also becoming more popular in kitchens. Choose a lighter color for your upper cabinets such as cream, white or a light shade of green, and choose a darker shade for the lower cabinets. This effect helps draw the eye upward and can make your ceilings appear higher, making the room appear larger.
  • Inspect the design of your cabinets. Depending on the style and texture, a faux finish may work well.

Check out our online gallery to get more ideas, then be sure to give us a call for a free consultation and estimate. (910) 686-3067.

In addition to cabinet painting, Colour Solutions also offers a wide selection of other home improvement services. Whether you need to get rid of that old, outdated wallpaper, want to refinish your deck in time for summer or need to fix a drywall mishap, Colour Solutions can help! Check out Our Services  to see a full list of what we can do.