A little paint + a lot of patience = a new look

A little paint, a lot of patience and ... poof! Your home has an entirely new look and feel. All it takes is a few gallons of paint and a handful of other inexpensive tools.

"Painting is becoming the great alternative to buying a new house or doing major renovations," says Carl Minchew, painting guru at Benjamin Moore. "It's the economical, efficient way to get a new look."

Paints have not only become more environmentally friendly and easier to use, but also are constantly changing with the latest trends in fashion and design. The techniques are endless, limited only by imagination, time and patience.

Here is a primer on Painting 101, plus some helpful instructions on some of the most popular styles of painting.

-- Start right.

While it's the least fun part of the project, painting preparation can make or break the final product.

"I find that homeowners typically underestimate the amount of time prep," says Andrew Lohr of PDX Painting in Portland, Ore.

First, stock up on the right supplies. Don't skip out on the small things, like a special brush to reach behind a radiator or other obstacle. Invest in a ladder too.

First, make sure the wall is in good condition. Any major buckling or bulging might indicate a larger moisture problem behind the wall and you should call in a professional to inspect. Otherwise, small cracks, holes or uneven areas can be taken care of using spackle, caulking or drywall mud.

Then, remove or push back furniture to give yourself ample working room. Cover any furniture in the room to protect from stray paint drops. Take down any wall hangings and cover the floor with floor paper, plastic or canvas tarps.

Tape the baseboards to protect them from sanding dust and paint.

Fill in holes with spackling paste and repair cracks in walls using caulk or dry wall mud. Sand the spackle spots to be even with the wall. Then, using a pole sander, clean the walls.

If you're painting a kitchen or bathroom, use a degreasing agent such as trisodium phosphate (TSP) to remove the scum left from shower steam or cooking grease. You also will need to use a paint with a sheen, a satin or semi-gloss finish, to make the walls easier to clean in the future.

Prime over any spackle spots and areas with stains using a universal primer and sealer.

Now, start painting. Using a good $10-to-$20 brush, paint a border 3 inches from the edges. Then, using a 9-inch roller, paint the wall in four quadrants using up and down strokes for walls with no texture and a "V" motion for walls with subtle texture. Make sure to "backroll," or roll in the opposite direction, at adjoining quadrants to tie the two together. Apply two coats to get an even appearance and color.

-- Not a faux pas

Painting techniques such as glazing, textured walls and Venetian plaster offer an added visual interest in a room.

"Very few people will faux finish an entire room," says Ralph Cherubino, paint department manager at the Lowe's in Bay Shore, N.Y. "Your average customer does an accent wall, maybe the wall of a fireplace, for example."

To get a Venetian plaster finish, which has a shiny, nearly marble-like appearance, start with a base coat that is the same color as the Venetian plaster to avoid a white wall showing through the plaster. After the base coat dries, apply the Venetian plaster with a trowel in an up-and-down motion parallel to the wall. That will need to dry for several hours.

Apply a second coat of plaster in crisscross patterns and then let dry for several hours. Sand the wall with a high-grit sandpaper and wash off dust. To make the surface shiny, put the trowel flat against the wall and move in a circular motion.

For another faux finish variation, try a textured stone paint or a sandstone paint. To achieve a thick, textured stone look, brush the textured stone paint on in an up and down motion. Using a trowel, swirl the paint on the wall and pull the trowel off and on to create peaks and valleys. If you're using a sandstone paint finish, which is much thinner, you can apply it with a roller.

Glazing offers numerous opportunities for experimentation and creativity. First, paint a base coat in the color of your choice using a paint with a satin finish. Let dry. Pick a technique: sponging, ragging, drag brushing or troweling.

To sponge on, dab the glaze with a sponge onto the base coat.

For a slightly different look, apply the glaze in a small section of the wall with a roller, then use a sponge to dab off some of the paint.

Similarly, you can use a rag to apply glaze to the wall using a "window washing" motion, or you can "wash off" glaze that was rolled onto the wall.

To get a striped wallpaper look, roll glaze onto a small four-by-four section and drag a four-inch bristly brush from the top to the bottom of the section. If you're into a more textured, masonry look, roll the glaze on and trowel the glaze in circular motions.

-- Stars and stripes

Stencils have come a long way from childhood designs. Often referred to as wall tattoos, stencils can be used as borders or create an overall pattern on a wall. But stay patient; such detailed painting may require several breaks.

Some key tips: Make sure to use a stenciling brush. That will ensure you have just the right amount of paint on the brush. A common mistake is to apply too much paint and end up with a harsh outline, or worse, a stencil with smeared lines. Also, try stenciling in a color a few shades lighter or darker than the wall paint to create a more subtle look.

Similar to stenciling, stripes can make a statement in a room. Just like on clothing, vertical lines can make a shorter room feel taller, while horizontal lines can make it appear wider.

To get the striped look, paint two coats of the lightest stripe color using a roller or brush. Let dry. Mark off the stripes with painter's tape. Seal the tape by pressing a credit card along the edges. If the stripe will be a different color, prime the stripe area and then paint two coats. But if it's a darker shade of the same color, you can paint over the first stripe directly. Repeat if necessary.

-- All that glitters:

East Coast decorators are discovering the shinier side of paint.

Using metallic paint is easy and a nice touch for accents walls, incorporated in stripes, or under cabinets as a backsplash. Left untouched, the shiny metallic looks modern and trendy. But the paint can be given a hammered or antique effect for homeowners who prefer more "old world" charm.

After preparing the wall for painting, apply a regular base coat that is the same shade as the metallic paint. Let it dry. Then, use a shaggy roller (a regular roller will leave streaks) to paint on the metallic finish. Don't press too hard because the roller will leave lines behind.

If you're interested in a hammered look, apply a second coat of metallic paint with a sponge after the first coat is dry. If you want that antique look, apply a glaze over the metallic paint and use a rag to "wash it off."

-- Expect the unexpected:

Walls aren't the only surfaces where a little paint can change a whole look. To mix it up, try dousing moldings, ceilings and doors in color.

"If you're lucky enough to have moldings, there are two ways you can go," Costello says. "Paint them white for a more East Coast preppy look. Or, go more European, and paint the moldings the same color as the walls to make them disappear."

What to do about ceilings? A lot of people leave ceilings white and paint just the walls. But try mixing the wall color with two-thirds of white paint to have a paler shade of the color on the ceiling. Or, paint the ceiling and skip the walls altogether. You can even use the same techniques discussed above.

Color can also liven up a plain door. Painting doors a different color from the walls creates a great contrast. Play around. If you make a mistake, paint over it.