If you’re updating the look of your home’s interior, and you want to add flavor to a room with an accent wall, then you’re facing a few decisions. You may find yourself asking: What color would look best as an accent in this room? Which wall would work best as an accent? And should I even have an accent wall at all?

Your options may seem overwhelming. But don’t fret, painting your home’s interior is an opportunity to get creative. And if you follow a few of our pointers, you’re sure to settle on the right paint scheme and accent walls to suit your space. Here’s our advice on how to choose your home’s accent walls.

Should You Accent?

Before we dive in, let’s just dip our toes in the water and ask the question: Should you accent a wall in your room at all? While accents look great in all sorts of rooms — from your hallway to the master bedroom — sometimes they just don’t gel well with the rest of the home. That may prove true with larger rooms, where an accent wall would only make the space feel even larger or overwhelming. Save your accent walls for smaller spaces that would benefit from a creative addition. Take note that accent walls often seem to expand the size of a room, and they can be an useful tool to guide someone’s eye towards something (like a painting), and away from something else (like a big, empty wall). If you’re considering an accent wall that really doesn’t accomplish any of these goals, then it may be unnecessary or even detrimental to the overall look of your space. On the other hand, accents are more often tasteful and exciting, when they make sense in a space.

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Ask Yourself: What Am I Accenting?

greyaccent 5d518b5110e96 - Tip of the Month: How to Choose Your Accent Walls - Horner PaintingNow that you know you should apply an accent color, you’ll have to ask yourself: What, exactly, am I accenting? There may be many answers to that one question. You may be accenting a wall that has an interesting shape — perhaps it captures the angles of the ceiling. Or, you may have an accent wall that frames a favorite painting — you’ve even chosen a paint color that heightens the unique colors of the painting itself. Maybe you’ve opted to accent a wall with navy blue in order to bring out the navy blue furniture that you’ve sprinkled throughout the space (including navy blue pillows, arm chairs, and lamp shades). If you’re just painting an accent wall without any intention, it may just seem out of place.

Think Small

While accent wall colors are often big, bold, striking hues, they are more successful when the wall itself is a smaller wall in the room. Remember, it is an accent after all. When picking the wall that you’d like to accent in a space, consider the smallest walls in the room first. From there, you may want to pick a wall that has some interesting features (perhaps it is broken up by the mantle and brickwork of your fireplace). Or you may choose a wall that works well as a backdrop for other features in your room (like that avocado green sectional sofa that everyone loves). Regardless of the intention of your accent wall, it will prove successful if you stick to a smaller wall, where the accent color will pop out, instead of overpowering the space.

Accent Walls Are Often Pushed Back

If you have a wall in a room that is recessed, or appears pushed back compared to other walls, then it may just be the ideal candidate for an accent. Recessed walls are often intriguing and eye-catching, and since they’re recessed, they’re often the smallest walls in a given room anyway (which is, as we just mentioned, a good trait for an accent wall). Consider the following examples: A kitchen with an accent wall below the cabinets and above the granite countertops; a living room with a recessed wall that opens up into a staircase; a bathroom with a recessed wall that features the vanity mirror. In these instances, the recessed walls naturally attract attention and intrigue, and they may further be highlighted with a creative accent.

Pick a Color and Try It

brownaccent 5d518b771a8f8 - Tip of the Month: How to Choose Your Accent Walls - Horner PaintingHave you settled on a wall that could favor an accent color? Well it’s time to select a color. Choosing an accent color can be intimidating on its own, but fortunately, you can always take home paint swatches and try small patches of paint to see what works best. Be sure to grab a dozen or so paint swatches if you’re looking for the perfect color for an accent wall, and don’t hesitate to pick out a few bolder hues that may seem to be too much at first — you may be surprised at what works in your space. Compare your paint swatches with other paint colors that you’re using for your walls. And compare your paint swatches with other features of the room, including the flooring, the molding, furniture throughout the room, the curtains on the windows, et cetera. Once you have the right color and the right wall, you’re ready to apply a coat of paint — we’d be happy to help!

Home Painting Starts Here

For an interior look that you’ll love, you can always count on the crew here at Horner. We proudly paint homes for our neighbors across the Front Range from our home here in Fort Collins — we provide service throughout Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Windsor, Johnstown, Wellington, Severance, and Timnath. If you’re ready to kick off your project, or if you need advice about the paint colors and accent walls of your home, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

During the dark, cold days of winter, you may ultimately ignore your garage except when you are entering and exiting your vehicle. For many homeowners, we may do a decent job of keeping our homes clean, but our garages can quickly become cluttered and dirty. In fact, even the thought of cleaning and organizing your garage might cause you to shudder with fear. Although it could take as long as your entire weekend to complete, cleaning your garage could give you quite the peace of mind. Harboring all kinds of useless clutter can overwhelm you, but a clean, clutter-free garage can fill you with a sense of satisfaction.

Where Do I Begin?

Your garage may indeed be such a mess that you wonder where you should even begin. You’re probably not going to like this answer, but the best way to start is by hauling everything out of your garage. It’s best to start with a clean slate for optimal and not half-assed results. This means removing lawn mowers, tools, bikes, shovels, boxers, and all of that other junk in your garage.

Sweep

Much to your dismay, your garage can be a cesspool for dead bugs, dirt, and other nasty debris. Give your space a nice, intense sweep to start anew and get rid of nasty deceased critters.

Air It Out

You may notice that your garage smells downright disgusting, so it’s time to take some action. Leave your garage door open for several hours to air out your space while running some fans to circulate as much air as possible. This could be a great time to organize your tools, which might involve installing a pegboard into your garage. Would you like to free up some space in your garage? Maybe you could install a bike rack into one of your walls as well.

Deodorize Those Walls

Spray your walls with undiluted white vinegar to deodorize your garage. Undiluted vinegar could make your eyes water, but it’s nontoxic. Once the walls are dry, the odor goes away. However, you should always add a few drops of essential oil to mask the scent. Leave out open boxes of baking soda in several areas in your garage to keep odors at bay.

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Oil Marks

Oil spots can be cleaned with by mixing one-third a cup of laundry detergent with a gallon of warm or hot water for small stains. If you have a particularly large stain, try applying the detergent mixture to the stain and then covering it with a thin layer of kitty litter overnight. The next day, use your heel to grind that kitty litter into the stain and sweep it up. Follow by using a garden hose to rinse it. For the toughest oil stains of all, use a concrete degreaser to clean it.

Seal Cracks

Unfortunately, the salt you use to melt ice in your driveway could create cracks in your garage floor. Use a polymer crack sealant to cover any cracks in your floor.

Your local, Fort Collins-based painting contractors here at Horner Painting would be happy to power wash and paint your garage. Contact our house painters today to learn more. We offer the highest-quality services, and we would love to add you to our list of happy clients.

Your home is looking a little less than enticing lately, and we at Horner Painting know why. Perhaps your paint is beginning to chip off, or maybe the Colorado sun is beginning to fade the vibrant color that was once there. Regardless, it’s time to contact Fort Collins' house painting professionals here at Horner Painting! We know exactly what it takes to give you a job well done, and our team of experts is ready to give your home the exterior paintwork it needs to shine. Before any large painting project, we need to make sure that the area we are working on is level and smooth.

Preparation Matters

While it might be easy to think of house painting as a simple process, this is not the case! You may have heard the old adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and we have found that to be true. In order to prevent any serious problems from happening in the future, we do our best to give ourselves the best canvas possible. This includes filling in nail holes, scraping away the old paint, and checking for any decaying or cracked wood. Neglecting these things can lead to huge problems within just a few years.

Drip Edges

One of the most important pieces of your home is the drip edge flashing placed along windows and doors. This is usually used when a home is first built. While most new homes have this drip edge already, older homes may only have caulk keeping the elements out of the home. If water is leaking into your home through your windows or doors, any paint in that area might show it. Check for discoloration, peeling, or blistering paint. As easy as it would be to paint over the problem areas, we can guarantee that the final look will not be what you were hoping for. These surfaces do not hold primer well, so the caulking needs to be taken out. All repair work has to be done before we can apply the primer and apply the color to your home! Getting rid of mold and mildew is never enough - we need to be sure that these problems won’t come back!

Sanding and Powerwashing

In order to get the old paint off of your home, we need to sand it off. Yes, taking off the old paint might be a little bit of a chore, but our house painting professionals are prepared to take this task on for you. The condition of the exterior of your home is going to determine how the final product looks! Powerwashing is also recommended, as chalk deposits tend to build up on the paint. If a surface has not been cleaned, then the new paint can trap dirt and pollutants underneath. This can lead to an uneven look that you won’t be pleased with.

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Contact the House Painting Professionals

When it comes to exterior painting, be sure to call Horner Painting! Our team of professionals is proud to serve Northern Colorado residents and with painting services for their homes.

At Horner Painting, we care about giving you the best painting service possible for your Fort Collins home. That’s why we are here to answer any and all of the questions you might have about having the exterior of your house painted. When you are looking for house painting professionals who can deliver a job well done in a timely manner, there is no better team to call than Horner Painting! We've proudly served Northern Colorado for decades with home painting services from our hometown of Fort Collins. Read on to learn more from our painting experts.

When should I repaint the exterior of my house?

That depends on what your home is made from! If your exterior siding is wooden, it should be recoated every five years or so. Stucco can be painting less frequently, assuming that the exterior is still in good condition and free of any cracks. If your siding or shingles are stained, that should be touched up every three years to keep the wood sealed and prevent the color from turning to gray. Of course, if you are just looking for a new color to change up your home, that’s a great reason to repaint as well!

What are the steps of painting the exterior of my home?

When we do exterior house painting, we have three crucial steps:

  1. Scrape, sand, and wash - We want to be sure that all loose and failing paint is removed. We also want to wash the house thoroughly to prevent any dirt from getting trapped beneath our new layer of paint.
  2. Prime and seal - This is where we protect the home by masking off the windows and other fixtures to ensure that paint doesn’t go anywhere it isn’t supposed to. Then, we apply primer. If we need to seal any cracks or uneven surfaces, we also use this step to give our team the smoothest and easiest canvas possible.
  3. Finish coat - This is the color! We have several methods we use to ensure that each surface is evenly coated and that overall product is one you can be proud to show off.

How should I choose the color?

This is really up to you, but we suggest looking at any pre-existing qualities about the house that you don’t really want to change. For example, the way your driveway looks, the color of your roof, and any patio you might have can determine some good guidelines for choosing your color. You will also want to see what colors are prevalent in your neighborhood to see what fits well. If you have any interesting architectural features of your home that you want to enhance, you can choose colors that match well together.

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Contact Us

When it comes to finding house painting professionals, there is no team you can trust more than Horner Painting. We have the equipment, knowledge, and experience needed to turn your home into the beautiful, eye-catching structure you’ve always dreamed it would be. Your Fort Collins home deserves the very best in color, which is why we are here to always provide a job well done. Give us a call today to get started!

When it comes to preparing for your new little bundle of joy to arrive, make sure you trust the professionals at Horner Painting of Fort Collins to do the painting portion for you! Our painting contractors are ready to help you find the perfect color choice and give you the nursery you’ve always dreamed your little one would have. Here are some of the ways you can prepare for your nursery other than just the paint color choice.

Choose a Theme

Not only will a nursery theme help you select the wall colors, but it will also help you plan your decorations for the room, as well as give those who attend your baby shower some suggestions on what they can get you to match the theme! For example, if you want a Mickey Mouse themed nursery, you could choose to put a decal of the castle on the wall and find red accents to go in the room. If you are interested in a global theme, you can find an airplane mobile and hang maps on a cool, baby blue wall. Plus, the more you enjoy the theme, the more you will enjoy being in the nursery with your little one.

Art Makes a Difference

If you want a softly colored wall so as to not draw too much attention, we think that’s a great idea. However, if you still want color, find some colorful posters and frame them! The artwork doesn’t necessarily need to be themed for babies - in fact, anything colorful or interesting will do! That might mean a geometric poster you find online or even a favorite movie poster. Your baby won’t really notice, so feel free to get creative with it!

Gray Is Good

We don’t mean that you need to paint the walls gray, (although, that is certainly an option) but we do know that finding gray furniture can be helpful when it comes to stains and aging. Sure, that white armchair looks great in your nursery, but how will it look in a year or so after it has been stained and caught its fair share of messes? Choosing gray or other neutral colors can keep the room looking light while still allowing for stain prevention.

Gender Doesn’t Limit Color Options

Whatever color you want in your baby’s nursery is up to you! There is no reason to strictly adhere to any rules in regards to gender or any other nursery tradition. A baby boy doesn’t mean you need to choose blue - choose lavender, green, orange, whatever you would like! Your baby won’t know the difference, and it’s most important that you enjoy the atmosphere as you go in and out of the nursery.

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Painting Contractors for Your Fort Collins Nursery

When it comes to preparing your nursery for your little bundle of joy, it’s time to call the professional painting contractors at Horner Painting of Fort Collins! We have the tools, experience, and dedication you need to get a job well done every time. Contact us today to learn what we can do for your home. We provide painting services throughout Northern Colorado.

Humans spend about a third of their lives asleep, so it’s safe to say that you probably spend quite a bit of time in your master bedroom. If you don’t wake up feeling relaxed and at ease in your bedroom, it might be time to consider changing things around. The painting contractors here at Horner Painting of Fort Collins are ready to help you transform your space and turn your master bedroom into a room that you will happily return to at the end of your day. If you are looking for painting ideas, we are here to share some of our favorites with you.

Tying the Look Together

Does your master bedroom have a bathroom attached? What about a walk-in closet? The paint colors don’t necessarily need to be the same in each of these spaces; however, they certainly should complement one another and tie the look together. Choosing an accent color for one room and bringing that same color into the next room creates a natural flow from one room to the next.

Choosing the Mood

You’ve probably heard it time and time again, but your color selection will change the way your rooms feel. Brighter colors, such as red and yellow, add vibrancy and energy to a room. If you are worried about having too much of a good thing, select an accent wall to make bright and colorful while making the other ones more neutral. This can keep your bedroom relaxed enough for you to rest peacefully, yet still bring the energy you’re searching for into the space.

Be Guided By Your Passions

No matter what your favorite color may be, whether it’s green, yellow, blue or red, you can find a way to incorporate it into your bedroom space. Green and blue are particularly great for bedroom space, especially with a white trim. These colors keep the space soft and calm while still creating a vibrancy that will feel inspiring and uplifting.

Blue specifically is a natural choice for the bedroom, and it creates a beautiful background for any classic furniture pieces or artwork. If you are put off by a dark blue, that’s perfectly alright! There are plenty of lighter tones for those who dislike anything too dark or bold. No matter what your tastes, there is a blue that will fit in perfectly into your master bedroom.

For bolder colors, such as red, you need to exercise caution. They can still be used, of course, but they must be approached strategically in order to not overpower the room. Red is a stimulating color, as are yellow and orange. Try choosing a muted version of your favorites, or use them in the space behind your headboard or over large windows to give yourself breaks in the color. The professionals at Horner Painting can guide you when it comes to color selection, so don’t hesitate to ask!

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Contact Us

If you are ready for a new look in your home, it’s time to call the painting contractors at Horner Painting! We can create a space that will turn your master bedroom into a true oasis. Contact us now to learn more and set up an appointment. We provide service throughout Loveland, Fort Collins, and much of Northern Colorado!

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