Latest / Repcolite Home Improvement Show / Dead Animal Smells, Art Deco, and the Secret Life of Paint Finish

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Dead Animal Smells, Art Deco, and the Secret Life of Paint Finish · Repcolite Home Improvement Show

0:02
Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, thanks for tuning in.
0:04
Speaker 2: You're listening to Home in Progress by Repcole Like Paints,
0:07
Speaker 2: sponsored by Benjamin Moore. And I hope everybody out there
0:10
Speaker 2: had a big week, a good week, not just a
0:13
Speaker 2: big week, but a good week. And I hope you're
0:15
Speaker 2: pumped for the weekend. Right, I'm pumped. I'm super pumped.
0:20
Speaker 2: I'm gonna be doing yard work, specifically a lot of weeding,
0:23
Speaker 2: and that means I am stoked to do that weeding
0:27
Speaker 2: because I absolutely love weeding. Anyway, That's not true at all.
0:31
Speaker 2: That's a complete lie. I hate weeding. I am dreading
0:36
Speaker 2: the rest of this day. But I'll listen to something
0:38
Speaker 2: really good and that will make weeding not so bad anyway.
0:41
Speaker 2: On the show this week, let's get to that at
0:44
Speaker 2: the end, we're gonna be talking about different finishes.
0:49
Speaker 1: When it comes to paint.
0:49
Speaker 2: We don't always think about our finish when we're choosing
0:52
Speaker 2: paint colors and all of that.
0:53
Speaker 1: We're really focused, hyper focused on the color.
0:56
Speaker 2: We don't think about finish so much, or if we
0:58
Speaker 2: do think about finish, it's you, I would say, really,
1:02
Speaker 2: I mean not, you can't say one hundred percent of
1:03
Speaker 2: the time. But eighty percent of the time or more.
1:06
Speaker 2: It's generally, if we're thinking about finish, it's about the
1:09
Speaker 2: practical aspect of what finish is going to do for us.
1:12
Speaker 2: It's durability or hiding imperfections or something like that. We
1:16
Speaker 2: don't think about finish as a design tool. And that's
1:19
Speaker 2: what we're going to talk about at the end of
1:20
Speaker 2: the show, finish as a design tool.
1:22
Speaker 1: We'll also be talking about art deco one more time.
1:25
Speaker 1: Last week I dug into its history and its origins.
1:28
Speaker 2: This time, I want to be more practical and talk
1:30
Speaker 2: about how and why to bring some art deco flare
1:34
Speaker 2: into your own home.
1:35
Speaker 1: We'll talk about colors and.
1:36
Speaker 2: Materials and finishes that will help you do that, and
1:41
Speaker 2: we'll make sure that you don't create a space that
1:43
Speaker 2: just screams art deco. So that's all coming up, but
1:46
Speaker 2: right now I want to get back to stinks and smells.
1:50
Speaker 2: You know, if you remember last week, I mentioned that
1:52
Speaker 2: my son bought a house and one of the first
1:55
Speaker 2: things he encountered was this seriously, problematically horrible.
2:00
Speaker 1: I don't even think that's the right way to say it.
2:02
Speaker 2: There are no words to describe how horrible and powerful
2:06
Speaker 2: this smell was that we encountered in his entry And
2:10
Speaker 2: because of that, I told you last week that we're
2:13
Speaker 2: going to kind of do a series that will continue
2:16
Speaker 2: throughout the summer a little bit. Just from time to time,
2:18
Speaker 2: we'll talk about different common smells that you might run
2:22
Speaker 2: into in a home and how to deal with them,
2:25
Speaker 2: so smoke smells and things like that. And last week
2:28
Speaker 2: we just talked about the difference between covering over and
2:31
Speaker 2: masking a smell versus eliminating.
2:34
Speaker 1: We talked about some tools to use to eliminate smells.
2:37
Speaker 2: Now I want to get practical and I want to
2:39
Speaker 2: talk about, you know, specifically, the horrible smell Caleb was
2:42
Speaker 2: dealing with. You know, he had a squirrel living in
2:45
Speaker 2: the attic above this little entryway that I was talking about,
2:48
Speaker 2: and he was working with a pest company to get
2:50
Speaker 2: it out. And we assumed that the stink was from
2:53
Speaker 2: the squirrel nest, you know, and all the mess that
2:55
Speaker 2: the squirrel had made up in the attic. But the
2:57
Speaker 2: smell was so profound that after a couple of visits,
3:01
Speaker 2: I knew it wasn't just squirrel mess. You know, I'm
3:04
Speaker 2: not an expert, but it was dead. Something was dead
3:08
Speaker 2: and we thought the squirrel had been you know, allowed
3:11
Speaker 2: out of the house and couldn't get back in. So
3:13
Speaker 2: unless there were other squirrels in there, that was a
3:15
Speaker 2: horrible thought that they were trapped in there and they died.
3:19
Speaker 2: But it was a dead thing. It wasn't just squirrel mess. Well,
3:22
Speaker 2: good news is nothing to do with the squirrel. He
3:25
Speaker 2: ripped all of that ceiling out, and a lot of
3:28
Speaker 2: squirrel mess up there, but no dead squirrels, And he
3:32
Speaker 2: was convinced that was the source of the stink. But
3:34
Speaker 2: after about ten minutes of having that out of there
3:36
Speaker 2: and realizing the stink is just as pervasive, he knew
3:39
Speaker 2: there was something else going on. Well, anyway, it turns out,
3:42
Speaker 2: long story short, he had to rip up the floor
3:45
Speaker 2: in that little entry and there was a dead possum,
3:49
Speaker 2: you know, underneath the space, and it had been there
3:52
Speaker 2: for several weeks, and it was bad. In fact, it
3:55
Speaker 2: was so bad that I just quit visiting for a while. Now,
3:58
Speaker 2: if you've ever been and at that point in your
4:02
Speaker 2: own home, you know, facing a dead animal stink and
4:04
Speaker 2: not sure how to go about eradicating it, I've got
4:07
Speaker 2: the info you need. But before we start talking about
4:10
Speaker 2: dealing with the stink. Let's talk briefly about the stink itself.
4:13
Speaker 2: You know what determines how bad it is and what
4:15
Speaker 2: determines how long it lasts. Well, of course, the size
4:18
Speaker 2: of the animal plays a big role here. The bigger
4:21
Speaker 2: it is, the more potential for stink. That's not rocket science.
4:24
Speaker 2: Other factors include the temperature, the humidity, and how much
4:27
Speaker 2: airflow reaches the area. Warm and damp. It's the absolute
4:31
Speaker 2: worst combination, cool and dry. That's the least bad. It's
4:34
Speaker 2: not great, but it's least bad. My kid's problem. This
4:38
Speaker 2: came about or not, it didn't come about because of this,
4:41
Speaker 2: But the possum died over the winter, and it was
4:45
Speaker 2: nicely kept frozen, wonderfully frozen, you know, non smelly, frozen
4:51
Speaker 2: all winter long. But then the warm up happened, and
4:54
Speaker 2: oh my goodness, warm and damp, it really kicked in
4:58
Speaker 2: and the stink became almost like a member of the family. Now,
5:02
Speaker 2: if you're looking for practical timelines, because I asked, you know,
5:05
Speaker 2: how bad does the stink get and how long do
5:07
Speaker 2: stinks last? If you're looking for that, there is some idea.
5:12
Speaker 2: You know, if it's a single mouse, it might smell
5:14
Speaker 2: for a few days to a week, you know, deal
5:17
Speaker 2: with it, but you can.
5:17
Speaker 1: Get through it.
5:18
Speaker 2: A rat or a squirrel, you're looking at a couple
5:20
Speaker 2: of weeks. A possum, a raccoon, anything larger than that,
5:24
Speaker 2: you could be dealing with several weeks. In some cases,
5:27
Speaker 2: you know, pest control people say it can last up
5:30
Speaker 2: to two months or longer for a larger animal in
5:33
Speaker 2: a damp and closed space. So just be aware. Size
5:36
Speaker 2: of the animal is going to determine, of course, how
5:39
Speaker 2: long that stink can go. Now, for me, here's how
5:42
Speaker 2: I work with things like this. This is just open insight,
5:45
Speaker 2: honest insight into me, into how my brain works. When
5:48
Speaker 2: I'm facing something like this for a few days or
5:51
Speaker 2: a few weeks, I almost always start to wonder.
5:54
Speaker 1: Is this it? Is this the big one? Is this
5:57
Speaker 1: the one that never ever goes away? We're going to
6:00
Speaker 1: have to sell, try to sell the house. Is this
6:03
Speaker 1: smell permanent? Is my house ever going to be normal ever?
6:06
Speaker 2: Again, all of that goes through my brain and the
6:09
Speaker 2: panic machine starts up and really gets moving. Now, if
6:13
Speaker 2: your brain sometimes goes there too, there's good news. It's
6:16
Speaker 2: not permanent. Your house will smell normal again. But how
6:19
Speaker 2: long that takes and what you need to do to
6:21
Speaker 2: get there all depends on the situation. Let's talk about
6:24
Speaker 2: everything you need to know to locate the source and
6:26
Speaker 2: eradicate the smell of a dead animal from your home.
6:29
Speaker 2: And let's do that right after. This Home in Progress
6:33
Speaker 2: is brought to you by Repcolite Paints and Benjamin Moore.
6:35
Speaker 2: You know, people often think of paint as just another
6:38
Speaker 2: line item on the project's supply list.
6:40
Speaker 1: But here's the thing.
6:41
Speaker 2: Everything you do, every hour of prep, every stroke of
6:44
Speaker 2: the brush, all comes down to the quality of the paint.
6:46
Speaker 1: The paint is the project. Make sure it's the best.
6:50
Speaker 1: And we're back.
6:51
Speaker 2: You're listening to Home in Progress by Repcolite Paint, sponsored
6:54
Speaker 2: by Benjamin Moore, and we're talking about how to remove
6:56
Speaker 2: the smell of the dead animal in your home.
6:59
Speaker 1: You know, it could be a mile, it could be
7:00
Speaker 1: a rat, it could be a.
7:01
Speaker 2: Squirrel, it could be a possum, like my kid was
7:04
Speaker 2: just dealing with whatever it is. If you encounter that
7:07
Speaker 2: kind of smell and you're living with it over the
7:09
Speaker 2: course of even just a few days, it really does
7:12
Speaker 2: start to mess with you. You know, you can start
7:14
Speaker 2: to feel. If you're anything like me, you can start
7:17
Speaker 2: to feel like this whole thing could be.
7:18
Speaker 1: You know, permanent.
7:20
Speaker 2: You may worry that the house is going to permanently
7:22
Speaker 2: absorb that smell. Well, the good news is you can
7:24
Speaker 2: get rid of it completely. Let's talk about it and
7:28
Speaker 2: how you do that. Now, the first thing you need
7:30
Speaker 2: to do, of course, in order to eradicate it is
7:33
Speaker 2: you've got to find it, find the source of the
7:35
Speaker 2: stink and remove it. And unfortunately, the primary tool that
7:38
Speaker 2: you've got in your toolbox for this is going to
7:41
Speaker 2: be your nose. So walk slowly closed doors to isolate rooms,
7:46
Speaker 2: and pay attention to where the smell intensifies, you know,
7:49
Speaker 2: check your outlets, baseboards, vents, attic latches, cross based doors, understairs.
7:55
Speaker 2: Become one with the stink. That's what you're trying to
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Speaker 2: do here, Think like the stink, track the stink. And
8:01
Speaker 2: as you're doing this, there is a misconception that's worth correcting.
8:05
Speaker 2: People often assume that the animal is inside the duct
8:09
Speaker 2: work because the smell seems to come from the vents,
8:12
Speaker 2: but pest control pros say that that's rarely the case.
8:15
Speaker 2: The HVAC system usually ends up just moving the odor
8:18
Speaker 2: around the house. The animal is usually going to be
8:21
Speaker 2: in a wall or attic space near a ductron, but
8:24
Speaker 2: not inside the duct itself, So use your nose.
8:28
Speaker 1: Use your pets noses as well.
8:29
Speaker 2: If you've got pets, dog or cat obsessively sniffing one
8:33
Speaker 2: particular wall, cabinet, or vent, that's a clue worth following.
8:38
Speaker 2: Another critter that can help you find it are blowflies.
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Speaker 1: Are you familiar with these? Hopefully not?
8:43
Speaker 2: Hopefully not, because if you're seeing large, metallic looking flies
8:47
Speaker 2: congregating in one area of your house, follow them. You know,
8:52
Speaker 2: it's like the instructions right out of Harry Potter follow
8:54
Speaker 2: the spiders, except in this instance it's follow the blowflies.
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Speaker 1: You know.
8:58
Speaker 2: Blowflies appearing doors often indicate that there's a dead animal
9:02
Speaker 2: or something in the wall or in the attic, and
9:05
Speaker 2: they can lead you to the source. Now, when you
9:07
Speaker 2: find the source, you don't need to celebrate for too long.
9:11
Speaker 1: Don't overdo it right away.
9:13
Speaker 2: You want to get it out of there, so wear gloves,
9:15
Speaker 2: wear a mask, especially in enclosed spaces like a crawl
9:19
Speaker 2: space or an attic, and before you start working and
9:22
Speaker 2: moving in there, get the air moving, you know, so
9:25
Speaker 2: open windows, run a fan. You want fresh air pulling
9:28
Speaker 2: through that space the entire time you're working, and you'll
9:31
Speaker 2: keep it going after you're done. Now, one safety point
9:34
Speaker 2: that I should focus on before we move on. If
9:36
Speaker 2: you find rodent droppings or nesting material near the carcass,
9:40
Speaker 2: don't just sweep them up. Don't vacuum them up. That
9:43
Speaker 2: stirs particles into the air and that can spread disease.
9:46
Speaker 2: So instead, spray the droppings with a disinfectant or a
9:49
Speaker 2: one to ten bleach and water solution. Let it soak,
9:52
Speaker 2: you know, probably five ten minutes or so, and then
9:54
Speaker 2: wipe everything up with paper towels. Of course, throw the
9:58
Speaker 2: paper towels away, and then mop sponge the area with disinfectant.
10:01
Speaker 1: Again.
10:02
Speaker 2: For the carcass, you're gonna want to double bag it
10:05
Speaker 2: and then dispose of it properly according.
10:07
Speaker 1: To local rules. So look into that.
10:10
Speaker 2: If the animal was on a hard, non porous surface,
10:13
Speaker 2: you know, concrete, metal, vinyl, things like that, when you
10:16
Speaker 2: remove it and clean the area promptly, the smell is
10:19
Speaker 2: usually going to go away pretty quickly. Once you start ventilating,
10:22
Speaker 2: you're in good shape. Best case scenario there if decomposition
10:26
Speaker 2: fluids have soaked into porous materials like insulation, carpet pad,
10:31
Speaker 2: unfinished wood, dry wall, cealing tile. If that happens, you've
10:35
Speaker 2: got a different situation. You know, those materials absorb those fluids,
10:39
Speaker 2: and when that happens, the smell can linger way past
10:43
Speaker 2: the point where the carcass itself has dried out. This
10:46
Speaker 2: is wonderful talk on a morning. So you're crunching your cheerios,
10:49
Speaker 2: we're talking about carcasses drying out. But if those fluids
10:53
Speaker 2: penetrate those porous areas, those smells can linger. It can
10:57
Speaker 2: even seem to come back, you know, way down the
11:00
Speaker 2: road on humid days. In those cases, when you find
11:03
Speaker 2: that it's soaked into materials, the fix is removing the
11:06
Speaker 2: contaminated material and then cleaning that area with a disinfectant.
11:10
Speaker 2: All right, So remove the material, clean the area, and
11:14
Speaker 2: then once it's clean and dry, you're gonna want to
11:17
Speaker 2: apply an enzymatic cleaner to break down any you know,
11:20
Speaker 2: remaining organic residue. And if you're wondering what I'm talking
11:24
Speaker 2: about when I say an enzymatic cleaner, we talked about
11:27
Speaker 2: them last week. Basically, these cleaners use enzymes to digest
11:31
Speaker 2: the biological material at a molecular level, and they keep
11:35
Speaker 2: working way after you apply to them. You know, that's
11:38
Speaker 2: different than normal cleaners. It's going to keep working, and
11:41
Speaker 2: this is the step that eliminates lingering odor rather than
11:44
Speaker 2: covering it over. You can find these cleaners at pretty
11:47
Speaker 2: much any pet store. Look for Nature's Miracle. That's one
11:50
Speaker 2: brand or something similar. So you're going to want that.
11:54
Speaker 2: An enzymatic cleaner once you've got the contaminating material out,
11:57
Speaker 2: once you've got the area clean and dry, you may
12:00
Speaker 2: want to take extra precautions. That depends on the situation
12:04
Speaker 2: and if the situation allows it. But if that's the
12:07
Speaker 2: case and you're still worried about a persistent smell, you
12:10
Speaker 2: can seal any hard surfaces with an odor blocking primer.
12:13
Speaker 2: We talked about that last last week as well. She
12:16
Speaker 2: Lack based primers like beIN are the strongest option for this.
12:20
Speaker 2: Just remember, the primer is the final lock, the final
12:23
Speaker 2: step on a problem that's already been solved.
12:25
Speaker 1: It's not step one.
12:27
Speaker 2: You know, so make sure you clean everything dis in fact,
12:29
Speaker 2: hit it with that enzymatic cleaner before you get to
12:33
Speaker 2: the primer step. Now, if you can't locate or access
12:36
Speaker 2: the source, you know, maybe it's in a wall cavity
12:39
Speaker 2: or between floors something like that. If that happens, what
12:42
Speaker 2: in the world do you do well? The honest answer
12:46
Speaker 2: is that the intense smell, that horrible, horrible smell, is
12:49
Speaker 2: eventually going to fade on its own as the carcass
12:52
Speaker 2: dries out. You know, for a mouse, it's usually going
12:54
Speaker 2: to take a week or so. Like we talked about
12:56
Speaker 2: something larger, it could be a month or more. But
12:59
Speaker 2: here's the caveat, and this connects to what we just
13:02
Speaker 2: got done talking about. If the fluids, the decomposition fluids,
13:05
Speaker 2: have drained into insulation or dry wall inside that area,
13:09
Speaker 2: that wall pocket or whatever. If that happens, you're gonna
13:13
Speaker 2: notice a smell that lingers or comes back on human days,
13:16
Speaker 2: even after the worst has passed. If that's happening weeks later,
13:20
Speaker 2: you're probably looking at having to open up that wall
13:23
Speaker 2: to remove the contaminated material.
13:25
Speaker 1: I know it's not.
13:25
Speaker 2: Fun, but that's the way to get it solved in
13:29
Speaker 2: to really be able to move on now. In the meantime,
13:31
Speaker 2: if you're trying to wait it out, there are a
13:33
Speaker 2: couple of tools that can help you manage the smell
13:36
Speaker 2: while nature runs its course. First off, activated charcoal bags.
13:40
Speaker 2: We talked about them last week. Activated charcoal works by
13:43
Speaker 2: physically trapping odor molecules in millions of tiny pores. You're
13:48
Speaker 2: not adding a cent, you're pulling the stink out of
13:50
Speaker 2: the air. So place them as close as you can
13:52
Speaker 2: to the affected area. You can find them pretty much
13:56
Speaker 2: at a ton of different stores, and they're usually around
13:59
Speaker 2: ten to fifteen or so. For a multipack. You can
14:02
Speaker 2: set them in the sun every couple of weeks to
14:04
Speaker 2: recharge them. So charcoal packs, that's one way to go. Second,
14:08
Speaker 2: foaming enzymatic cleaners. Now, these are designed for exactly this
14:11
Speaker 2: kind of situation. You know, you drill a small hole
14:13
Speaker 2: in the wall cavity, inject the foam, and then the
14:16
Speaker 2: enzymes go to work digesting that organic material from inside.
14:20
Speaker 2: Products like backa Zapp, bac dash a dash Zapp they
14:25
Speaker 2: make a foaming version specifically for wall voids and enclosed spaces.
14:29
Speaker 2: You can find them online or through pest control suppliers.
14:32
Speaker 2: So look into that charcoal bags. They handle what's in
14:35
Speaker 2: the air. The enzymatic foam is going to attack the
14:38
Speaker 2: source inside the wall. Use them together and that's your
14:41
Speaker 2: best combination sort of opening up the wall.
14:43
Speaker 1: But I want to be straight with you, these.
14:45
Speaker 2: Are management tools. They're really not going to be magic.
14:48
Speaker 2: If fluids have soaked into porous materials, these things will help,
14:52
Speaker 2: but they may not fully solve it. You know, you
14:54
Speaker 2: might just be buying some time.
14:56
Speaker 1: All right. I've got a few.
14:57
Speaker 2: Random thoughts as we wrap this part up in before
15:00
Speaker 2: or we take a look at prevention.
15:01
Speaker 1: First random thought.
15:03
Speaker 2: As you're trying to find and deal with a smell,
15:05
Speaker 2: keep in mind that a dead animal smell is not
15:08
Speaker 2: always a dead animal. Propane and natural gas are odorless,
15:11
Speaker 2: so a chemical odorant is added to them. We all
15:14
Speaker 2: know that, and most of us describe that smell as
15:16
Speaker 2: rotten egg smell, but some people experience it more like
15:19
Speaker 2: a skunk spray or like a decay smell. So if
15:23
Speaker 2: you can't find the source the smell isn't fading or
15:25
Speaker 2: it's got a sharp chemical edge, don't just keep masking
15:28
Speaker 2: it or assuming it's going to go.
15:30
Speaker 1: Away, leave the area.
15:32
Speaker 2: Call your gas company to check the lines, you know,
15:34
Speaker 2: just be sure that it's not something bigger going on.
15:38
Speaker 2: Second random thought, and this one matters because it can
15:41
Speaker 2: directly create the exact problem we've been talking about. You
15:45
Speaker 2: may have heard that certain rodent poisons will make miser
15:48
Speaker 2: rats go outside looking for water before they die, or
15:53
Speaker 2: maybe you've heard another version of it that the poison
15:55
Speaker 2: dries them out, you know. Yeah, then maybe they stay
15:57
Speaker 2: in the house, but it dries them out so they
15:59
Speaker 2: don't smell at all. It's one of these things that
16:02
Speaker 2: gets repeated so often it starts to sound like common knowledge.
16:06
Speaker 2: But from everything I've seen in digging into the research
16:09
Speaker 2: for this particular segment, everything I've seen says that's basically
16:13
Speaker 2: a myth. Pest control experts, even the manufacturers of poisons
16:18
Speaker 2: say there's really not a rodent poison out there that's
16:20
Speaker 2: magically going to send the critter outdoors in search of water,
16:24
Speaker 2: or that's going to dry the body out so that
16:25
Speaker 2: it doesn't stink. What actually happens, it's much simpler, much
16:29
Speaker 2: more frustrating. The rodent's going to eat the bait, it's
16:32
Speaker 2: going to get sick over the next several days, and
16:34
Speaker 2: then it's going to die. You know, it's going to
16:36
Speaker 2: croak wherever it happens to be, and a lot of
16:38
Speaker 2: the time that means it's nest You know, inside a wall,
16:41
Speaker 2: under insulation, behind an appliance, probably somewhere you absolutely don't
16:46
Speaker 2: want it to die. And that's why so many pest
16:48
Speaker 2: professionals recommend snaptraps instead of poison inside the house.
16:52
Speaker 1: That's one of the reasons. You know, poison in the house.
16:56
Speaker 2: Just not having poison in the house as one of
16:58
Speaker 2: the reasons they recommend snap traps. But snap traps allow
17:02
Speaker 2: you to be able to you know, you know where
17:03
Speaker 2: the critter is when the trap goes off and you
17:05
Speaker 2: catch the mouse or the rat or whatever. Oh please
17:09
Speaker 2: let it never be a rat in my house. I
17:11
Speaker 2: don't know that I'd be able to handle that. So
17:14
Speaker 2: I'm going to just think about mice. If I catch
17:16
Speaker 2: the mouse in a trap, I know where he is.
17:18
Speaker 2: You know, I just got to get the trap out,
17:20
Speaker 2: clean the area, clean everything off, and I'm good to go.
17:22
Speaker 2: With a poison you have no idea exactly where the
17:25
Speaker 2: critter went until the stink starts, all right, So think
17:29
Speaker 2: about snap traps. Realize that that whole poison thing is
17:32
Speaker 2: potentially a myth. It seems to be a myth. It's
17:35
Speaker 2: not going to dry him out and not going to
17:36
Speaker 2: make them leave the house searching for water. Keep that
17:39
Speaker 2: in mind, all right. Last thing I've got on this
17:41
Speaker 2: particular topic is preventing this from happening again. You know,
17:45
Speaker 2: once the smell is gone, or even as you're working
17:48
Speaker 2: on the smell, you've got to ask yourself the question
17:51
Speaker 2: how did the critter get in the first place. So
17:53
Speaker 2: go around and look for gaps and holes around your
17:56
Speaker 2: home and seal them. For small openings, skip the ordinary
18:00
Speaker 2: foam and calk only approach you read about online. You
18:03
Speaker 2: know a lot of places recommend that. You know a
18:05
Speaker 2: lot of websites and blogs will say just seal it
18:07
Speaker 2: that way. But rodents can chew right through.
18:10
Speaker 1: All of that.
18:11
Speaker 2: So pack the gap first with copper mesh or stainless
18:14
Speaker 2: steel mesh. It's not going to crode or a rust
18:17
Speaker 2: or anything like that, and then seal it over with
18:19
Speaker 2: a good exterior grade caulk or a pest blocking foam.
18:22
Speaker 2: For bigger openings, move up to hardware, cloth, metal flashing,
18:26
Speaker 2: or you know other solid chew resistant materials. And don't
18:30
Speaker 2: forget the obvious entry points chimney caps, vent screens, damage soffets,
18:34
Speaker 2: loose sighting, gaps around pipes or utility lines, check all
18:38
Speaker 2: of that stuff. Also, go in your garage, turn off
18:41
Speaker 2: the lights and close the door. If you see light
18:43
Speaker 2: coming in around the closed door and it's as big
18:46
Speaker 2: as a dime, that's an entry point for mice, so
18:49
Speaker 2: work to seal that as well. Right, the goal is
18:52
Speaker 2: to make sure you've never got to deal with this again,
18:54
Speaker 2: So make sure you look into that prevention stuff.
18:56
Speaker 1: All right, that's enough of that.
18:58
Speaker 2: When we come back, we're going to be looking at
19:00
Speaker 2: art deco and how to apply it in our own
19:02
Speaker 2: homes without turning them into set pieces from the nineteen twenties.
19:06
Speaker 1: That's all coming up right after.
19:08
Speaker 2: This Home in Progress is brought to you by Repcolite
19:11
Speaker 2: Paints and Benjamin Moore.
19:12
Speaker 1: Think about it.
19:13
Speaker 2: You spend hours prepping, sandy, taping and then finally painting.
19:17
Speaker 2: Don't throw all that work away with an inferior product.
19:19
Speaker 2: The paint isn't just another supply. The paint is the project.
19:23
Speaker 2: Make sure it's the best welcome back. You're listening to
19:26
Speaker 2: Home in Progress by Repcolite Paints, sponsored by Benjamin Moore
19:30
Speaker 2: and last week we talked about art deco, where it
19:33
Speaker 2: came from, what made it so distinctive, and why it
19:37
Speaker 2: made such a splash in the nineteen twenties and the
19:39
Speaker 2: nineteen thirties. Basically we covered the history of it, the
19:41
Speaker 2: origins of it. Today I want to shift into the
19:45
Speaker 2: practical side of this for homeowners, for everybody out there listening,
19:48
Speaker 2: because this is where it really gets fun.
19:50
Speaker 1: You know.
19:50
Speaker 2: I like the history stuff, but the practical stuff, well,
19:53
Speaker 2: of course it's practical. This is what you can actually use.
19:56
Speaker 2: So how does art deco still shape interiors today? And
20:00
Speaker 2: maybe more importantly than that question, how can you use
20:03
Speaker 2: it in a real house, you know, in my house
20:05
Speaker 2: without making the space feel you know, ridiculous, or you know,
20:09
Speaker 2: like it's trying to be a nineteen twenties movie set.
20:12
Speaker 2: Because that's really the challenge with historical styles. You know,
20:16
Speaker 2: it's one thing to admire them and to really enjoy
20:19
Speaker 2: what they're doing. It's another thing to bring them into
20:23
Speaker 2: your home, and to bring them in successfully, you know,
20:26
Speaker 2: so it doesn't look like you're trying to do something
20:30
Speaker 2: unusual with the space. You want it to flow and
20:32
Speaker 2: to feel like it's part of the home, not just
20:34
Speaker 2: this add on thing pasted on top of it, not
20:36
Speaker 2: like a costume or anything like that.
20:38
Speaker 1: So how do you do that with art Deco.
20:40
Speaker 2: Well, the good news is that art Deco really is
20:43
Speaker 2: one of those styles that translates surprisingly well into modern decorating,
20:48
Speaker 2: you know, especially if you borrow selectively. You know, you
20:51
Speaker 2: don't have to recreate a full on Art Deco interior
20:55
Speaker 2: to get the benefits of the look. In fact, for
20:57
Speaker 2: most people, that's going to be way too much. But
21:01
Speaker 2: you can absolutely take some of the core principles and
21:04
Speaker 2: then use them to give a room more elegance, more confidence,
21:07
Speaker 2: more visual impact. So that's what we're going to talk about,
21:11
Speaker 2: and let's start with the basic ingredients. If you want
21:13
Speaker 2: a room to feel art Deco inspired, the first thing
21:17
Speaker 2: to think about is shape. You know, art Deco loves geometry,
21:21
Speaker 2: it loves clear lines, it loves repeated patterns.
21:24
Speaker 1: You know.
21:24
Speaker 2: That might mean a mirror with a stepped frame. It
21:27
Speaker 2: could mean wallpaper with a fan pattern or a geometric
21:31
Speaker 2: motif or something like that. It could mean a rug
21:34
Speaker 2: with a bold linear structure. It could mean a light
21:36
Speaker 2: fixture that uses globes metal symmetry. It could be a
21:41
Speaker 2: vanity with fluted details, or a cabinet you know, with
21:45
Speaker 2: curved corners and brass poles. Things like that, a lot
21:49
Speaker 2: of different things. It's not a casual style. That's the
21:51
Speaker 2: main thing to remember. It likes structure, It likes shape,
21:54
Speaker 2: so think about shape. The second ingredient is contrast. Art
21:59
Speaker 2: Deco tends to work best when there's some kind of
22:02
Speaker 2: tension in the room. You know, light against dark, gloss
22:05
Speaker 2: against matt, soft upholstery against hard metal, cream walls against
22:10
Speaker 2: black trim, deep deep you know, jewel tones against war
22:15
Speaker 2: metallic finishes. It likes that push and pull. It likes
22:18
Speaker 2: the definition that it creates. The third ingredient that you
22:22
Speaker 2: want to remember is sheen. And this is a huge
22:24
Speaker 2: one and we briefly just mentioned it when we talked
22:27
Speaker 2: about contrast, you know, gloss in matt, but sheen is
22:30
Speaker 2: something that we should always be thinking about with any.
22:33
Speaker 1: Paint project that we tackle.
22:34
Speaker 2: You know, we talk about color all the time, but
22:36
Speaker 2: the finish, you know, the sheen quite often is an afterthought. Well,
22:42
Speaker 2: Ourt Deco has always had this incredible affinity for that's
22:49
Speaker 2: probably the best way to say it, and affinity for
22:51
Speaker 2: surfaces that reflect light. So lacquer, you know, glossy, you know,
22:55
Speaker 2: highly polished lacquer, mirrored materials, polished metal, glass, smooth stones,
23:00
Speaker 2: sleek tile. Art Deco loves those things. So even if
23:04
Speaker 2: your paint color in that space is really quiet and reserved,
23:08
Speaker 2: if you bump up the sheen, that can make a
23:10
Speaker 2: dramatic statement and push the room toward an art deco
23:13
Speaker 2: feel without really going into any kind of you know,
23:17
Speaker 2: maybe maybe bolder or more daring color schemes. All right,
23:22
Speaker 2: so those are three ingredients to keep in mind. Now,
23:25
Speaker 2: let's get more specific when it comes to color, you know,
23:27
Speaker 2: let's dive into that a little deeper here. A lot
23:29
Speaker 2: of people assume that art deco always is going to
23:32
Speaker 2: mean black and gold, and yeah, that's certainly one version
23:37
Speaker 2: of art deco, you know, that's a color scheme that
23:38
Speaker 2: we see a lot black, ivory, brass.
23:41
Speaker 1: And chrome.
23:42
Speaker 2: They absolutely create a striking art deco palette, but the
23:45
Speaker 2: style is actually way broader than that. Art Deco will
23:49
Speaker 2: work with rich jewel tones, you know, emerald green, sapphire, blue,
23:53
Speaker 2: deep teal, burgundy, plump. It can also use blush pinks,
23:57
Speaker 2: dusty roses, pale oc was, warm cream, smoky tope, elegant grays,
24:02
Speaker 2: all of those tones as well. Some palettes are dramatic
24:05
Speaker 2: and moody. Others are soft and refined. What matters most
24:09
Speaker 2: is that the color choices feel deliberate and usually somewhat elevated.
24:14
Speaker 2: You know, art Deco is in a style that tends
24:17
Speaker 2: to thrive on you know, kind of random muddiness. You know,
24:20
Speaker 2: even when the colors are muted, there's usually something polished
24:23
Speaker 2: about the way they're used. You know, they didn't just
24:25
Speaker 2: fall together. They were purposely chosen and intentionally placed together.
24:30
Speaker 2: So let's say you want to because I know that's
24:33
Speaker 2: kind of vague. You know, it's vague as I say it,
24:36
Speaker 2: I get it, it's vague when you hear it. Let's
24:39
Speaker 2: get even more practical. Let's get you know, really dial
24:42
Speaker 2: it in. Let's say you want to bring some art
24:44
Speaker 2: deco into a room, and you want to do that
24:46
Speaker 2: with your paint colors. Well, one approach would be a
24:49
Speaker 2: dramatic wall color, so a deep green in a dining room,
24:52
Speaker 2: a rich navy in a bedroom, a charcoal and a
24:55
Speaker 2: powder room. Those kinds of colors can feel very art deco,
24:58
Speaker 2: especially when you pair on with things like we talked
25:01
Speaker 2: about earlier, brass lighting, crisp trim. You know, remember the contrast,
25:05
Speaker 2: maybe a mirror or a graphic wallpaper. Another approach would
25:10
Speaker 2: be a soft, elegant backdrop, you know, rather than going
25:13
Speaker 2: with a dramatic wall color, go with something soft and elegant,
25:16
Speaker 2: maybe a warm cream, a pale blush, maybe a light
25:19
Speaker 2: gray green on the walls.
25:21
Speaker 1: And then you bring in the art.
25:22
Speaker 2: Deco energy through black accents, metallic fixtures, geometric shapes, and
25:27
Speaker 2: strong furniture lines. And that's probably the smartest route for
25:31
Speaker 2: many of us. You know, let the paint create the atmosphere,
25:34
Speaker 2: you know, a softer, more reserved atmosphere, but then let
25:37
Speaker 2: the accessories and the architecture carry more of the explicit
25:40
Speaker 2: style of art Deco.
25:42
Speaker 1: Because here's the thing.
25:43
Speaker 2: Art Deco can become overwhelming if every single element is,
25:48
Speaker 2: you know, shouting at you. If the wallpaper is dramatic,
25:52
Speaker 2: if the lighting is dramatic, If you brought in a
25:55
Speaker 2: mirror and that's dramatic, If the paint colors are dramatic,
25:58
Speaker 2: if the tile you've got is dramatic, If all of
26:01
Speaker 2: that's really dramatic, then pretty soon the whole room feels,
26:05
Speaker 2: you know, way less elegant, and it just feels exhausting.
26:09
Speaker 2: Art Deco is going to work best when it's a
26:11
Speaker 2: little bit reserved. Let it make a statement, you know,
26:14
Speaker 2: that's what you want, but you don't want it to
26:15
Speaker 2: make ten statements at once. So, you know, maybe the
26:19
Speaker 2: way to go if you're just starting out for sure
26:21
Speaker 2: with trying to dabble in this style, you know, go
26:24
Speaker 2: that route of having a more you know, reserved wall
26:27
Speaker 2: color and bring in the style with accessories and architecture
26:30
Speaker 2: and stuff like that. Also, if you love art Deco,
26:33
Speaker 2: you don't need a whole house kind of commitment to it.
26:37
Speaker 2: In fact, some of the best places to use the
26:39
Speaker 2: Art Deco influence are small, high impact spaces, so powder
26:43
Speaker 2: rooms they're great for this. You can go darker, you
26:46
Speaker 2: can go glossier, you can just have more fun in
26:48
Speaker 2: a littler space like that. A jewel toned wall, a
26:51
Speaker 2: brass got's, a bold mirror, a black vanity, you know,
26:54
Speaker 2: maybe some geometric tile. All of that can really work,
26:58
Speaker 2: you know, and lean towards you know, that art Deco
27:00
Speaker 2: kind of a style. It can give a nod towards
27:02
Speaker 2: Art Deco and it can be really fun in that
27:04
Speaker 2: one little enclosed space. Just don't overdo it, like we
27:07
Speaker 2: talked about, you know, make a statement, but not ten statements.
27:10
Speaker 1: But you don't have to do it through the whole home.
27:13
Speaker 1: One room like a powder room, great place to do it.
27:15
Speaker 2: Entryways it's another really good choice to try this style.
27:19
Speaker 2: You know, art deco is really good at making a
27:21
Speaker 2: first impression. A strong console, a sunburst mirror, you know,
27:25
Speaker 2: a crisp wall color, all of that can make an
27:27
Speaker 2: entrance feel more intentional.
27:29
Speaker 1: You know, you're not.
27:30
Speaker 2: Necessarily blasting art Deco style through the room, You're just
27:33
Speaker 2: taking elements of it and using that in the entryway.
27:36
Speaker 1: It's perfect for a space like that. Dining rooms.
27:39
Speaker 2: It works really well there too, because art deco has
27:41
Speaker 2: a natural connection to entertaining. You know, if you remember
27:44
Speaker 2: last week its origins, we're all about, you know, the
27:48
Speaker 2: nightlife and just the excitement of the twenties, you know,
27:52
Speaker 2: and that just lends itself to the idea of entertaining,
27:54
Speaker 2: which is exactly what dining rooms, generally speaking, are meant for.
27:58
Speaker 2: You know, if you want a dining room to feel
28:00
Speaker 2: a little more special, a little more energized, a little
28:02
Speaker 2: more elevated, art deco has a lot to offer, So
28:05
Speaker 2: think about that. In a space like that, it can
28:08
Speaker 2: also work really well in bedrooms, especially if you lean
28:11
Speaker 2: into upholstered shapes, you know, symmetry and calmer versions of what.
28:16
Speaker 1: The Art Deco color palettes have to offer.
28:19
Speaker 2: Maybe not a full black lacker, you know, look all
28:22
Speaker 2: over the place, unless that's really your thing, but a
28:24
Speaker 2: softer Art Deco you know, maybe a dusty rose, muted greens,
28:28
Speaker 2: the warm ivory, you know, those kinds of colors. So
28:31
Speaker 2: those are some rooms you can look at. And then,
28:33
Speaker 2: of course there are all kinds of individual things, different items,
28:36
Speaker 2: different pieces you can bring in that will nod towards
28:39
Speaker 2: the style. You know, a single Art Deco style mirror,
28:43
Speaker 2: different light fixtures that mimic the style or nod towards
28:47
Speaker 2: the style. A cabinet that leans in that direction, a
28:50
Speaker 2: wallpapered nook, a vanity.
28:52
Speaker 1: Area, you know.
28:53
Speaker 2: Sometimes that's all it takes, just a little thing to
28:56
Speaker 2: give your home, just that little extra bit of interest.
29:00
Speaker 1: All right, before we.
29:01
Speaker 2: Wrap this up, let's make this as practical as I
29:03
Speaker 2: can make it. If you want to try an Art
29:05
Speaker 2: Deco inspired look, just start with one room, you know,
29:08
Speaker 2: one room in the home. It doesn't need to be
29:09
Speaker 2: a big room. It could be a powder room, like
29:11
Speaker 2: we just talked about, start with one room and ask
29:14
Speaker 2: yourself three questions. First off, do I want this room
29:17
Speaker 2: to feel dramatic or elegant. If the answer to that
29:20
Speaker 2: question is dramatic, then you're gonna want to lean darker
29:22
Speaker 2: and richer with your colors, so deep greens, navies, charcoal colors,
29:27
Speaker 2: black accents, metallic finishes. Let the room have some weight.
29:31
Speaker 2: That's what you want to do if you want to
29:32
Speaker 2: go towards a more dramatic feel. If the answer is elegant,
29:36
Speaker 2: you're going to want to lean lighter and softer with
29:38
Speaker 2: your colors, so cream, pale, blush topes, muted blue, green,
29:42
Speaker 2: soft grays, colors like that. Then let the accessories and
29:46
Speaker 2: other details do the bulk of the work, right, that's
29:49
Speaker 2: the first question. Second question to ask yourself is where's
29:52
Speaker 2: the geometry going to come from?
29:54
Speaker 1: Because if you remember, that's.
29:55
Speaker 2: A big part of art deco is the shape, you know,
29:58
Speaker 2: the geometric patterns, things like that. Where is the geometry
30:02
Speaker 2: going to come from in your space? Is it going
30:03
Speaker 2: to come from the wallpaper, from the mirror, from a
30:07
Speaker 2: light fixture, Is it going to come from the tile,
30:09
Speaker 2: from the rug? Pick one or two places, you know, one,
30:13
Speaker 2: maybe two places, not every place. Our decko is going
30:16
Speaker 2: to work best when the pattern feels intentional, not when
30:19
Speaker 2: the room is shouting, you know, from every corner. We
30:21
Speaker 2: talked about that earlier. Less is more in this regard.
30:26
Speaker 2: Third question that you want to ask yourself is where
30:28
Speaker 2: is the shine going to come from? Is it going
30:31
Speaker 2: to be brass, Is it going to be chrome? Is
30:32
Speaker 2: it going to be glass? You know, is it going
30:34
Speaker 2: to be a satin finish or even a shinier finish
30:36
Speaker 2: on the walls, a glossy vanity, mirrored furniture. You know,
30:40
Speaker 2: where's the shine.
30:41
Speaker 1: Going to come from?
30:42
Speaker 2: And again, choose strategically, because a little bit of shine
30:45
Speaker 2: is going to go a long long way too much,
30:48
Speaker 2: and the room can start to feel like a like
30:49
Speaker 2: a hotel lobby or a stage set or something like that.
30:53
Speaker 2: Just a little bit, just a little bit of intentional,
30:56
Speaker 2: you know, placement of this increased sheen, you.
30:59
Speaker 1: Know this, whether it's on the walls or wherever.
31:02
Speaker 2: So those three questions, if you answer them, you're already
31:05
Speaker 2: thinking in the language of art deco. You know, you're
31:08
Speaker 2: not just asking what can I buy? You're asking where
31:10
Speaker 2: should the emphasis go? You're deciding where the drama belongs,
31:13
Speaker 2: where the structure comes from, and where the polish is
31:16
Speaker 2: going to show up. And that may be the biggest
31:18
Speaker 2: lesson of Art deco, you know, for all of us,
31:21
Speaker 2: it's not really about piling on all kinds of things,
31:24
Speaker 2: you know, expensive things or deeply you know, richly colored things.
31:28
Speaker 2: It's about composition. It's about knowing what to emphasize and
31:32
Speaker 2: what to leave alone. You know, it's about using line
31:35
Speaker 2: and color and contrast and finish to create a sense
31:38
Speaker 2: of polish and intentionality. And that makes it surprisingly accessible.
31:43
Speaker 2: You don't need a historic house or some amazing you know,
31:47
Speaker 2: hotel like you know, movie palace like lobby to work in.
31:51
Speaker 2: You can do this in your own space, in your
31:53
Speaker 2: own home. You just need to understand the language of
31:56
Speaker 2: the style, like we said, the geometry, the contrast, the elegance,
31:59
Speaker 2: and the confidence of it. Understand the language of the
32:02
Speaker 2: style and you can apply it in a way that
32:05
Speaker 2: will fit into any space in your home. And maybe
32:08
Speaker 2: there's a larger lesson here as we wrap all of
32:11
Speaker 2: this up. You know, once you understand the language of
32:13
Speaker 2: art deco, you start to realize that every single design
32:16
Speaker 2: style out there has a language of its own. The
32:18
Speaker 2: Arts and crafts movement has a language, mid Century Modern
32:21
Speaker 2: has a language. The Victorian style has a language. Scandinavian
32:25
Speaker 2: design has a language. They all have a language. Each
32:28
Speaker 2: style has certain colors and shapes and materials and finishes
32:32
Speaker 2: and ideas that make it feel, you know, like itself.
32:36
Speaker 2: And once you learn to look for those things, you
32:38
Speaker 2: can borrow from a style more intentionally. You know, you're
32:42
Speaker 2: not just copying a room from a magazine at that point,
32:45
Speaker 2: and it's way more exciting. You're asking way better questions.
32:49
Speaker 2: You're asking what gives this style its character? Where does
32:52
Speaker 2: the emphasis go when I'm working in this style? What
32:55
Speaker 2: should be repeated? What should be restrained? That's what makes
32:59
Speaker 2: design and more approachable for everybody. You don't have to
33:04
Speaker 2: recreate a style perfectly. You just have to understand enough
33:07
Speaker 2: of its language to speak it clearly in your own home.
33:10
Speaker 2: You know, that's the goal, and that's a really really
33:14
Speaker 2: exciting place to land. So Art Deco, you know, thank
33:17
Speaker 2: you for tolerating my great, big, long deep dive into it.
33:20
Speaker 2: I had so much fun learning about it. Hopefully you
33:23
Speaker 2: pick something up that you can apply to all right,
33:26
Speaker 2: let's shift gears slightly and talk about something that we
33:28
Speaker 2: don't always think about when we're picking paint the finish.
33:31
Speaker 1: We'll get to that right after this. You're listening to Home.
33:34
Speaker 2: In Progress, where the projects are real, the mistakes, they're educational,
33:38
Speaker 2: sometimes painful, mostly educational, and the only thing more stubborn
33:44
Speaker 2: than that old wallpaper on your bathroom wall is your.
33:47
Speaker 1: Determination to get it fixed.
33:49
Speaker 2: Probably sponsored by Repcolite Paints and Benjamin Moore Paint with
33:52
Speaker 2: a Purpose, people who care, and everything you need to
33:55
Speaker 2: get the job done right.
33:57
Speaker 1: Welcome back.
33:57
Speaker 2: You're listening to Home in Progress by Repcolite Paint sponsored
34:00
Speaker 2: by Benjamin More and last segment, I said something about
34:05
Speaker 2: art Deco that I want to circle back to. But
34:07
Speaker 2: hold on, don't freak out. This is not going to
34:09
Speaker 2: be about art Deco. It's got a much broader application.
34:14
Speaker 2: You know, we spend a lot of time, when you
34:16
Speaker 2: think about it, we spend a lot of time talking
34:18
Speaker 2: and thinking about paint colors. And that makes sense, right
34:22
Speaker 2: because color is the first thing you notice. It's the
34:24
Speaker 2: thing that people agonize over when they're making, you know,
34:28
Speaker 2: some renovations or making a change to a space in
34:30
Speaker 2: their home. They agonize over the color. But there's another
34:33
Speaker 2: paint decision that doesn't get nearly as much attention, and
34:37
Speaker 2: it really should and that's the finish, the sene. You know,
34:40
Speaker 2: the amount of shine and the paint, and it's important
34:43
Speaker 2: because sine changes everything. You know, the same color, the
34:46
Speaker 2: same color can feel soft and quiet in a mat
34:49
Speaker 2: it can feel clean and practical in an eggshell. It
34:52
Speaker 2: can feel polished in a satin. It can feel dramatic
34:55
Speaker 2: in a high gloss. Same color, different finish, and you
34:58
Speaker 2: get a completely different feeling room depending on the sheen.
35:02
Speaker 2: And the reason that happens is because of light. You know,
35:04
Speaker 2: a flat or a matte paint absorbs light. It doesn't
35:07
Speaker 2: bounce much back at you, so the color reads deeper, softer, calmer,
35:12
Speaker 2: and it also hides a lot of imperfections. And that's
35:15
Speaker 2: why flat is so popular on ceilings. A shinier finish,
35:19
Speaker 2: it's going to reflect light and that's going to make
35:21
Speaker 2: a color feel brighter and richer and more energized. It's
35:24
Speaker 2: going to make a surface feel more formal, more dressed up.
35:27
Speaker 2: But it's also going to show more brushstrokes, more roller marks,
35:30
Speaker 2: more drywall flaws and other imperfections. So sheen plays two
35:34
Speaker 2: roles basically, But usually if we think about sheen at all,
35:38
Speaker 2: we only think about it from the practical point of
35:40
Speaker 2: view about durability and hiding imperfections. But there's a second
35:44
Speaker 2: role that sheen plays. You know, it's also a design tool,
35:48
Speaker 2: and most people have no idea how much you can
35:51
Speaker 2: do with it. Here are just a few examples. One,
35:54
Speaker 2: try painting your walls and trim the exact same color,
35:57
Speaker 2: but step the trim up a sheene or two. If
36:00
Speaker 2: the wall is matt, put satin sheen or something like
36:03
Speaker 2: that on the trim. If the wall's eggshell, try a
36:05
Speaker 2: semi gloss on the trim. You know, you haven't changed
36:08
Speaker 2: the color at all in that situation, but the architecture
36:12
Speaker 2: that trim is going to quietly emerge. The trim's going
36:14
Speaker 2: to catch more light, the room's going to look way
36:17
Speaker 2: more considered, way more custom, a little more formal, a
36:22
Speaker 2: little more elegant. You know, it's going to give you
36:24
Speaker 2: that contrast without adding a color, and that's why it's
36:27
Speaker 2: going to feel more elegant than just having white trim
36:32
Speaker 2: or something like that. With that contrast, you can also
36:35
Speaker 2: use sheen to control attention. And what I mean is this,
36:38
Speaker 2: you keep the walls soft and quiet. You know, let's
36:40
Speaker 2: say Matt finished something like that, and then let a
36:43
Speaker 2: satin bookcase, a painted door, or a glossy piece of
36:46
Speaker 2: furniture become the feature. You know, it's a way to
36:48
Speaker 2: add interest without adding more pattern or more clutter or
36:52
Speaker 2: even another color. You know, you could do this all
36:54
Speaker 2: in the same color, but the different finish is going
36:57
Speaker 2: to tell your eye where to look. It's a really
36:59
Speaker 2: interesting trick to try. Another thing you could do is
37:02
Speaker 2: take a small room, maybe a powder room. Let's say,
37:04
Speaker 2: paint it a deep saturated color, an emerald, a navy,
37:08
Speaker 2: you know, something like that, and paint it in a
37:10
Speaker 2: semi gloss or a high gloss. You know, the whole
37:13
Speaker 2: room when you do that, is going to become a
37:15
Speaker 2: jewel box. You know, light is going to bounce off
37:17
Speaker 2: every surface. The color stops being color and it starts
37:20
Speaker 2: being almost a material.
37:22
Speaker 1: You walk in and you feel like you.
37:23
Speaker 2: Stepped into something. Now, another thing that we see all
37:26
Speaker 2: over the place is glossy ceilings. You know, it's one
37:29
Speaker 2: of the great underused tricks in design. You know, we're
37:32
Speaker 2: so used to flat white ceilings that we forget. The
37:35
Speaker 2: ceiling is a fifth wall. You know, paint it in
37:37
Speaker 2: a high sheen finished even if it's just white, and
37:39
Speaker 2: it's going to reflect the room back at itself. It
37:42
Speaker 2: bounces light and it can make a low ceiling feel
37:45
Speaker 2: taller and a small room feel bigger. Designers use this
37:48
Speaker 2: in dining rooms, entryways, small studies, powder rooms all the time.
37:52
Speaker 2: But before you rush off to the store, even to
37:56
Speaker 2: paint your entire powder room, you know, the walls.
37:59
Speaker 1: A glossy color.
38:00
Speaker 2: I do need to mention that a glossy ceiling and
38:03
Speaker 2: glossy walls they can be a little bit of a
38:05
Speaker 2: struggle too, But glossy ceilings are probably one of the
38:08
Speaker 2: hardest paint jobs in a house to pull off. I
38:11
Speaker 2: want to be really clear about that. You know, a
38:13
Speaker 2: ceiling gets raking light. You know, light comes in through
38:15
Speaker 2: windows at low angles, it comes from overhead fixtures and
38:19
Speaker 2: all of its skims across the ceiling instead of hitting
38:22
Speaker 2: it straight on.
38:23
Speaker 1: You know, flat paint hides a lot of that gloss.
38:25
Speaker 2: Paint is going to broadcast it every drywall scene, every
38:28
Speaker 2: tape joint, every screw pop, every roller mark, every brush mark,
38:32
Speaker 2: every speck of dust. Gloss is gonna find them and
38:35
Speaker 2: put a spotlight on everyone. The most drywall in most
38:38
Speaker 2: homes isn't finished well enough for that. You know, it's
38:41
Speaker 2: finished well enough for flat paint, matte paint, things like that,
38:44
Speaker 2: But glossy paint it's a whole different animal, and without
38:49
Speaker 2: the level of prep that you need, you know, the
38:50
Speaker 2: skim coating, the sanding, the priming, standing again before you
38:55
Speaker 2: even open the finished coat. Without that level of prep,
38:57
Speaker 2: every imperfection is likely going to show up the moment
39:01
Speaker 2: the ceiling catches light. So be aware with the glossy
39:04
Speaker 2: finishes that you see. You know, when people go to
39:06
Speaker 2: full gloss, that's a can of worms that you're opening
39:09
Speaker 2: up there. You might want to get a professional, and
39:11
Speaker 2: you might want to get somebody who's done this before.
39:14
Speaker 1: You don't just might want to.
39:15
Speaker 2: You want to get somebody who's done this before, and
39:18
Speaker 2: you want to see some pictures of some rooms that
39:20
Speaker 2: they've done. If you want to try, you know, a
39:23
Speaker 2: taste of what a reflective ceiling can do without going
39:25
Speaker 2: to full gloss. You know, maybe try a satin machine
39:28
Speaker 2: or something like that, But even then it is a
39:31
Speaker 2: little more of a struggle on a ceiling to make
39:34
Speaker 2: that look good than just using a flat anyway, don't
39:37
Speaker 2: forget about finish and about sheen when it comes to
39:40
Speaker 2: pulling a room together. It's a conversation you should be
39:43
Speaker 2: having and something you should be thinking about. There's a
39:45
Speaker 2: lot you can do with it.
39:46
Speaker 1: All right. That's going to do it for this episode.
39:48
Speaker 2: If you want to catch it again, you can find
39:50
Speaker 2: it online at repco light dot com.
39:52
Speaker 1: Just click the on the radio.
39:53
Speaker 2: Tab on the homepage. And whatever you do today, make
39:55
Speaker 2: sure Paints a part of it.
39:57
Speaker 1: Have a great.
39:57
Speaker 2: Weekend, everybody, and I'll see you next week. For Home
40:00
Speaker 2: in Progress by Repolite Paints. I'm Dan Hansen. Thanks for listening.