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a home + living guide for the post-college, pre-parenthood, quasi-adult generation

08.13.2001

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Hammock Heaven 
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Makeshift Vases 
o Newlyweds' Nest 
o Variations on a Theme 
o Hanging by a Wire
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what goes where?  
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o Easy Corner Shelves
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Stain Rx
o Hang-up Help
Cluttered place/ Spartan Space
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Make a Duvet Cover
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painting 101part II: get painting
by Diana Goodman |
1 2 3 4 

continued from page 2

6. Putting paint to brush. But what kind?
First off, no matter what type of applicator you end up using for your paint, you'll need a paint tray. And a few plastic tray liners as well. Painting out of the can is a full-fledged disaster waiting to happen (unless, of course, your look is "uneven industrial art loft." Or you're only painting little stuff like trim.) First the brush doesn't fit in the can, and when it does, it gets too coated. Now the wall (and floor and ladder and can and you) is slathered in paint, and you have lovely, even coverage on everything but the wall. Then you try to pick the can up, but it's got paint all over
it, and you drop it. On the carpet.

Rollers are good for big spaces that have vast expanses to cover and plenty of room for you to work in. On small walls, however, rollers will only serve to drown the poor thing in paint, making the whole thing prone to flaking and chipping. Plus it wastes paint. In smaller spaces, brushes will probably work better. Brushes do leave streaks and uneven marks, but these can actually give the surface a nice textured effect. Nowhere is it written that walls HAVE to be uniform in color and free of brush strokes.

Paint pads (you know, that fuzzy flat thing with a handle on it) have the benefits and drawbacks of both brushes and rollers: good, generally even coverage, easy to use, but may need touch-ups and leave small brush marks. If you know so little about painting that you're actually reading this article, paint pads may be the thing for you.

No matter what you choose to use to cover the majority of your wall, you'll need to grab a few smaller brushes (bristle or foam) for use on corners, edges, smaller places.

7. Start painting
Open the windows for ventilation. If painting up high, use a ladder and follow common ladder safety protocol (no leaning, no climbing to the top). If you don't have a ladder, and can't borrow one, use the sturdiest chair you have and get a friend to spot you. Now, starting at a corner, use your little brush/sponge-on-a-stick and paint LIGHTLY around the edges of the wall, following up with the pad/roller. The key word is lightly. Two or three thin coats look infinitely better and allow for fixing screw-ups. Besides, on the first coat the edges of the paint (where it's brushed on) will likely look darker than the rest. You probably won't need to edge on the next coat. Paint in a consistent direction, moving from dry spots into wet spots. Never put fresh paint next to paint that's already dry; it'll look uneven.

but wait, there's more!

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