Contrary to what has been thought, bringing the Tuscany atmosphere into your home is not at all difficult. In fact, with simple house painting in the Bay Area, you can have the Tuscan look you want to achieve. You can have this look by doing the painting job yourself or, better yet, by hiring professionals to be sure that your home looks great.
The Tuscan style has become popular in many homes in the Bay Area because its aged, sun-burnt, and weathered appearance evokes a warm and welcoming ambience. The Tuscan uses a number of materials that range from leather, terra cotta, and tile to marble, wrought iron, wood, and copper. Colors used include rust red, dark warm brown, burnt orange, olive green, sunshine yellow and deep Mediterranean blue. These colors are strongly associated with this style. The Tuscan look is quite versatile — it can appear charmingly rustic at one time and then look elegant the next. And most of all, this style is incredibly easy to achieve! The elements are available in home improvement and retail stores all over the United States.
Start off with basecoat that is neutral. Usually this will be off-white or basic eggshell; you could also use very light brown. Then allow it to dry for at least 24 hours before moving on to the next step. Decide if you want to add texture or if you’ll use just color for an element of interest.
If your next step is to add texture, then start by mixing a little base color with joint compound until it looks like thick cake batter. To achieve the stucco-like texture, you will want to use a spreader – regular or comb-edge. Next, start adding the mixture to the walls. You don’t want an even coat. You want it to be thicker in some places on the wall and thinner in others so it gives the uneven, weathered look you want.
But if you decide to use color only, the next step is to grab a rag or sponge. This will be used to add a wash of color to the walls. Allow this layer to dry completely (at least 24 hours) and then go on to the next step.
Here is where you add the details if you want. Remember that doing this can either make the whole look more beautiful, or make it look worse. You can achieve well-placed details in several ways such as using stencils to add grape vines, or you can make brick or stone shapes with a sponge. For a more “aged” effect, antiquing or crackle glaze can be painted on the wall. If you have a remarkably artistic hand in particular, you can also paint mural with grape vines, terra cotta buildings, and rolling hills in the distance.
Or if you’d like to add more depth to your walls, use two accent colors. For example, use a lighter color (like yellow) as your first accent color. Mix in enough water to make the paint runny. A 2.5 inch brush dipped into the mixture and dabbed on your wall, leaving it drip for a while, will create uneven lines on the wall. Blend the drips into the background color, by using a simple wet sponge. To make a second accent color, use a cool, dark color (like olive green) and add water to make it fairly thin. Use a flat-edged brush, dip it into your mixture and add diagonal lines to the walls. Dab it with a clean rag to soften the lines. Do this step again but using a warm dark color such as brick red. The outcome of doing this method is a more aged and weathered look on the walls. If something doesn’t look just right, you can make the needed adjustments to it. For instance, for spots that are too dark, you can brighten them with a lighter accent mixture. If there are areas that don’t have accents, you can add them there.
Once all the detail work has dried for at least 24 hours, seal the walls to keep them looking great as well as to add another layer of protection. Two coats of sealer are usually preferable. You can add decorations and accessories. And it’s done! From a simple method such as house painting in the Bay Area, you can now enjoy the beauty of Tuscany right in your own home!