Guide to Paint Sheens: Oooo, Shiny!

Sep 24, 2012

You think choosing the right color for your paint job is hard? Try picking the right sheen. This guide will help you tell your semi-gloss from your satin finish.

This paint sheens guide can help you add the perfect finish to an infinite number of paint colors. The higher the sheen, the higher the shine. Flat paint has no shine; high-gloss is all shine. In between are eggshell, satin, and semi-gloss, each with its own practical and decorative job to do. Don’t know which sheen to pick for your situation? This paint sheens guide helps you decide which sheen will perform and look best on your walls.

In the painting world, very shiny translates to very durable. High sheen can take a lot of abuse and a lot of scrubbing. The lower the sheen, the silkier the effect; but, like silk, scrubbing will damage it.

High gloss: The most durable and easiest to clean of all paint sheens, high-gloss paint is hard, ultra-shiny, and light-reflecting. Think appliance-paint tough. High gloss is a good choice for area that sticky fingers touch—cabinets, trim, and doors. High-gloss, however, is too much shine for interior walls. And like a Spandex dress, high gloss shows every bump and roll, so don’t skimp on prep work.

• Practical application: kitchens, door and window trim
• Durability: very high

Semi-gloss: Good for rooms where moisture, drips, and grease stains challenge walls. Also great for trim work that takes a lot of abuse.

• Practical application: kitchens, bathrooms, trim, chair rails
• Durability: high

Satin: Has a yummy luster that, despite the name, often is described as velvety. It’s easy to clean, making it excellent for high-traffic areas. Its biggest flaw is it reveals application flaws, such as roller or brush strokes. Touch-ups later can be tricky.

• Practical application: family rooms, foyers, hallways, kid’s bedrooms
• Durability: high

Eggshell: Between satin and flat on the sheen (and durability) scale is eggshell, so named because it’s essentially a flat (no-shine) finish with little luster, like a chicken’s egg. Eggshell covers wall imperfections well and is a great finish for gathering spaces that don’t get a lot of bumps and scuffs.

• Practical application: dining rooms, living rooms, libraries
• Durability: medium

Flat or matte: A friend to walls that have something to hide, flat/matte soaks up, rather than reflects, light. It has the most pigment and will provide the most coverage, which translates to time and money savings. However, it’s tough to clean without taking paint off with the grime.

• Practical application: adult’s bedrooms and other interior rooms that won’t be roughed up by kids
• Durability: medium-low

More fun sheen facts

• Dark, richer paint colors have more colorant, which boosts sheen. If you don’t want a super-shiny wall, step down at least one level on the sheen scale. Ditto if you’re painting a large, sun-washed or imperfect wall.

• Adding sheen also adds price: Valspar Ultra Premium eggshell costs $32, satin $33, and semi-gloss $34.

Realtor.com-House Logic

10 Summer Moving Tips

Jun 18, 2012

How to prepare for a seamless transition

If you’re moving this summer, the busiest season for moving, you know how daunting it can be. But if you create a blueprint for your move, the transition from house to house will go more smoothly.

Here are 10 things you can do to prepare for a seamless transition.

1. Full serve, partial serve or a do-it-yourself move.  Can you do it alone or should you hire a licensed moving company for a full-service or partial-service move?  This is one of the first and often most difficult questions soon-to-be moving households face. The answer depends on your lifestyle, household size, budget and amount of time you have to get everything accomplished. Get written quotes from at least three licensed moving companies so you know you’re getting the best deal based on your specific moving needs.  Moving yourself or doing a partial-service move?  Packing calculators can make it easier to estimate the amount of boxes and packing materials needed.
2. Plan to unpack BEFORE you pack. Take photos of each room in the new home before you arrive with furniture, plants, appliances and family in tow. Write down on a clip board where each item should go in your next home before packing, and carry it with you on moving day. List out the major items that need to be assembled first. As you place each item in its new room, cross it off the list and you will be one step closer to enjoying your new home.
3. Be strategic about packing.  If you have more than a month to ‘pick up and move’, start early.  Complete a free change of address and schedule utilities ahead of time at Moving.com.  Start packing early.  Whether it’s one room, one cabinet or a drawer at a time, weed through what may be years of accumulation.  As you’re going through your belongings, divide everything into these helpful categories:  donate to charity, give to a friend, recycle, trash, pack now, or keep handy until moving day.  You’ll be surprised at how much you can donate, recycle or give to friends.  And, you’ll not be overwhelmed with the task at hand three days before you move.
4. Moving is NOT child’s play. Plan ahead. Consider daycare on moving day, or get help from a friend or family member.  Provide lunch or some other appropriate thank you gesture if you do call in a favor. If that’s not an option, prioritize setting up safe places for your children to play in the new home on moving day so they’re not underfoot.  This will help everyone remain happy and calm on moving day.
5. Don’t fight with Fido. Sometimes we forget that all the packing and constant in-and-out of visitors is stressful for animals. Consider checking your pet into a daycare facility, or setting up a time for a friend to take them or check them into pet day care. Don’t let your four-legged best friends get lost in the shuffle and remember to make day-of moving arrangements.
6. Keep track of small parts. Some items need to be broken down into pieces when moving, but do you know what to do with the small screws and washers that you end up with? Rather than tape them to the furniture, which can result in losing them, put everything in a baggie that is clearly marked and sealed. Keep all of the separate baggies together in one box on moving day and personally take it with you to your new home.
7. Take pictures of electronic hook-ups. Hooking up TVs, DVRs, home theater systems and computers can be challenging. Before unplugging any wires for the move, take a photo of the connections, print them out and label them in detail. This will create fewer headaches when setting up technology in the new home. Keep track of all loose wires using baggies or boxes that are clearly labeled, and personally carry these easy-to-lose items on moving day.
8. Packing cleaning products and toxins. Products such as detergents, pesticides and paint are heavy and unwieldy to pack. Dispose of as many as possible before the move in an eco-friendly way.  Call your city’s waste disposal department for guidance on proper disposal. For items that must be transported, pack them in a small box within a larger box for protection against leaks. Don’t overstuff boxes with these items! Consider marking these boxes in a different color, and seal them extra tight. Keep them separate from the rest of the boxes, particularly if you have kids and pets.
9. Consider getting full value insurance protection. If using a professional mover, it may cost a few dollars extra, but it provides peace of mind and eliminates later annoyances. Investing in full value protection means any lost or damaged articles will be repaired or replaced, or a cash settlement will be made at current market value, regardless of age. It’s important to note that the required minimum coverage of 60 cents per pound would not cover the replacement cost of more expensive items such as a flat screen TV if damaged in transit.
10. Know your rights. If using a professional mover, research your rights as a consumer with either the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for interstate moves or contact the state agency within the state in which you reside for moves within state. Also, enlist the help of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or local law enforcement if the moving company fails to live up to its promises or threatens to hold your belongings hostage. FMCSA requires interstate movers to offer arbitration to help settle disputed claims.

Realtor.com

3 Ways To Stay Positive While Moving

May 16, 2012

Moving is rough. It’s stressful, and chaotic, expensive, and physically exhausting. Not to mention moving often means leaving comfortable routines and good friends behind, and going forward into a new life that’s full of the unknown. Even if you’re moving because you want to and your reasons are full of happiness and excitement, undoubtedly at some point the moving blues will get you down. When they do here are a few ways to fight them off:

• Remember that change is inherently good. It’s a fundamental law of the universe that things cannot stay the same, so you might as well go with it. Embrace change, with all its ups and downs, as an adventure to look forward to. Breaking free of old patterns and expanding into new territory is good, even if only as far as you can say you tried it. And if things really end up bad remember: everything changes!
• Focus on best-case scenario It’s all too easy to get caught up in negative “what ifs” so limit yourself to dwelling on worst-case scenarios for only as long as it takes to make a disaster plan, i.e. “If the house is on fire we all run out this way and then meet at Jenny’s house down the street.” Once you know what you’ll do if the moving truck breaks down or your new job is a big flop don’t let yourself dwell on it anymore, but instead focus on all the wonderful possibilities — the awesome new walking trails you’ll find and the friends you’ll make that have hot tubs and spare tickets to all the big games. You are what you think about — positive visualization is a real tool.
• De-stress and take care of yourself Moving is hard, both emotionally and physically, and there’s no need to be a hero. Take time out for yourself on a regular basis to de-stress, relax, and regroup so you can make the most of the experience and get through it in something other than a state of total misery and exhaustion — if you don’t take care of you no one else will!

Moving.com