Paint or Wallpaper? | E-Home Advisor - 5/30/15 - Capell Flooring and Interiors

Hi Friends,

If you’re considering home renovation, what do you choose for your walls? Paint and wallpaper each have their advantages, so let’s look at the pros and cons.

Your choice will hinge on four factors:

1. Budget 
2. Who does the work
3. Condition of the walls
4. “Scrubbability”

These factors are interrelated.  If you’re on a very limited budget, then you’re doing the work yourself and water-based paint is the obvious choice.  Numbers 3 and 4 will not enter into consideration. 

Paint is generally less expensive than wall coverings.  There’s a certain amount of masking, mess and cleanup involved, but you don’t need to be an expert to do a reasonable job.  

You may choose water-based or oil-based paints.  The former are easier to work with, since they’re water-soluble, but are not as washable after the walls are painted.  With oil-based paints, you need turpentine for brush-cleaning, but the surfaces stand more washing.  

If your budget is a little more generous, professional painters do a superlative job, can execute more advanced painting techniques and clean up after themselves!  

Wallpaper tends to be more expensive than paint but doesn't require as much masking and finishing.  Once you've mastered some basic techniques, like overlapping and matching patterns, it’s not that difficult.  Plus “wallpaper” doesn't begin to describe the wide range of wall coverings now available.

Here again, if you don’t have the time or can’t stand ladders, professionals are available to do the job for you.

The final two factors are often overlooked.  If you have children or pets you’ll know about “scrubbability” – choose a heavy-duty oil-based paint or a tough vinyl wall covering.  

If you are redecorating in an older home, where the walls are uneven, paint will show up every defect and wall coverings are a better choice.

In the end, whether you choose paint or wallpaper, the range of options now on the market contains something for everyone.

Your Flooring Consultant,

Matt Capell
President of Capell Flooring and Interiors

P.S. Get your FREE carpet spotting guide by clicking here to get help getting out those pesky stains.

P.S.S. Click here to read some testimonials from some of wonderful clients like you.

How Do We Make Color? | E-Home Advisor - 5/23/15 - Capell Flooring and Interiors

Hi Friends,

Color is a large part of our lives, though we usually overlook it. In the emotional range,
from "seeing red" to "feeling blue", color is everywhere. If you were inclined toward puns, you might say it "colors our experience".

But have you ever wondered where all the colors we see come from?

Our inspiration is found in the gorgeous hues of the natural world: the yellow of a daffodil, the blue of a clear sky, the red of a ruby. But when it comes to manufactured goods, all those shades and tints must come from somewhere.

Let's take paint for example. Generally, paint has four components:

• Pigment – provides color
• Resin – holds pigment particles together, helps adhere to the painted surface
• Solvent – in which you dissolve the pigment and resin
• Additives – various optional ingredients to improve qualities of the paint

So where do the pigment particles come from? Does some chemist wave a magic wand and produce Orange Umber?

The answer is more down to earth. Some paint pigments are made from plant sources, some from mineral sources. Because plant-based pigments aren't as durable, most industrial paint today is made from minerals.

Here are some of the sources for these prime pigment colors:
Titanium Dioxide – White
Iron Oxide – Yellow, Brown, Red or Orange
Chromium Oxide – Green
Cobalt Oxide – Blue
Carbon – Black

Of course if you want to make very special paint – as has been done in many cultures down through history – you could grind the pigment from semi-precious stones like turquoise, jade or lapis lazuli!

Your Flooring Consultant,
Matt Capell
President of Capell Flooring and Interiors

P.S. We recently got awarded with Best of Houzz Service Award 2015 - click here to read about it.

How much money can I save? | E-Home Advisor 5/16/15 - Capell Flooring and Interiors

Dear Friends,

Most of us experience stress over money matters at least some of the time, but have you ever really considered how much the little stuff adds up?

If we go through a simple day we can see how much is “on the table” for potential savings.  For the sake of argument, let’s assume these are things you do 5 times a week, like on a normal work/school day.

Stop by the local coffee shop and pick up your favorite brew - $4
Brew a cup at home and carry it with you - $1
Saving per day - $3
Savings per year - $780

Make that a super duper latte, a cookie and a tip - $10
Drink from home, skip the cookie - $1
Saving per day - $9
Savings per year $2,340

Snack – chocolate bar and soda - $5
Snack – berries, nuts & water from home - $1
Saving per day - $4
Savings per year - $1,040

Lunch out - $10
Lunch from home - $4
Saving per day - $6
Savings per year - $1,560

Here are some things you might spend money on once a week:

Buy your favorite mag/new songs - $8
Read/play online - $1
Potential savings per week - $7
Potential savings per year – $364

Go to the movies - $10
Watch one at home - $1
Potential savings per week - $9
Potential savings per year - $468

By making these simple changes in your life – and nothing else – your total savings per year potentially add up to over $6,500.  At that rate you could throw $1,500 back into the budget and take yourself out to lunch once a week.

What do you think you’d do with the other $5,000?

Sincerely,

Matt Capell - President - Capell Flooring and Interiors, Meridian, Idaho

P.S. Who is the next person you know who needs new flooring right now?  Can I count on you to pass my name along to them?  You’ll be doing them a tremendous favor by referring them to a professional they can trust.  Plus you’ll be rewarded for your referrals!  Thank you!