Episode 005 1995 - 96 Season

| Window Factory | Vinyl Windows | Air Infiltration | Window Replacement | Cleaning Steam Iron | Sponge Painting (design) | Adjustable Rate Mortgage | |

To order a Video Tape, call 1-800-TO-BUILD and ask for Episode #005.


Sponge Painting

Michael Holigan : Today we're going to look at a way to add color into a room without adding wallpaper. We've got two specialists with us today from Specialty Painting, Bob and Melanie. And Melanie, how do we get started with sponging a wall?

Melanie Martin: Well, to sponge a wall, you just need a few simple things actually Michael. You need a natural sea sponge which is what this is and typically when you buy one at a paint store or an arts and crafts store it'll be pretty large and I suggest that you cut it. And what we do is we cut the sea sponge to basically fit our hand and make sure one side is smooth so you can apply the paint evenly to the wall. We want to use four shades of brown. The darkest one is almost a bronze-brown and then three lighter shades. So we have a sponge for each color.

M.H.: And the sponge is wet, why's that?

M.: The sponge is a little bit damp, actually, so that it will hold the paint better. We take our sponge and we put it gently in the paint and then we just rub the sponge on the side of the bowl. If you need to dab your paint, you can do that also. Just make sure that the paint is smooth and it covers the flat edge of your sponge. Now Michael, you can take this sponge and dip it in a second color and we'll start our layering process. What you can do with your first color is sponge every 10 or 12 inches on the wall. Now some people recommend that. We recommend going a little closer because we like a final finish that's a little more dense. So I would just suggest sponging every four or five inches or so. Make sure that you turn your wrist occasionally so that you don't get a pattern with your sponge. Turn your wrist and just randomly put paint on the wall. Okay Michael, why don't you come in with the second color and just put the color where ever you would like. The whole idea of a specialty finish on your wall is that you look into the wall instead on the wall.

M.H.: Yeah, you can definitely see a depth...a field with the different colors going from light to dark.

M.: What did you do here Michael?

M.H.: I made a splotch there Melanie.

M.: I see a little splotch. Do you remember how I told you could take that off?

M.H.: Don't I didn't, but we can rewind the tape. How do you take that off?

M.: You can flip your sponge to the clean side and try to dab it off.

M.H.: Okay.

M.: Real lightly. There you go, that helps a little bit. Or you can take the next color and try to patch it with your next color.

M.H.: I think it'd be best if we just painted over that.

M.: Yeah, I do too. With sponge painting, you can use two colors or you can use eight colors. It doesn't really matter how many you use. The whole idea is to fill in where you left space in your previous color. Bob is just filling in around where Michael has been with the third color. I think I'm ready to come in after you guys with our top color, color number four, the lightest color that we've picked. You can take and make any kind of look that you would like with sponging, but I also recommend that every few minutes you back up and look at your work. Take a few steps backward. Look at the wall, make sure that you have the look you want. If not, go back to the wall and fill in. The wall behind us is completed. It has all four colors. As you can tell, a little bit of the original wall color does show through.

M.H.: Melanie since we're working on opposite walls, and not going around the room, what happens in the corners where the two walls come together?

M.: Actually, you can do two things in the corner and we have found that the simplest thing is to take a small brush like this, just a small brush that you can throw away when you're finished painting and outline in the corners. Some people choose to try to sponge into the corners. It's my experience with a sponge that this size, is that it's very difficult to get a sponge into a corner and have a smooth look.

M.H.: Is this a latex paint that we're going to be using or an enamel...?

M.: This is latex paint. It's latex paint. Basically, when you paint a room that's, say the size of this room 12x12, you need a quart of each color.

M.H.: Okay.

M.: A quart will run you $7, $8, or $9.00. It's really an inexpensive hobby. What you want to do when you select your colors is look at your ceiling color, look at your carpet color and take note of the furniture or the accessories that you'll use in the room. Make sure that your paint colors are exactly what you want. And if you can't find a color that's exactly what you want, your paint store could mix a special color for you, so look really closely at the paints to get the look that you want. In the living room we used bronze gold and pale rose and then a light pink. And we get a light pink colored wall.

M.H.: How come the hallway, which is pink, is a little bit different shade from your formal living area here?

M.: We did the hallway a little bit darker just for effect. There's no specific reason, but we started with the hallway and then we just lightened one shade on the color scale when we came into the living room. So you can do just about anything with sponging. Be sure that you pick your colors carefully.

M.H.: Melanie, can you recap for me one more time what to do and what to be watching for when you're sponging a wall yourself?

M.: Be really careful that you don't get too much paint on your sponge. You want to just be careful that you apply the paint very evenly. Secondly, make sure you have enough paint on your sponge. Don't let your sponge get too dry. Go back to your paint bowl, get some more paint and just be careful that you try to apply the paint evenly. Now you don't want to apply it in an even pattern, however, the whole idea of sponging is just to apply a real irregular look. You don't want anything that is symmetrical necessarily, but just your touch to your wall.

Episode 005 1995 - 96 Season

| Window Factory | Vinyl Windows | Air Infiltration | Window Replacement | Cleaning Steam Iron | Sponge Painting (design) | Adjustable Rate Mortgage | |

To order a Video Tape, call 1-800-TO-BUILD and ask for Episode #005.