“Will this  paint color work?” is a question many of our Tuolumne County customers have asked us. As luck would have it, color consultation is one of the many services we offer.  Here are some questions we’ll be asking you in our initial consultation:

1) What end goal do you have in mind? 

Do you want a sharp, contemporary feel for entertaining guests?  A warm, rustic space for unwinding at the end of the day? Would you like the room to feel cozy or expansive? All of the above? Here’s some supplementary reading to get a feel for your options.  

2)Are you remodeling or refurnishing your home?

If you’ll also be changing your flooring, countertops, fixtures and so on, have samples of those available. It’s much easier to match a paint to these design elements than the other way around.  There’s nearly an infinite number of paint choices, but only a finite number of couch and countertop choices.  It should be noted that we’re able to rehab those old cabinets.

3)Are you planning on painting/remodeling multiple rooms?  

Making your home the best version of itself is a holistic process.  One thing we’ll be considering is how your paint choices flow from one room to the next.  

Testing

After your consultation, we’ll be helping you test some possible paint choices. We can lay down some test paint on a wall, or apply some to a  board if you prefer. Our homes and our lives are dynamic things and we’ll want to make sure the paint choice works well in all scenarios. Spend some time with your test paint midday with natural light and then again in the evening with light fixtures blazing.  Examine your paint choice in the morning with some coffee and again while having dinner.

Explore

While we’re happy to guide you through the selection process from beginning to end, many options exist for you to explore your choices independently.

Found a color you like in a magazine or on Pinterest? Try using the Dunn Edwards InstaColor app.  You can point your phone camera at the image and it will give you a paint match.  Take a photo of a room you’d like to paint and you can virtually apply your color.

Knowing the vocabulary of paint world may help you better discover what you are looking for and articulate what you want.  We throw around terms like hue and tint but what do they actually mean?  This article explains it all.  And sheen?  Not just an actor.  Read this to help you differentiate flat from matte. 

Sean McCoy has been in the painting business for 40 years and has been a painter in Tuolumne and Calaveras County since 2003.  Call (209) 588-1741 or email for a free estimate.      

Can you Paint or Refinish My Cabinets?

Yes!  Many a Tuolumne County painter have been asked this question.  Mountain communities surrounding Sonora and Murphys are littered with homes built in an era when dark, natural wood finishes were a popular choice in home decor.  Though it is puzzling why the woody cave look of yesteryear was so popular, it is clear that the majority of 21st century homeowners prefer a brighter interior.  So what to do with those old wood cabinets……

Restoring vs. Replacing

If you’re considering replacing your cabinets, ask yourself the following questions:

1)Are you willing to roll the dice with cheaper factory-made cabinets or the quoted delivery date of a local cabinet maker?

2)Are you prepared to be exiled from your kitchen while the cabinets are removed and replaced?

3)Are you ready to deal with yet another contractor for the cabinet installation?

Cabinets fitting in seamlessly with other design elements.

The Cabinet Restoration Advantage

When we paint or refinish cabinets, we can match them perfectly with other elements of your interior such as countertops, flooring and walls.  By hand painting the boxes and removing the facing for a spray job elsewhere, we allow you use of your kitchen while the work is being done.  Our low-voc finishing product is free of noxious fumes that can linger for weeks or months.  

Though grandma’s cabinets may look disagreeable now, don’t send them to the dump before contacting us.  People are often surprised at the new life we can breath into them.  

Sean McCoy has been in the painting business for 40 years and has been a painter in Tuolumne and Calaveras County since 2003.  Call (209) 588-1741 or email for a free estimate.      

These videos show us pre-finishing trim before it is installed at the job. We pre-sand, stain control, stain, spray sanding sealer, sand, and spray full coat of finish.

We do this out of house, in this case an empty airplane hanger, to minimize the impact on our customers living space. Contractors as well as homeowner can take advantage of this service.

Please call with any question about finishing servicing surrounding areas of Sonora, California

License No. 822616