Painting is a quick and simple way of decorating your home. Pound for pound, paint is the quickest, easiest and most economical redecorating option. Combining new colours and decorative techniques on the ceilings, walls and trim will make your property come alive again.

The first step is to prepare the area ready to paint. This important first step will save you tremendous amounts of your time later. The surfaces have to be smooth, cleaned and primed. Preparation will tremendously influence the ultimate result. Colour washing is a subtle, elegant and simple finish to master. It is a form of antiquing with the goal in making the wall looking old. Colour washing works well on textured walls as well as smooth walls. The painter would casually and lightly brush translucent coats of slightly differing colours over a base coat. To boost the effect, use much more one glaze colour and work it in slightly. A darker shade of glaze should be added all around the perimeter of the wall along with the room corners. It's a great idea to work with a partner when adding a wash on the wall. It will help to speed the process as well as helping to eliminate washing in an unconscious pattern.

Faux leather is a technique that achieves the appearance of leather or parchment. Natural leather does have imperfections, so, donot be afraid if faux leather has has the same. First a base coat is painted over the wall and allowed to dry, followed by a glaze. Before the glaze dries, thin plastic bags or sheets are used to take off the wet glaze. This step creates a subtle texture and calming finish.

Ragging is used to create a diverse texture. It should help conceal an uneven surface. First a solid colour base coat of paint is applied to the surface and allowed to dry. Then a layer of glaze is applied with some of it removed before it dries. Roll a dry, loosely wrapped rag through the glaze to generate the required texture. Various textures may be created depending on the texture of the rag used. Cotton tee-shirts work best, but rags can also be purchased at home or car centres. When choosing colours for the base coat and glaze, choose colours that are close on the colour wheel.

Doors and windows are manufactured using lengths of timber with grain patterns that as you might expect run in several directions. To attain an even, professional-looking finish, free from brush marks, you will need to paint them in the sequence that takes account of the grain. Think in advance when painting windows using oil-based paints, as they might take longer to dry than you expect. Or use water-based paint, that dries more rapidly and releases much less odour and fumes.

An important step in painting is to enjoy yourself and take your time. Very often you can find that the more fun you have, the greatest the final result will turn out. The final result will definitely be worth the wait.