EXPRESS YOURSELF WITH PAINT
New products easy, inexpensive way to add texture and drama to walls or furniture
Spring hits, and people often feel the need to change things around the home. Interior designers are always telling us a lick of paint is the easiest and cheapest way to make a difference to your space, and now companies like Dulux are claiming to have made it easier still, with paint effects lines like Venetian Silk.
“This unique product was developed to allow self-expression,” says colour specialist Susan Forint. “It’s quite different than the faux finishes of 20 years ago that took a lot to get done and undo. Anybody can do this, it’s really simple and just adds that little something extra to a space.”
The product is the result of Dulux looking around at some of the dominant trends in home decor, says Forint, and noticing how much people are favouring natural textures and products that allow for creativity and self expression.
Venetian Silk gives a “natural, aged quality, like aged plaster” or aged metal, Forint says, and is achieved through applying a base coat and two top coats from the Venetian Silk line.
“The texture is strictly visual,” Forint says. “The texture comes through that special top coat that’s formulated with reflective elements.”
The line has 40 colours to choose from, ranging from natural, gauzy, pearly neutrals to bright, sunny yellows and oranges, and deeper, more dramatic, cosmic-inspired colours, Forint says.
It works well, she says, in powder rooms to create a “jewel box” effect; in loft spaces, where more dramatic colours can be used, and it complements the industrial farmhouse look popular right now, set against barn boards or metals with natural patina.
If the idea of painting even one (feature) wall doesn’t appeal, Forint suggests using Dulux’s Liquid Metals range, which gives a “burnished hammered metal” look, to transform a piece of furniture.
Chalk-style paints are still king of the castle when it comes to painting furniture and smaller items, says Victoria Lambert, president and co-founder of New Westminster, B.C.’s FAT Paint.
“Our company continues to grow and evolve, which we are extremely proud of,” she says. “We have added about 40 new retailers in just the past year alone, which means FAT Paint is now available in more than 140 shops across Canada and the United States. We soon will be expanding our production and warehouse space ... to keep up with demand.”
FAT Paint now offers 42 colours, says Lambert, including Lily Pad, influenced by Pantone’s colour of the year for 2017, Greenery, along with Shop Door, a warm, earthy yellow.
“Pretty pinks and soft yellows also made a comeback,” Lambert says. “So we created our own versions called Juno and Dune. Opposite to those colours, we also found deep, moody hues popping up all over the place, like Benjamin Moore’s Shadow so we introduced Dharma purple and Skyline Blue into our collection.”
Their customers most commonly use their paint to revitalize old or dated pieces of furniture, says Lambert, such as vanities, kitchen cabinets, tables and chairs.
“We often hear from our customers that “FAT Paint-ing ” furniture is like eating a great potato chip — you can’t stop at just one. After their first project, they usually find themselves looking around for more pieces to transform.”
Sharon Grech, colour and design specialist for Benjamin Moore, says their specialty paint lines, Benjamin Moore’s Chalkboard Paint, which can be tinted to any colour, and their water-based Glazing Liquid “that can be mixed with paints to create a variety of effects on interior surfaces” are both proving popular.
“Contemporary homeowners who are looking for a more customized look with paint are using simple taped lines to create bands of colour, or large stencils to create patterns,” she says. “Coincidentally, I am trying out a new product called Surface Motif on my next Cityline show to achieve a graphic wall pattern.”