Painting technique lets do-it-yourselfers excel

Create professional look

(NUE)--Adding a creative designer touch to your room is easy. Making that designer look reflect your own personal style is even easier. Using a designer painting technique can give your room a professional look and reflect your personality--without the professional price.

Sponging and ragging are two popular painting techniques that use multiple colors. Deciding which colors look best doesn't need to be a difficult task. By using the color key system at your local Devoe/Fuller-O'Brien paint store, you can combine colors that create a mood--and a personal touch.

The color key system divides colors into natural, harmonizing mood palettes of "warm" and "cool."

Once, the colors are chosen, it's time to paint. The painting technique called sponging blends colors and gives the room the feeling of an impressionist painting.

When sponge painting, first put on the basecoat and let it dry. After the paint is dry, use a natural sea sponge available at your local paint store and dampen it in water. Then touch the side of the sponge to the paint and blot it on some newspaper. This will prevent your sponge from depositing too much paint on the wall.

Start in the middle of the area, gently touching the sponge against the wall. Dab a two- to three-foot area, varying the sponge angle to create different patterns. Put spaces between dab marks to give the room a gentle feeling and to let the basecoat shine. After the first sponge coat dries, you can repeat the process with a second and even a third color to give the room a real designer look.

Another designer technique is ragging. This technique conveys the look of crushed fabric on a wall.

First, apply your basecoat and let it dry. Next, get a lint-free rag, wet it with water and wring it out to remove any particles. Wad the rag up so the edges are not exposed, and dip the rag in paint. Test the look for blotting the rag on newspaper.

Again, start in the middle of the wall and work in a two- to three-foot area. Dip the rag in the paint and dab on the wall. Keep refolding the rag until it is dry. Repeat the process. For best results, use only one color over the basecoat.

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