THAT PainterLady.com

I need a suggestion for wall color for a family room with a red brick fireplace. I am planning to paint the concrete floor to coordinate with the walls and fireplace. Any idea on a color for the concrete floor? ~Nydia

You could tape them off and paint large 2 foot by 2 foot squares of black and white. Easiest way to do that is to paint the entire floor white, draw your grid and paint the alternate squares black. Where each black touches another black (the corners) your could paint a square turned on point (diamond shaped) the same color as the walls. Outline the two corners that extend in to the white with a small black line. You don’t need to make the squares 2 foot by 2 foot if you don’t want to. You can make them smaller if you’d like. 18″ squares or even 12″ squares would be fine as well.

Please send a picture when you finish so we can see how fabulous it looks.

That Painter Lady, Tawn

I have used blue painters tape in the past when painting different colors on adjacent surfaces and the paint always bleeds under the tape in spite of burnishing the edges.I have read that you can use acrylic gel medium to seal the edge of the blue painters tape when painting stripes or painting 2 different colors of adjacent walls. What kind of acrylic gel medium should be used for this technique? ~ Joelyn

The most frustrating thing about painting your walls is when you are all done and you go to remove the painter’s tape and you find that the paint has bled through onto your trim. You wind up spending just as much time touching up as you did doing the finish itself.

I have not used acrylic gel medium yet to seal the tape, but I do not that it could be used. Golden and Liquitex make great gel medium. According to the Liquitex website, It is translucent when wet and transparent when dry. It increases the brilliance and transparency of acrylic paint. It can also be used as a transparent ground for acrylic paint or as glue for collage and decoupage. So, I don’t see why you couldn’t use this. I would probably go with the matte or satin finish so there isn’t too much of a shine.

I like to use a water based varnish or poly. It dries quickly and keeps the paint from bleeding through. You may also want to try a new painter’s tape that just came out called: Frog Tape.

It is a lime green colored tape (as opposed to blue) and Home Depot just started carrying it. Otherwise you can click on the picture above and order it online. My favorite width is 1 1/2″. But I like to use 2″ for ceilings. There is little or no bleeding with this new tape. I usually use a paint stirrer stick to press down the edges of the tape onto the surface. I then use a water based varnish for the corners and other areas where I think the paint will bleed through.

Hope this helps ~ That Painter Lady, DAWN

This is a great reader question about how to tone done bright colored walls.

Love the site and your advice on red walls. I have a different question for you though…
My husband and I have bought a house we’re totally in love with. Every room has hardwood floors and white trim. Upstairs, all the rooms are painted somewhat bold colors. We’ve painted the nursery grass green, the bathroom cobalt blue, our daughter’s room a rich purple, and decided on a vibrant red from Glidden called Flaming Sword for our bedroom. Problem is, my husband is 90% through with painting the bedroom, and he’s hated every second of working with the red because it’s been difficult to work with. I think the finished parts look great, but he says it’s too bright and wants it toned down. Any suggestions that would still look good with the bright white trim and hallway? (He would like to see some metallic gold but I’m not convinced.)
Thanks so much, Sarah

photo credit: ckaroli

Hi Sarah. Wow, finally someone that isn’t afraid of color! I have spent so much time with clients trying to convince them to be bold and daring - get away from those neutrals. So, you are one step ahead. Great job!

As far as the red. There are soooo many ways to tone it down. You can definitely go with a metallic gold, but I would add some brown or bronze to it - that will be what will tone down the red. You can apply the glaze in a few different ways, this is where sample boards come in.

Samples - Grab a few sheets of foam board (poster board with foam in the center). Base coat the boards first with the primer that you used under the red and then paint the boards using the red that you used to paint your walls.

Mixing Glaze - Mix your glaze & paint (1 part paint - 3 parts glaze). The glaze makes the paint translucent and movable. Make sure you get a good quality glaze.

Application - There are several options in applying the glaze to the red base. You can use: a sea sponge, a rag, a woolie, or even a brush. I would try a few of these on your sample boards and see which you like the best.

Use a chip brush and apply the glaze randomly to the surface in 2-3 ft sections. Then take your faux finish tool of choice and manipulate the glaze, with a twisting patting motion, moving your wrist.

Be sure to tape your ceilings, trim, and baseboards before you start working.

Anyway, I hope this helps. We hope to hear back from you. Send some pictures when you are done!

~That Painter Lady, DAWN