Creative Ideas in Decorating Small Areas at Home 

Unlike larger spaces, the small areas in our home are often the most challenging to decorate. The limited amount of space often gives us minimal options when it comes to choosing furniture, colour, and other decors. Without careful and detailed consideration, you might end up making the small space feel smaller and closed in. 
Are you having a hard time decorating small spaces at home? Check out this article for reliable and practical tips. 
  • Hallways 
Since most hallways are dark and narrow, using light and bright colours for decorations would make a perfect choice. This doesn’t mean that you will have to stick to white colours though. Many property owners and decorators use pale aqua colour in painting hallway walls and have successfully created a sense of light and brightness. 
  • Study room 
Gone are the days when we always see bold colours as inappropriate for small spaces. These days, decorators use bold colours in small doses to create a great impression on a seemingly small and dull area, like study rooms.   Since most walls are painted in white and other pale colours, you can use bold accent colours in some areas of the wall or decorations such as picture rails or shelves. To avoid overwhelming your room with different bold colours, consider using the same colours for the accessories. 
  • Kitchen 
While some homeowners have large kitchens, many are struggling with how to decorate their small kitchen areas. While using white paint can definitely give a bright and lighter environment, this does not mean you should use white in all the areas. Adding a few interesting bold and dark colours can make a huge addition to your small kitchen’s aesthetics. 
  • Small bedrooms 
Instead of going all white on your small bedroom walls, you can substitute it with soft neutral colours such as pale gray and mink. Like white, these colours can make your space look more spacious. They also add more depth and interest to the room’s aesthetics. You may also paint walls alternatively with white and other neutral colours if you don’t want to use a single colour on all walls. 
  • Bathrooms 
If you think that there is no way you can make your small bathroom functional and stylish at the same time, you are definitely wrong.  By combining white and soft shades for the walls and ceiling, you can turn your unattractive bathroom into a bright and spacious-looking space. You can also paint your door with vibrant paint colour to add a vibrant pop to your stylish bathroom.     

Kinds of Paint Problems and How To Fix Them 

Some minor paint problems are easy to deal with and do not require repair as they are barely noticeable. However, other paint issues are too visible and need immediate attention to avoid the situation from worsening.  This blog will tackle some of the most common paint problems and how to solve them. 
  1. Blistering/Bubbling – This problem can appear on any painted surface, including metal, wood, plaster, and drywall. Heat and moisture are the two common culprits of blistering paints. This can happen when the paint is exposed to intense sunlight or heat or if a newly painted surface is exposed to rain, water, or high humidity. 
 Solution: Determine whether the cause of the problem is heat or moisture. If it is because of moisture, solve the problem by fixing plumbing problems and increasing ventilation. If heat is at fault, remove blisters and the underlying paint. Prepare the surface and repaint it, making sure that the temperature is 90º F. 
  1. Cracks and Flakes – These paint problems usually start from tiny, vein-like lines and grow into huge dry flakes. This is a typical result of insufficient surface preparation or applying a very thin coating. It could also be a result of improper application or years of use. 
Solution: If the damage is not yet extensive, you can perform some DIY repair. You can remove all the cracking and flaking paint, clean and prime the surface, then repaint the spots that need repair. Suppose the problem is too extensive and you don’t have the confidence to perform a repair. In that case, you can call a reliable painting contractor to do the work. 
  1. Peeling – Both interior and exterior walls can be affected by this problem, and the primary reasons are improper surface preparation and application. It could also be a result of excessive moisture. 
For interior surfaces, excessive moisture from the basement and foundation is the most common culprit. But it can also be a result of bad habits in cooking and showering. As for exterior walls, clogged gutters, leaky roofs, and interior moisture can be the reason for peeling paints.    Solution: If the problem affects your internal walls, solve the problem by improving your property’s interior ventilation. As for outdoor surfaces, you can have the issue fixed by removing the peeling paint, preparing the surface, and repainting properly. 
  1. Chalking usually occurs during the hot, sunny season and is visible mainly on flat, pale-coloured paints. In some cases, chalking is after a long time as exposure to weather changes causes paint pigments to be released in the air. Another more common reason is the use of low-quality or interior paint for an external surface. Over-thinning of paint before the application can also cause this to happen. 
Solution: This problem can be easily solved through power washing and treating the surface with a TSP solution. Rinse properly after applying the TSP solution and wait for it to dry thoroughly before applying a new and high-quality paint intended for outdoor surfaces. 

Tips in Selecting the Right Paint Colour for Your Commercial Space

Your office environment plays a huge role in your work performance. Aside from the decors, the paint colour affects your mood, which in turn affects your productivity. Since different types of industries and brands use their colour pattern, the colours that boost productivity in certain offices might now work in other offices. The amount of natural light that goes inside, as well as the size and shape of your office also influence the effectiveness of the colour you are going to use.

Does the fact above make it harder for you to decide in selecting your office’s new paint colour? This article will help you out. Below are some of the things to consider when shopping for the right paint colour for office spaces.

Consider your space’s purpose

The colour you choose for your office space can help you achieve your business objectives. This is the reason why you have to determine your space’s purpose first before choosing the colour. Certain colours fit only certain industries and can be incompatible with others.

Are you in the retail industry? Bold and striking colours could be a perfect choice as they can catch customers’ attention. As for businesses with a professional environment like offices, gray, white, and other understated colours will work best.

Consider how much light enters your space

Light has the capability of changing the appearance of some colours, which is why you have to check the amount of natural light that goes inside your office space. If little to no light is coming in, you can consider lighter tones of paint. As for spaces that received a huge amount of natural light, darker tones are the best choice.

Consider the size of your commercial space

Tight spaces need lighter shades of colours to look larger. As for huge spaces, you can make it look warm and comfy by using darker shades.

Consider the room’s temperature

The paint colour also works hand-in-hand with the room’s temperature. If you want to cool down your office space, using lighter tones such as light blue and green can help you achieve this goal. Should you want to warm up your office, either of the colours orange, yellow, and red will make a perfect choice.

Consider getting help from experts

At Wallace Contracts, we can help you make the best decision in choosing your office space’s paint colour. Our specialists have decades of experience in helping businesses and individuals choose the perfect colours for their spaces.

Give us a call to discuss your options with our painting and decorating specialists.

Spruce Up Your Little Living Room with These Helpful Tips 

Sometimes, decorating a small living room can be tricky. The lack of space and awkward corners make it pretty challenging to decide on the layout and design and figure out which part to change. But since the living room is the center of the house and your social space where you receive guests, it is crucial to make the space welcoming and comfortable.   If you are running out of ideas on updating and improving your living room, here are simple and practical ideas to help you achieve a stunning living room design. 
  • Use angled tables for awkward spaces 
Round tables take a lot of space, thus it is not advisable to use in small areas. Instead, exchange your round tabletop with an angled table as it can provide you with more space in your living room. 
  • Use shelves for storage 
To avoid clutter and save space, you can incorporate shelves as storage for your decors and possessions. This will make your living room more spacious, especially if you paint the shelves with the same paint colour you used on you walls. 
  • Consider swapping your sofa with armchairs 
Since sofas take a lot of space, they are less suitable for smaller areas. So instead of using sofas, consider using armchairs instead. They do not only provide more floorspace, but they are also flexible, so you can rearrange them from time to time. 
  • Use a white colour palette 
Since the white colour reflects more light, your small living room will look more spacious. However, to avoid a plain-looking living room, you can use monochromatic accessories and decorations. 
  • Go for soft grey colour 
If using white colour is not to your liking, soft grey colour is another excellent choice. Adding a blue undertone to accentuate the soft grey wall will create a cosy and welcoming atmosphere, and will make your living room more welcoming no matter what time of the day. 
  • Use a large soft rug 
Using a soft and large rug is an excellent way to bring a warm and cosy atmosphere to your living room. It can also make your guests more relaxed and comfortable.  
  • Make use of the windows properly 
Bringing in natural light does not only create a comfortable living room, but it also promotes good health. When decorating your living room, make sure that the windows are free of clutters that could prevent bright light from coming in. 
  • Consider metallic decorations 
Using well-chosen gold accents and metallic accessories will not only make your living room look elegant, but it can also create a brighter atmosphere.  
  • Use low seating sofas or chairs 
Using low seating furniture will make a great choice if your home has a low ceiling. This will maximise your living room’s headspace and will make it look more spacious.    Need help in transforming your living room? Call our office today and get more information on how we can help you with your refurbishment project. Our telephone number 01782 810 220 is open to taking calls during weekdays. You may email enquiries@wallacecontractsltd.com to get in touch with us through email. You can also utilise the contact form and Facebook chat available on this website to contact us. 

Door Colour and The Property’s Value

During travel restrictions and lockdowns, updating our home’s interior has been the favourite pastime of almost everyone in the past year and a half. Right now, with things starting to go back to normal, people are starting to focus on the outside appearance of their home.

To assist those who are looking to make their homes exterior more appealing, Dulux published the Great British Exterior Trends Report. This initiative of the company aims to help consumers by gathering insight on the latest outdoor design trend in the UK.

As we all know, making improvements to our property’s exterior is one of the easiest ways to make your property more attractive and valuable. Over the last five years, the keyword “house exterior” along with other terms related to property development, has received more than 71,000 Google searches monthly.

As for the overall exterior trend search results, “outdoor wood paint” is at the top with over 12,000 monthly Google searches, followed by uPVC door paint, brick paint, white masonry paint, and more.

When it comes to choosing a paint colour, grey holds its spot as the top colour choice for property owners. White made it to the second spot on the list of the most popular choice for all regions across the country.

However, this Google search data is not in agreement with what people search on Instagram. On IG, the hashtag #pinkhouse currently tops the record with over 279,269 images showing on the app, while #greyhouse has only about 70,000 to show.

This Instagram record may have been greatly dominated by influencers who use pink houses as their background when taking pictures to upload on social media. This trend can have a positive impact on houses with pink doors, as it can generate the interest of multiple consumers, resulting in a higher bidding war that could possibly go up to £20k.

How Trends Affect Property’s Value

Instagram plays a huge role in today’s property aesthetics trend as most people find design inspiration by going through the hashtags on the app. Among the top exterior trends on Instagram is the all-white exterior – an irrefutable fact since white colour has always been visually impressive and is suitable for any type of property.

According to the data analysed by Dulux Weathershield, the colourful exterior wall trend has grown the most over the past few months and is expected to increase further over the next few years. Next to the colourful exterior wall, the garden decking trend is also growing with a 437% search increase expected in 2021. Third on the most popular trend is “front door”, as more and more people are now wanting to make their homes stand out.

Areas We Cover

Areas We Cover