New Ways with Paint

This bright and snazzy decorating book offers tons of original paint ideas for walls, room dividers, furniture and even curtains. All kinds of paint techniques are discussed with plenty of pictures to help visualize differences between frottage, combing, dragging, ragging, gilding, flogging, washing, masking and splattering. Plus, if you enjoy frottage design (just for example), there are instructions for using abstract, pictoral and rolled styles. [Don't know what frottage is? Basically, it's layering thickly with paint, then placing plain paper over the design, pressing down and peeling off. This really makes a unique look on whatever surface you choose to decorate. To me, the resultant design has a very contemporary textured look.] Frankly, I think stenciling, decoupaging and antiquing/crackling are old hat, but this book does offer novel ways to use these often overplayed techniques. What I like best about this book are the ideas I've never seen anywhere before. There is an entire section devoted to using metallic paints - like painting an aspen leaf in gold and using those as classy transfer stamps. They show a carmine red wall over a bar area, with silver aspen leaf transfers stamped in a casual pattern. The effect says "glamor" in an Art Deco-style. Using gilded gold or silver for splatters is another expensive-looking idea - a nice living room accent wall option I fantasize about trying. The gilded glass technique looks very, very rich - in a good way. It has a artsy penthouse appearance. This is just one of the impressive-looking techniques that is actually easy to do, once you have the proper tools and directions. One two-way drag pattern looks just like blue jeans! Think of how cool that would look as an accent wall in a rec room or boy's room. They have it placed in a kitchen backsplash and it looks quite modern. The last section of the book is all about using these designs in actual rooms. Most of the designs - even the historically countrified ones - look very modern. I noticed Retro Space Age (the are calling it Urban Chic), Botanical Bohemian, Natural Living and Eclectic Country. Finally, two pages of cut-out stamp and stencil designs are offered.

I am a professional decorative painter, and this is without a doubt my favorite idea book. This doesn't have any of the frilly country stencils or flowers - this is all very stylized and modern, with clean lines and bright colors and metallics. It is definately something different from the normal decorative painting fodder. It is a great addition to a collection of idea/reference books. I use this book all the time.