RE4 - The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, May 5, 1998 Fancy finishes work ail around the house ancre was a time when home decorating meant picking out a paint or wallpaper, and finding a good mnatch for th hltrim chý Ilhese days walls and trîros, turniture and floors can take on any one of dozens of faux linishes and decorative painting techniques. Colour washing, wood wash, decoupage and crackle glaze are juat corne techniques which can turn an ordinary room into a nostalgie retreal or an exotie sanctuary. Theres no grcat Loc I. aidkk le L'i ca0 i cd out with a minimum ol luss. If you've just moved into a new home, give yourself some time to settie in before you start experimenting with glazes and sponges, feath- ers and plastic bags - items which can ail be used in inventive paint jobs. Watch the ight in the rooros during the day to see if a particular spot might highlighî a faux finish. Maybe you'll discover the kitchen's too dark for the colours you had planned, and you'Il want to ethink yOur scheme. For walls and ceilings, colour washing adds depth and sutitetý, ho paiissiia ih. r ,îî[er-hased Cglas cd. Ih c .01 Lx pplied st, . itiu plaster, even rougis plaster, whieh tends 10 îakc the look of the room baek a century or two. You cen buy ready-mixed colour washes, or make your own. Wood washes give an old look to new wood, and kitchen cabinets, plate rails, window frames and new and used fumniture take the treatment well. Verdigris creates a patinated bronze and eop- per eftect and works well on lamps, pieture and mirror frames, and other knick-knacks. Faux marbie and granite finished can do wonders for fireplaces and mantelpieces, dresser and chest tops. Create what looks like a cracked, wom surface with crackie glaze. Smali items like jewellery boxes can be given a novel new look, and deco- rating aomething that size lets you practise before you move on to bigger pieces like dressers. In the I 8th century, a popular past time was decoupage, or cutting out motifs bo decorate fumniture. Today, pieees ean be eut from lefI- over wallpaper, old borders and even magazines and picture books. These pieces cen then be used 10 decorate everything from window frames and light fixtures 10 flower pots and ehesta of drawers. Vines and flowers cen trail elegantly down aj door framre, or individual figures eut troi watt- !ýJ t01 tss f ý h parto Ohàa mural. Sponging adds depîh 10 paint colour through a layering process and gives a soft, attraetive fin- ish. The wîalis shouid be painted with latex if you want 10 sponge on latex, or with an oul- based mette eggshell if you wanî to sponge in a glaze or an oii-based peint. Besides uaing sponges t0 put on or take off colour, you cen use sofî clotha, plastie baga and stipple brushes, 10 name a few, for different effects. Stenciiling is another way to add decoretion 10 a plain peint finish. You must use materials with the right consisîency for a sueeessful job. Anyîhing 100 thiek, thin or slow drying will tend 10 ooze under the stencil frame, or stan 10o spread when the stencil is removed. Naturel wood, wood finished with a water- or oil-based eggshell peint or e malter vamish should take steneilling well. Decorating options these days are as limitles as the imagination. There are many good books and magazines available in stores and libraries, and classes can give you hands-on experience. Some home decoraîing stores alan make video presentations of various techniques. This article is pro vided b -v local Realtors aid the Ontario Real Estate Associationi (OREA) f or the benefit of conîsumers in thse real estate Countiywide 878-9100 Town Centre Realty Inc. SLet me do the Ieg work for you. TWO DUPLEXES FOR SALE. Sa& If" GREAT INCOME. $183,900 $139900 HOS OE. S Ds-M This bright and spa- costown- house has ail the fea- tures you want: an eat- in kitchen, s ep a ra te -dining room, private yard. $124,900. ELLE BOER Sales Rep 878-8101 I $-1699900- Attractive weIl maîntained 3 bedroom semi itngood location. Cali Ellen Boer. 1 irs 43, acre state of the art horse farm features 2 barns, grooms quarters, an indoor arena, and a contemporary stone farmnhouse buit upon the foundations of the original lgth century home. $495,000 This 10 be builtbungelowfeeturýes e specious 'living room with 108t ceiling and e ges fireplece; kitchen w/breakfast nook end welk ouI. This model and other new custom buit homes aveileble on 1 + acre lots in e privete, rural subdivision. $284900 flUMMINGBIRU HAVEN. Fabulous country bun- galow, five acres, huge 2 slorey bamn, minutes 10, 401. Gorgeous cunroomfcsolarium with cathedret ceder lined ceiling, herdwood floor, propane ire- place. Ellen Boer, Sales Rep. 878-8101. Elln om icer. $128,900. Completely remodeled approximaîeîy 5 yeers ego including roof shingles, new windows Zoned C-3 with 2 three bedroom units. complete, new wining, new plumbing, flooring, Separete hydro, new roof 1-1/2 years ago. drywall, paint, vinyl siding, front porch, balcony Greet location on Main Street in Milton. Fully off master bedroom. Fully leesed, seperete leeced. Hec good potentiel for the future. hydro meters. Greet buy. Great buy. Oeil Bilt Gônez. 878-9100. Oeil Bill Gônez. 878-9100. M 1 ý 7 = 'l