Archive for October, 2009

What Makes an Interior House Painting Job Great

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

A great interior house painting project should look beautiful, wear well, and make a home’s interior shine. Viewers of HGTV may mistakenly think there is little for the do-it-yourselfer to be worried about, but the devil is in the details. And the details make all the difference in the world. At Kevin Palmer Painting we pride ourselves on giving each of our interior house painting customers the best paint job possible.

Great paint jobs require information necessary to make the best and most appropriate painting decisions. The process begins by evaluating our customers’ needs and determining the most suitable solution. What room is going to be painted and how is that room going to be used? How will this painting project be integrated with existing rooms in the house? What might be the customer’s future needs for the rooms to be painted? Listening and gathering information helps us advise our clients on appropriate colors, sheens, and products. In addition our painting experience and knowledge enables us to recommend the best paint manufacturers for a specific use. Kevin Palmer Painting has a color expert available for clients who may benefit from a professional color consultation. Color and product samples are made and time is given for our customer’s consideration and approval.

A great paint job requires great painters. This is why Kevin Palmer Painting is the best. Our courteous, trained, and reliable professional painters treat our customer’s homes as if they were their own. Booties are used over footwear to protect floors, furniture is covered and protected, and areas to be painted are segmented to reduce wear-and-tear.

Proper preparation before painting is an absolute necessity to achieve a great paint job. At Kevin Palmer Painting we prepare all areas to receive a finish according to the paint manufacturer’s specifications. Sanding interior woodwork, patching open holes and cracks, taping sheetrock seams, puttying trim, caulking, cleaning, and tack ragging are all part of a proper preparation process. Next, the painting itself: Crisp, clean lines must be drawn on all ceilings, walls, windows, doors, and trim. Coverage and sheen must be uniformly perfect. No misses, skips, spills, smudges, or holidays are acceptable. Finally… inspect, attend to finish details, clean-up, and review the completed interior painting with our customer before leaving our client’s home in perfect condition. This process is what makes a great paint job, and why Kevin Palmer Painting receives most of our business from repeat and referred customers.

Kevin Palmer Painting has had the pleasure of painting for customers in Avon CT, Bloomfield CT, Canton CT, Farmington CT, Granby CT, Simsbury CT, and West Hartford CT. We have been giving our customers great paint jobs for nearly a half century. Let us help you with your next interior painting project. We have years of experience with everything from living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, foyers, bedrooms, and family rooms. We can help you realize why people say “Painting done by Kevin Palmer Painting looks better, lasts longer, and offers the ultimate in beauty and protection.”

For further information or to discuss your next residential interior painting or commercial interior painting you can reach us on the web at www.KevinPalmerPainting or call us at (860) 658-2441. Contact us for a free quote on your next interior painting project. We will be happy to service your painting needs.

Tips for Selecting the Best Paint Color and Finish When Painting Your Home’s Interior Walls and Woodwork.

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

Selecting a paint color and finish for your home’s interior may seem like an intimidating task. Choices are infinite and paint manufacturers offer thousands of colors and a variety of sheen options. It is easy to become overwhelmed and confused.

Working with a qualified, experienced, professional painting contractor can make an otherwise daunting experience be rewarding and informative. Kevin Palmer Painting helps customers select products best suited for their home’s interiors. We simplify the process and give our interior painting customers the information they need to make an informed decision. We also have a trained color consultant to assist customers with choices based on their personal likes and needs.

When painting interior ceilings, walls, windows, doors, and trim, it is important to take issues such as wash ability, scrub ability, and gloss retention into consideration. A paint that works best for a Baby Boomer may not be appropriate or recommended for a family with young children. A competent professional painting contractor should be familiar with all issues relating to paint choice, and help make the next interior painting project an enjoyable, satisfying experience.

It is very important that homeowners take their time when choosing paint colors. A quality paint job properly maintained will last years, and there is no need to rush the process. Take the time necessary to make a decision you will be happy with years down the road. Haste truly does make waste. Kevin Palmer Painting makes paint samples for our customer’s consideration and approval. We allow our painting customers to have the time necessary to view paint at different times of the day and under different lighting. No one is rushed. We want our customers to have the time to reach a decision best for them.

Years of experience in residential painting has taught Kevin Palmer Painting that color selection is not an easy task. Different people like different things. There are, however, some generalities that appear true. Color preferences vary with age groups. White and off-whites tend to please the widest variety of people. And nothing needs to be forever… you can always easily change a color.

One of the major suppliers of Kevin Palmer Painting offers excellent advice on color selections:

“Choosing appropriate colors for the right audience is an important part of the equation. While color preference is often highly personal, research has made it possible for color experts to make general observations about the color preferences of the major demographic age groups.

Here is a look at the four major age demographic groups and their color preferences:

The Mature Market

The colors that surround people have a profound effect on mood and well-being. Individuals over 65 compose the Mature Market, and because they may be retired or less active, they often spend a great deal of time indoors.

To meet the needs of the Mature Market, it’s important to seek out color combinations that are functional, enjoyable and comfortable. Instead of muddy colors like khaki, fresh and cheerful ones such as buttery yellows, clear blues, fresh pinks and warm whites are preferred.

Don’t avoid all greens, though. Studies show that people report less stomach upset when surrounded with lush foliage colors even while under stress. For the Mature Market, cleaner hues of green jade, for instance, are preferable to avocado.

The Baby Boomers

Leave it to the Baby Boomers — the 76 million people born between 1945 and 1964 — to seek self-expression and spirituality from their color choices. For Baby Boomers, home is a sanctuary, a place for artistic expression and relaxation as well as inspiration. Baby Boomers are drawn to soothing colors that cool and refresh the spirit: sky blue azures, cleansing blues enhanced with purple tones, and intense, iridescent blues with the slightest tinge of green.

Favorite neutrals are chameleon shades that take on the undertones of colors around them. These could be grays married with plum or green, or perhaps yellow-green undertones that bridge the gap from gray to beige.

Generation X

Generation Xers — those born between 1964 and 1980 — are old enough to remember the fall of the Berlin Wall, but have primarily lived in a global economy. So it’s not surprising, as they experiment with styles from around the world, that Gen-Xers show strong acceptance of the global color palette.

For this age group, popular colors include violet and indigo hues, or exotic greens from the Australian landscape. Asian reds also add drama to neutral spaces awash in contrasting textures.

Generation Next

For teenagers, cool sophistication is the design goal. Faux finishes can be useful in teen rooms to hide a multitude of sins and add drama and sophistication to the décor. Children delight in rich, tropical hues and neon-like colors, especially green, yellow and purple. Sports team colors and flower garden shades are always popular for children’s spaces, as are murals and other whimsical color and decorating ideas.

There has even been research on the visual preferences of babies. High-contrast colors and simple patterns that encourage scanning, focusing, orienting and pattern recognition are not only favorites, but also help to stimulate physical and cognitive development. Studies indicate that reds and blues are the colors preferred by infants.

Though reactions to color are psychologically and culturally induced to some degree, age does make a difference in how people respond to color. That’s one reason why color preferences change over time as people move through the life cycle.”

Kevin Palmer Painting has had the pleasure of painting for customers in Avon CT, Bloomfield CT, Canton CT, Farmington CT, Granby CT, Simsbury CT, and West Hartford CT for nearly a half century. Let us help you with your next interior painting project. We have years of experience with everything from living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, foyers, bedrooms, and family rooms. We can help you realize why people say “Painting done by Kevin Palmer Painting looks better, lasts longer, and offers the ultimate in beauty and protection.” Painting is our passion. The painters of Kevin Palmer Painting bring experience, skill, and a devotion to achieving the best paint job possible to every interior painting project we undertake.

Kevin Palmer Painting services the interior painting, exterior painting, house staining, and power washing needs of fine homes in West Hartford CT and the surrounding Farmington Valley towns. For further information or to discuss your next residential interior painting, commercial interior painting, or power washing project you can reach us on the web at kevinpalmerpainting.com or call us at (860) 658-2441. Contact us for a free quote on your next interior painting project. We will be happy to service your painting needs.