I’ve been fighting a bout of writer’s block today, trying to string together a compelling sentence to describe my sort of trendy, color driven, not entirely necessary, but definitely dreamy, kitchen update plans! Whew. Thanks to the future King and Queen of England, William and Kate, I’m feeling more confident with my word choice: marriage!
Having dreamed up a design in which style meets practicality, there’s simply no better way to describe how I plan to work every mix-and-match design trend, into a few well-conceived color solutions, for the few things my kitchen is lacking. By all measure, it’s looking like a marriage made in design heaven is about to unfold.
My kitchen is not exactly lacking. I’ve gloated a bit about my Blue Star range, custom painted to match Benjamin Moore’s August Morning.
I have more than enough cabinets, all of which are custom-made solid maple. Helpers in my kitchen find the full extension self-closing Blum hinges entertaining, while I prefer to dwell on the expert hand painted finish I applied, which is easy to keep clean, and lends a timeless dignity to the kitchen in a manner only white painted kitchen cabinetry can.
But there’s still work to be done. The backsplash has stood naked for over two years. I’ve painted it more than once but, while it has held up to the daily wear and tear of kitchen activities perfectly, it lacks enough visual interest to support it’s expanse. It seems an easy fix to tile it, but I’ve got a better idea and have planned a repurposed and salvaged backsplash. It’s a marriage of color and materials that just might work perfectly in your kitchen, too.
The pantry is roomy, and the salvaged glass door helps blur the fact that it is newly built. When the glass was mistakenly frosted, by an overzealously sprayed polyurethane finish, I left it alone and considered the resulting obscured glass a happy accident.
We all have our obsessions in the kitchen, and no other room in the house reflects our personal lifestyle more. Some of us are clean freaks, who prefer empty counter surfaces, and an “all things out of sight” philosophy. Some of us cook and some of us microwave. I once designed a six-by-nine foot kitchen for a young couple who happily prepared their every meal in the toaster oven, and decided to forgo an oven entirely in exchange for an under-counter wine cooler. I’ve had clients who claim sixty feet of counter surface is their minimum requirement, and outfit every inch of usable space with gadgets and prep stations you’d expect to find in a restaurant.
No matter your lifestyle, the one thing I know for certain about designing a great kitchen is this: it needs to function as beautifully as it looks. Having stood watch over the demolition of more kitchens than I can count, I can offer up the second thing I know for sure about keeping a kitchen up to date and efficient: it needs to be paid attention to regularly–sounds like a marriage to me! While other rooms in our homes can be fussed over for a while and then simply lived in, it pays to revisit the needs of your kitchen on a regular basis. The walls, cabinets, floors, counter surfaces, and even your choice of materials or lighting, can grow worn and tired in no time. Rather than let it all age gracefully, a systematic sprucing up to keep your kitchen looking fresh and well loved, is the single best way to avoid super expensive renovations and improvements. Contact DJ’s Painting today, to get your kitchen project started today!
ReBlogged From http://livingincolorwithsonu.typepad.com/sonu_blog/2011/05/marrying-the-best-kitchen-colors-to-trendy-updates.html
May 26th, 2011
In addition to sealing your exterior masonry surfaces, using a Elastomeric coating can drastically improve a buildings appearance, while protecting vertical surfaces. Elastormeric coatings will remain intact over hairline cracks and offers excellent hiding properties, which means reduced costs since you will not need to replace your vertical surfaces. These coatings also protect against UV rays, mold and mildew and seal your surfaces from moisture. In addition to applying an eslatomeric coating to your building, Dj’s painting also offer’s maintenance packages to keep your building looking it’s best.
Contact DJ’s painting today to see what we can do for you.
May 11th, 2011
Brick, and stone and other masonry products are some of the most common, and durable building materials that are used, but they also absorb water like sponges. Water absorption can lead to cracks and crumbling as well as leading to ugly exteriors, with white chalky salt deposits left from water entering and evaporating through the porous surface. Also if water is entering your exterior walls, it can render your insulation useless, and increase your energy costs. This is why properly sealing your exterior surfaces is so vital. When installing new brick or stone, it is important to include sealing as part of the work scope. For existing stone and brick, have it sealed now to maintain and prolong the life of what is already in place. DJ’s painting has sealed hundreds of buildings and helped owners keep maintenance and energy costs as low as possible. Contact DJ’s Painting today to see how we can help you maintain your building.
May 11th, 2011
DJ’s painting can help save your business money through lowering your energy costs. One way we can do this is through the application of EPOX-Z NRG© cool roof coatings. EPOX-Z NRG© cool roof coatings is specifically developed to conserve energy by maintaining cooler interior temperatures, while reflecting sunlight.
Having a reflective roof, not only helps your building’s energy costs, but will also help cool the area around your building. In urban settings most buildings absorb heat and retain it, this is known as “urban island heat effect.” The phenomenon is characterized by an increase in the ambient air temperatures in cities, when compared to adjacent, less developed areas. A major cause is heat absorption and release by surfaces such as pavement and roofs, which leads to increased demand for air conditioning.
EPOX-Z NRG coatings offers benefits that many competing products do not:
- Reduced heat absorption with increased solar reflection.
- No solvents are used in the coating. Solvents can develop holes, blisters and voids as evaporation occus.
- Because of minimal surface preparation, and only one coat is needed. This saves costs.
- Increased Durability due to reduced thermal flux. Most competitor’s products are latex, acrylic or elastomeric, the Epox-Z’s coating is not, which means it lasts 10 times longer than most competing products
EPOX-Z NRG coatings are Energy Star® compliant and meet the latest standards of the International Energy Conservation Code. They also post impressive rating on three vital ASTM roof-coating criteria: permeability, blistering and chalking.
Contact DJ’s Painting today to start saving energy costs for your building.
May 11th, 2011
Mascoat Insulation vs. Conventional Insulation
Designed to reduce heat transfer while saving space and reducing conventional insulation maintenance, Mascoat coatings are a high-tech solution ideal for industrial, marine and transportation substrates. How do Mascoat products work? The answer lies in an understanding of heat transfer.
- When heat is generated, thermal dynamic heat transfer (TDHT) begins. During TDHT, molecules try to reach equilibrium. This means that if one surface is hotter than another, the substrates will try to “equalize,” or meet the same temperature. This process can be problematic for commercial and industrial environments, since it causes a buildup of unwanted facility and exterior equipment heat. It also leads to a loss of vital energy used during manufacturing processes. The result? Reduced manufacturing efficiency, higher utility bills and dangerously hot working conditions.
- Traditional “batt” insulation works by creating a barrier that slows heat conduction through floors, walls and substrates. The “R-value” of the insulation determines how much it slows down the heat transfer, higher R-values represent better product insulation.
- Rather than simply employing this type of conduction technology, Mascoat coatings also use reflective, low-emissivity and low-transmittance technology to improve insulating results. Mascoat coatings are made of hollow, ceramic glass insulating particles. Similar to a Thermos bottle, these particles reflect light wave energy (heat) away from the substrate and back into the atmosphere, preventing heat transfer through radiation and dealing with heat prior to substrate entry (rather than simply slowing heat absorption). And since Mascoat products reflect up to 85 percent of generated heat away from substrates, they remain cool to the touch. Contact DJ’s Painting today to see how Mascoat can help your business.
Article taking from http://www.mascoat.com/industrial-spray-insulation-coating.html
May 4th, 2011
Industrial painting contractors use a variety of methods to coat surfaces with paint. Unlike home decorators there are many more ways to lay down a layer of paint than just by applying it by brush or roller. In addition, the surfaces in industrial painting tend to require a lot more thorough preparation.
Preparation is usually the key to proper long lasting paint applications. If the surfaces to be painted have not had paint applied previously, then the process is somewhat easier. If a previous coat exists, then its removal is usually required, and this in itself is a skill that needs an expert touch.
Surfaces can be prepared by using ultra high pressure water jets, or water jetting as it is also known. This has both a washing and a blasting effect, which can remove grit and dust as well as any other loose particles. Water jetting leaves a surface cleaner than any of the other methods of preparation. It can be used in all weathers and it has no adverse environmental effects.
Abrasive preparation is also used by industrial painting contractors. This can be dry, wet, or a combination of wet and dry. In this way rust, grit, dust and chemicals can easily be removed to leave a virgin surface ready for the paint application. When sufficient care and attention is taken over the preparation process, the painting process is made easier with a greater likelihood of a successful outcome.
In industrial painting, applying the paint with a brush or roller is not the only option. Powder coating, for example, is a process where particles of dry paint have an electrostatic charge applied before being positioned on a grounded surface. The particles are held on the surface by electrostatic attraction. Heat is then applied, which allows the powder coating to flow together and be cured in place.
For powder coating to work it is of course necessary for the surface being treated to be electrically conductive. Originally this meant only metal surfaces. However, recent technological advanced have meant that other surfaces, including such unlikely ones as plastic and wood, can now also be treated in this way.
Coil coating, also known as roll coating, is a high speed method of applying a coating of paint to a metal surface. It is a continuous process, which is why it is a fast method. It is also the most cost-effective and energy-efficient method of getting paint on to a metal surface, as well as being extremely kind to the environment.
Spray coating is a more common way to apply paints on to a surface, and as such it is extensively used by industrial painting contractors. This method can also deliver resins and sealants effectively under pressure. The inherent messiness associated with this kind of delivery through over-spray can be greatly minimized by applying an electrostatic charge to the spray.
Industrial painting contractors have to keep on top of all the latest developments. They need to be versatile and flexible, being able to offer a wide range of preparation processes, as well as a wide range of coating techniques and methods.
Contact DJ’s Painting today!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2646014
April 28th, 2011
A general house painting is different from commercial painting. Aesthetics affects the customers or employee views of a company whether it is a showroom, an office or other commercial establishments. Therefore proper attention should be considered and it includes the painting job. So it is better to hire someone with experience and have good knowledge about painting.
At present shopping malls, restaurants and corporate offices are being painted on theme based style and color or monochromatic color design. In order to refresh business to get more new customers, you need to have a good ambience. Most people are attracted to big commercial establishments with lovely looking exterior. It could be the color of your company logo or the color that associates to the theme of your business.
The establishments which are associated with environment safety can opt for green. A coffee based style scheme is ideal for cafe. If a school is to be painted it ought to be something mild and bright. Subtle colours which is soothing to look at is most effective for hospitals. Basically, general paintings aren’t experimental with shades because of the budget aspect and quite a few are at stake.
The painting for remodelling and renovation task is considerably less hard nonetheless, it’s vital that you meticulously evaluate the requirements for the best layout. Painting needs some planning like eliminating of outdated paint, repairing wood, eliminating dirt, scrubbing, filling cracks, smoothening uneven surfaces and others.
The business painting corporations with expert painters will give all the solutions for these sorts of issues. They will manage every small factor with fundamental security actions to stay clear of harm with surfaces and nearby things or paint grains. Price is also an important issue. Most of time commercial services have a connection with paint brands which could be price effective for you.
These days also some advanced painting services allow you to see your walls virtually in a variety of colours before painting gets started. For those who are having trouble with color scheme this could be a safer choice. This will also help them to complete the project successfully on time. The key in commercial painting is to think like a customer. A customer may prefer bright colors in one area but prefer a different color in another area.
Contact DJ’s Painting today for your industrial Painting needs.
Re-blogged from http://www.topezinesarticles.com/family/industrial-painting-companies-of-expert-painting-solutions/
April 28th, 2011
Store Cleanliness Plays an Important Role on Where Consumers Shop
A recent study performed by M/A/R/C® Research and National In-Store found that 14% of consumers said they would stop visiting a store that was not as clean as they would like, and 29% said they would only visit the store to pick up a few items they could not find elsewhere. Grocery and Drug stores should pay particular attention to store cleanliness since their shoppers are among the highest percentage measured that will “stop going to a store” if the store is not perceived as being clean.
“Clearly cleanliness is an important component of the consumer experience. It impacts consumers’ willingness to shop at a given retailer and also influences frequency of shopping and the length of time consumers are willing to shop. All of this has a direct impact on the amount of spending a retailer can capture,” says Randy Wahl, Senior Vice President at M/A/R/C Research.
The study offers insight into the impact of store appearance by store category which includes Grocery, Mass Merchandiser, Club, Consumer Electronics, Drug, Office Supply and Department stores. The study includes responses from 6,400 in-store audits as well as over 30,000 shoppers. In-store audits evaluated the appearance of store’s parking lots, litter in the store, lighting and restrooms.
“While the tendency is to focus on the potential loss of a customer, an equally important concern is the broader impact that cleanliness and other aspects of the overall consumer experience have on frequency of shopping and the amount of time or scope of their shopping,” Wahl states.
To download the full study and receive a free subscription to MEASURE – A Monthly Measurement of the Retail Experience please visit: www.marcresearch.com/measure or www.nis-retailmetrics.com
M/A/R/C® Research is a full-service marketing research and consulting firm that uses innovative qualitative and quantitative methodologies to help clients launch better products and services, find new and valuable customers, and build stronger brands. Since 1965, M/A/R/C has delivered high quality, objective driven research.
M/A/R/C’s proven marketing issues platforms support clients’ brand building efforts.
April 28th, 2011
It’s important to think about the mood you want to create in a room when choosing a paint color: calming, energizing, dramatic, or warm and welcoming.
Certain colors directly impact the mood of a room:
Red: causes a rise in blood pressure, respiration, heartbeat, pulse rate, it is very stimulating
Yellow: energizing, yet more likely to evoke anger and loss of tempers when used as the main color scheme
Blue: calming and relaxing, perfect for bedrooms and bathrooms
Green: calming and relaxing, known to be the most restful color for the eye
Orange: creates energy and excitement
Purple: dramatic and sophisticated when dark hues are used; calming and relaxing when light hues are used
Paint Swatches and testing paint colors an a small area of a wall are a useful tool in deciding on a paint color- lighting (natural and artificial) impact the way a color appears on surfaces.
Contact DJ’s painting today to get your project started.
April 28th, 2011
Caring for your log home can be difficult. Keeping the natural look of the home, while protecting it can also be a daunting task. Luckily our friends at Sikkens have developed a line of products specifically engineered not only to protect your log home, but also beautify it. DJ’s Painting has worked directly with Sikkens to learn the best practices of applying these protective coatings, and can help you protect and beautify your own log home. Contact us today to find out what DJ’s Painting can do for your log home.
April 27th, 2011
Next Posts
Previous Posts
