The Complete Interior Decorator

196 Pages·1987·29.23 MB·English

by  Mike Lawrence

.
A
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THE'COMP-'LET
Interior
Decorator
how doyoi level a kitchen floor quickly,
inexpensively and effectively? What's the
best way to paint high ceilings? How do
you assess whether a crumbling piece of
plaster needs localized dressing or
something more radical? The answers to
these and all your other decorating
problems can be found in The
Complete Interior Decorator, a
lavishly illustrated manual with step-by-
step instruction in all the latest
techniques to transform your home.
Making no concessions to old
fashioned methods. The Complete
Interior Decorator incorporates the
latest developments in decorating
—
materials and equipment spray guns,
solvents, gels, plastic laminates,
—
grasscloths and features a powerful
armory of time- and cost-saving tips from
the experts.
An introductory section catalogs all the
major surfaces and their suitability for
the various decorative techniques and
materials, and also gives expert advice
on basic color scheming.
The heart of the book is concerned
with the decorating itself. Painless
Preparation discusses each surface in
turn and gives expert advice on how to
strip old decorations and prepare the
surface for redecoration. The importance
of good preparation is stressed and
instruction is given on how to relate the
preparatory techniques to the proposed
decorative materials. With a thorough
explanation of the tools, materials and
access equipment necessary to achieve a
stable and well finished surface, this
section holds the key to successful
interior decorating.
Moving on to the application,of th
decorative materials, The Complete M
Paintershows how to lay every type
pakit on all surfaces, and includes using
a brush, roller, pad, spray gun and hdB
hieve special effects.
-,uedonbackflap
COMPLETE
THE
Decorator
Interior

COMPLETE
THE
Decorator
Interior
Mike Lawrence
CHARTWELL
BOOKS. INC
#
Mamie Doud Eisenhower
Public Library
12 Garden Center
Broomfield. CO ou.20
1
\ Ql VRTO HOOK
Published In Chartwell Hooks im.
\ Division of Book sales Inc
lli) Enterprise Wenue
Secaucus, New Jersey 07094
i opyrighi © 1987 Quarto Publishing pic
All rights reserved. No pan ol this publication may be
reproduced, stored in .1 retrieval system, or transmitted, in
any form or by am means without the prior permission in
writing of the publisher and copyright holder, nor be
otherwise circulated in am form of binding or cover than
that in which it is published and without a similar
condition, including this condition, being imposed on the
subsequent purchaser.
ISBN SSSJI 137 >
1
This book was designed and produced by
Quarto Publishing pic
The Old Brewery, 6 Blundell Street
London N7 9151
senior Editor: Stephen Paul
Vrt Editor: Anne Sharpies •/ x-?-'5f"P>
Editors* lWr Brooke Ball. Ricki Ostrov
Designer: Phil Chidlow
Illustrator: David Ashby
Photographer: RoseJones
An Director: Pete Laws
Executive Art Director: Alastair Campbell
Editorial Director: Jim Miles
Typeset by Text Pilmsetters Ltd
Manufactured in Hong Kong by
Regent Publishing Services Ltd
Printed by Leefung-Asco Printers Ltd. Hong Kong
CONTENTS
MATERIALS FOR EVERY SURFACE PAGE 7
BASIC COLOR SCHEMING PAGE 33
PAINLESS PREPARATION PAGE 41
THE COMPLETE PAINTER PAGE 72
THE COMPLETE PAPERHANGER PAGE 101
THE COMPLETE TILER PAGE 125
THE COMPLETE PANELER PAGE 143
THE COMPLETE FLOORER PAGE 151
CEILING IDEAS PAGE 169
FINISHING TOUCHES PAGE 75
1
GLOSSARY PAGE 186
INDEX PAGE 189
^
Vr.
ISi
MATERIALS
FOR EVERY SURFACE
8
Materials for walls
20
Materials for ceilings
woodwork 22
Materials for
26
Materials for floors
8
r-r-i
L/ecorating is all about making decisions: get them right
tobeginwith,andthejobwillbeofftoasmoothstart.Once
you've madeupyourmindtodosomedecorating, decision
—
numberone iswhat material touse probablythehardest
decision of all, since even other stage of the job will
CO depend on it. Have you ever finished ajob andwishedyou
had done it differently? Looked at a painted ceiling or a
papered wall, and felt that the other color would have
looked better after all? Picked — and laid - a new floor-
coveringthat reallydoesn't quitegowith the newcurtains
andupholstery?Ithappenstothebestofus.andthetrouble
isthat nowadays mistakesareexpensive to rectify— fewof
us can afford to tear everything up and start again, even if
we had the heart toafterall the hardwork that hasalready
goneintothejob. That'swhythischapterissoimportant.It
willhelpyoutorealizetheadvantagesanddisadvantagesof
choosing particular decorating products for particular
rn
jobs, and enable you to start the redecoration work you
plan to earn out with confidence in your judgment.
Weallviewourhomes—andtheroomswithinthem—as
aseriesofindividualsurfaceswhen itcomestodecorating.
What colorwill the ceiling be?Will we paint or paper the
CO walls? What about the woodwork? Which floorcovering
will lookright (andwearthebest)?Not onlydo the results
have to be right for each surface: they must all look right
togetheraswell. Chapter2comesintoitsownatthispoint,
with simple-to-follow advice on color scheming; read the
two chapters together, and you will find the whole selec-
tion process far easier than you ever imagined. But first,
let's have a look at some of the individual surfaces men-
tioned earlier, and see what the home decorator of the
1980s can use to decorate them.
Materials for walls
The way in which you decide to decorate your walls can
make or breakyour color schemes. Theycan be the back-
cloth against which everything else is displayed, or the
dominantfeature in the room. Formost ofus, theyarefea-
tureless expanses ofsmooth (or fairly smooth) plaster, so
there isvirtuallyno restriction on howtheycan be treated
from the decoration point ofview.
Paintisthenumber 1 bestsellerfordecoratingwalls. It's
cheap, simple and quick to apply, available in hundreds of
colors and iseasytocover upwhenit's time to change the
color scheme again. The major paint manufacturers have
poured money into new technological developments and
—
packaging concepts in recent years solid latex paint,
—
paint in boxes instead of in cans and so on and have
fought tooth andnailfortheirshareofthemarketbykeep-
ing prices astonishingly low. It's small wonder that wall
coveringshaveseensuchaslumpinsalesby comparison.