Painting Horizontal Lines/Stripes on the Interior

We just finished painting the interior of a beautiful home on the Central Coast that had vertical stripes on the entry way and hallway. The job turned out great, and if you want to try this at home, I will give you step-by-step instructions to do so. It’s time consuming but should be pretty easy to tackle.

New Life Painting was established on the Central Coast of California, and services from Santa Ynez to Morro Bay and the surrounding areas of the Central Coast. Call us at 805-NEW-LIFE (805-639-5433) if you would like our skilled painters to do this project for you. Or if you are interested in tackling the project yourself, follow these steps:

What you need:

- Paintbrush or a roller

- Large roll or rolls of the Green Frogger tape

- Tape measure

- Drop cloths and paper to cover your floors

- A pencil

- And a leveler to make sure your lines are straight

What to do:

1.) Before you start making your lines and painting you will want to cover your floors with drop cloths and rosin paper.

2.)  You will want to first paint the wall with a base coat. On the house we recently did, the base coat color we used was a Kelley Moore color called "Crisp Linen".

3.) After the paint has dried, you need to figure out where you want to make your stripes and how wide you want to make them. Start from the floor, and with your measuring stick make all your marks with a pencil at the width you want your stripes to be.

4.) Then, when you’re done making the marks, start to go around with a leveler and make your straight lines with a pencil.

5.) With your Frogger Tape, go along those lines that are perfectly straight and horizontal. Make sure that you make the tape flat and that there is no air bubbles so the paint can't seep under.

6.) Once you’re done tapping the lines, you can start painting the stripes with your roller or paintbrush. The stripe color that we used at the home on the central coast was Kelley-Moore "Silver Queen". 

This is what the customer had to say about the job: "Our house looks so amazing!!!! I love love love it!!!! Cruz and Juan worked so hard and were so gracious every time I changed my mind on a color or idea about something! Striping my whole hall way was NOT easy but they did a perfect job!!! This just turned my whole week around!!! =) New Life is awesome!!!"

If you have any questions about striping or any sort of painting idea, don’t hesitate to call us at New Life Painting! 

How to Create A Dry Erase Wall

The world thrives off creativity and originality, but unfortunately in today’s society creativity is often thwarted with overabundant sources of technology and less outlets for artistry. A great and easy solution to encourage inventiveness is to provide creativity space with dry-erase walls. Not only are dry-erase walls a great source for exploration and expression of imagination and creativity, but they are also resourceful and economical.

Whiteboard paint is especially recommended for kitchens, bedrooms, offices, and kid’s rooms. All you have to do is apply it just like any other paint, invest in some dry-erase markers, and you have your own, eco-friendly drawing surface, calendar, imagination station – you name it!

New Life Painting, established on the Central Coast of California, services from Santa Ynez to Morro Bay and the surrounding areas of Central Coast. Call us at 805-NEW-LIFE (805-639-5433) if you would like our skilled painters to do this project for you. Or if you are interested in tackling the project yourself, follow these steps:

1. Thoroughly clean the wall(s) you want to paint with a damp cloth or soft sponge. If there are any holes in the wall, apply some lightweight spackle. While the spackle dries, mark around the wall or area you want to paint with some painters tape (we suggest the blue-core from 3M).
2. When the spackle is dry, sand down the rough areas with 280-300 grit sandpaper. (If we do this for you, typically we would use drywall mud, which is more difficult for homeowners to use since it requires specials tools and more practice.) After you’ve sanded the walls, wipe away the drywall dust with a dry (or mildly damp) rag.
3. Next, apply one coat of Zinsser Primer or another good drywall primer.
4. Now use either Rust-Oleum‘s whiteboard paint or IdeaPaint for your wall. (Follow the specifications on the paint can for number of coats and drying time allocation.)
5. After the paint dries completely, carefully remove the painters tape and let imagination run wild!

If you prefer chalkboards to whiteboards, or if you want a ultra-child-safe option for a child’s room, try using chalkboard paint instead.

Let us know if you have any questions. And leave a comment to let us know your thoughts on Dry-Erase Paint!

Valentine's Day Dessert Recipe - White Chocolate Creme Brulee

White Chocolate Creme Brulee Recipe:

Looking for a tasty, romantic treat this Valentine's Day? The perfect dessert for that special someone. This is a fabulous recipe for two, or even for the family.

Prep: 15 min. Bake: 50 Min. + chilling    Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 3 eggs yolks
• 6 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 ounces white baking chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks and 2 tablespoons sugar; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the cream, chocolate and 2 tablespoons sugar. Heat over medium-low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, stirring constantly.
• Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla. Stir in small amount of hot filling into egg yolk mixture; return all to the pan, stirring constantly.
• Pour into two 10-oz. ramekins. Place in a baking pan. Add 1 in. of boiling water to pan. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until center is set. Remove from water bath. Cool for 10 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
• If using a creme brulee torch, spinkle with remaining sugar. Heat sugar with the torch until carmelized. Serve immediately.
• If broiling the custards, place ramekins on a baking sheet; let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Broil 8 in. from the heat for 4-7 minutes or until sugar is carmelized. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm.

Enjoy this decadent dessert with your loved ones!

Santa Maria Painting - Job Complete

We just finished painting a home in Orcutt and the job turned out great! They got a new roof from the excellent Tim Brown Roofing, which if you ever need a roof you should definatly call them. The colors that they went with Kelly-Moore Cottage Walk on the stucco, Kelly-Moore Echo Valley on the Trim, and the front door was Kelly-Moore Obsidian Stone (which is black). It turned out great and the customer was beyond happy! This is what they had to say: "We were very pleased with you employees, Adrian and Jose. They were efficient, courteous, and professional. They did a wonderful paint job on our house." Here is a picture of the what the stucco and trim looked like:

If you would like a free estimate call us at 805-NEW-LIFE

Nipomo Exterior House Painting

We just finished the exterior of a home in Nipomo and it turned out awesome! The color of the sutcco and eaves were Sherwin Williams Pearl White and the fascia, gutters, doors and trim were Sherwin Williams Oakwood. I thought the house turned out beautifully and the homeowner was completely satisfied! He said that we did what we stated we were going to do and gave us a 10 high. We've been painting homes in Nipomo for over 30 years and if you would like a free estimate call us at 805-937-9836.