Vintro@Home. The first Blog entry, the intro, the back story and the vanity

Everyone always says and asks, "does your home look just amazing, i bet it just looks amazing right"? 

I can see why people ask this, after all it is what I do for a living and something I love doing....decorative paint finishes, on furniture, floors and walls for clients, make a flat formica piece of nothing look like wood? sure, create washed marbly looking  floors in a home, yep, make an old oak cabinet look like an aged metal cabinet... can do.. my job is to create beautiful bespoke feature pieces through paint finishes . I love manipulating paint and creating effects, in particular on furniture. The last 8 years I have had the privilege of working with paints pretty much every working day, and even in my holidays (by personal choice) and Im always learning always pushing to find out more. 

I've worked with many paints.... at the very beginning with oil based paints, tried to manipulate your regular house paints (some successes some failures), and then the discovery of chalk paints, the journey has always been about finding the best products for creating a wide range of finishes with the best results and in the easiest quickest and safest way. Like many of the Vintro NZ retailers I am now a huge ambassador for Vintro Luxury Paints after having discovered it, so let's be clear these blog entries will be biased and focused on Vintro Luxury Paints but it will also be  honest. 

This year I have decided to put some order back into my home. 8 years of working most of it  6 to 7 days a week, raising a young family, along with some health hurdles and bumps along the way so in answer to the questions posed by my clients and customers noted at the start of this entry, the answer would be "Hell no...(of course I articulate this in a much more civilised way in person:-) my home over the years has become a testing station for paint. I've been spending my years making my clients furniture & home look beautiful :-)  Three colours painted in the lounge, the toilet wall has about 6 different colours and various types of paints tested on it  with vinyl splitting cracking and peeling on the floor, some rooms have paint tested the rest have just been neglected, you get the drift. 

I like to test my paints and finishes out in the real world, and my home is the perfect real world for me, with young kids, an indoor dog and a couple of rabbits that come in and out every now and then. Our home has been a victim to what I call the testing station the last 8 years, but is also the reason why we have gained all of this knowledge too, it's the only way I can feel confident in the products I use. Many products claim amazing things, for me though, if I'm going to recommend it Im going to use it, and not just in my paint studio, in my home, this is the only way I can back something wholeheartedly because it's not just about painting something beautiful it's about understanding the make up, the quality and wear and tear and how to care for things, things to be wary of and pointers for certain applications so that our customers can make an informed decision. Plus if Im going to the effort of making something beautiful I want it to last. Sometimes people think our paint is like this magical unicorn, I mean it is amazing but  "can I put a boiling hot pot on it? ahh no," it's pretty amazing paint but not bullet proof, would you put a boiling hot pot on anything? . My home and what I call my testing station has been a great learning curve and has taught me so much about paint and paint applications for both decorative and function and I'm ready to share :-) 

This little old bach which we had big dreams of renovating when we first moved in 8 years  has in 100% been neglected,  8 years ago was also the same time I got into decorative painting and it's a been a huge whirlwind since. So there couldn't be a better place to work on and do before and afters on, don't get me wrong, I do love our home even in it's shambled state, it's a reasonably organised shamble. A great outlook and spot, a minute walk from the beach with strong coastal vibes, paired with a large beautiful overgrown section...hmm that's putting it nicely, the reality is it's a bit of a overgrown jungle and some parts are a bit of a dumping ground; we have old pallets to clear along with a litany of other items! :-) it's a beautiful little place in the summer, and home is where it functionally works with your lifestyle and this place does that, but it is time we polished it up a bit. 

(These 3 paint swatches have been here for about a year now) 

Coming soon: The room that gets tested, the walls have loads of paint tested on it, the kids are great testing agents, work in progress, those nasty vinyl tiles were all cracked and gross and has just been pulled up ,those towels laid down because your feet would literally be stuck to the ground with the glue that's on there. It's the room no one likes to go into... its the one where you keep the doors closed shut when you have people over.... check out our next blog entry for the makeover of this one. 

Vintro Luxury paints allows me to merge and blur the lines between my love of decorative painting on furniture and leading this into creating bespoke interiors, these effects can now be not just decorative but functional aka I can now do it on floors and walls etc.

Metallic Gold Splash Back... why not...coming soon 

I'm not talking about the white on white with black and grey, well maybe a little of that, because in reality I do love that also but focussing on areas where you can create something a little different, a little luxurious without a lot of effort using what you have in front you. This is what vintro@home blog entry is all about, i've challenged myself to make a start on this little bach, utilizing the existing layout, no structural changes and as minimal replacement on fixtures (unless necessary)... just paint. It's a humble little bach and I'm looking forward to spending some time and a little love on it.  I love the mix of old and new, I love mixing textures in the home. I've always found it easy to help clients and customers in their homes working with their vision, putting it together for them,  but when it comes to my own home I actually find it really really hard... because I love everything, industrial, french country, midcentury, moroccan and really our home calls for coastal but I want to mix it up a little,  I love being  bold and adventurous but sometimes I play it too safe, because I also love classic and tradition so it's a balancing act but when you have the freedom of colours and finishes you can be pretty adventurous. 

From speckled formica to painted marble, yes again why not... we will be doing a review and break down of this on vintro@home soon 


Okay so we get so many questions around tiles... this is the before of our tired old tiles wait till you see the after... eee can't wait... don't laugh, those are painting work boots. 

We're a family that paints :-) that's the hubby and daughter working with Vintro on a chair at home, she's using it on her jewellery box and yep we will happily paint on the dining table with no drop cloth :-) We're busy people you know ....:-)  

 

So it's time to get creative in my own home, and I've set myself this challenge and recording it through blog entries, I'm thinking by making it public it should motivate me even more to keep at it... right?...we shall see:-)  So if you've read thus far thank you for doing so and wish me well on this journey we are calling vintro@home. It's actually quite hard to open up not just the pretty "after" photos but the before photos in a space that is so personal to you. I get a bit of anxiety over this as well as doing Videos for Vintro but this is the year to get over it :-)  

This page is also going to be dedicated to your projects at home so if you have some great photos and results please send them through Vintro Paint NZ to vintro@vintropaint.co.nz  would love to feature it, (good photos being the key here, no half chopped blurry photos lol) to follow this journey look for the Vintro @ Home logo on the images/ blog entries to follow the story. 

Thanks for Reading  the first entry and I'll catch you here next Monday!  and if you have read down this far, Lucky you :-) I have the first before and after treat for you below :-) We can't do a first entry blog post without a little before and after now can we.... so here is a look at the Vanity that was in the bathroom no body wanted to go in, just a peek at the vanity for now, we'll get some photos of the entire room on here for you soon :-) 

Vanity in Chysler No Seal Chalk Paint: 

Vintro No Seal Chalk Paint is a beautiful, quick and fast easy paint suitable for both indoors and outdoors, ideal for those who are after a one colour flat and smooth finish, yes you can manipulate the classic "Vintro Chalk Paint" to be flat and smooth by adding a little water, but my thoughts are why would you, now that NZ has access to No Seal Chalk Paint?

If I was to paint this in Chalk Paint I would have to follow with a wax or in this case a Vintro Lacquer to seal the porous paint and make it functional for use as a vanity, especially this one as the sink is so ridiculously small that often when the kids use it, water will spill over. Vintro No Seal Chalk Paint turns a two step process into one, it self levels for a stunning flat finish for even the novice painter. Designed to withstand direct sunlight, heat and water making it my paint choice for this Vanity.  This literally took me less than 20 minutes to paint. Read on. 

Painted in Vintro No Seal Chalk Paint, Handles and mirror in Artisan Company gilding wax. 

Preparation: Vintro No Seal Chalk Paint 
Okay below is the glorious before photos, super 80's style, the size is ideal for a nice small toilet, i do like that about it Made of that really unattractive cheap white veneer and what do you know, they even made the handles to match! :-) beautiful metal toilet roll holder screwed to the side of it, with a super unfunctional tiny washbasin that would only be functional if my hands were the size of crackers. So it does often get water spills out down the front and the ample space on the basin top means it will "balance" not hold a soap dispenser, or could possibly hold a worn down almost to end, bar of soap. It has a lot going for it doesn't it, but as I said in the post earlier the challenge is not to replace but to make use of what's there.... 

With Vintro No Seal Chalk Paint it is recommended that anything super shiny or glossy gets scuffed down first, this wasn't that shiny so I only cleaned it down. I did however sand the edges of the cupboard doors in 80 grit sand paper this is wear it will bang the most when opening and closing so take care to make sure  this area is not glossy or to be on the safe side, like me, just give it quick scuff, we're not talking sanding it right down but just a quick scuff to key it in. When painting something of this size I would recommend a Staalmeester flat brush no bigger than a 2 inch (another blog post is required on these amazing brushes) go for a full synthetic. I say no bigger than a 2 inch  as it forces you to work in smaller sections, on a wet edge, and doesn't pick up loads of paint forcing you to work faster, pick a brush suitable to the size of your project, it's important. I unfortunately only had a 1 1/2 inch this day, which was fine but that's just means it took me a little slower to do.. you know, 20 minutes instead of maybe 10 or 15 mins :-) Once you have your Vintro No Seal Chalk Paint, Your flat brush, quickly scuffed any areas that need it, then your free to paint your heart out and experience the amazing coverage of Vintro

First coat, of Vintro Chrysler Chalk Paint - aaaaamazing.... to see a video of me brushing this out with a Staalmeester brush and that incredible  Vintro coverage click here to view a video on the vintro@home instagram highlights 

Now things are getting exciting... with Vintro No Seal Chalk Paint you get the incredible coverage of 19.5 sqm per litre which means this will take almost nothing out of a one litre tin, however although the coverage is great, and after one coat it can look complete, done and covered,  you do still need two coats in my opinion. With a piece that will probably get cleaned down and maybe even scrubbed down. The two coats will provide  a good layer of paint and strength for use (trust me I've just recently used a steelo on my no seal kitchen cupboard door) . So two coats,  yes it took me 10 minutes to do one coat, left it to dry for an hour on a super hot NZ summers day then came back and did one more coat and that's it all done.

Handles: I was glad to be rid of the handles, yay! Handles can really just make the transformation and sometimes in my projects the handles can cost more than the paint itself but well worth it. Sometimes though like in this case the right coloured handles hardware can be super hard to find especially if you're trying to tie it in with something else,  so I purchase a pair of 9687 knobs (available from Vintro retailers) and used the Artisan company gilding wax (also available from Vintro retailers) on them to add a different finish. This beautiful highly pigmented gilding wax is stunning to work with, basically rubbed it on the handle very lightly spreading thinly which is easy to do as it's super silky thin and  pigmented then left to dry for about 20 minutes (the magic 20 minutes today)  and came back and buffed lightly with a soft cloth to a shine. I did the same with the mirror above, allowing me to tie in the handles with my mirror here's the picture of the handle before using the artisan company's gilding wax 

So that's it, Vintro No Seal, 2 coats left to dry and done, some new handles and some gilding wax for the handles and mirror... given that the basin is so small and really can't hold anything, I painted up your classic mahogany pedestal table and popped it to the side to hold a bit of greenery a soap dispenser and towel, keeping the basin top clear,  those tables are so handy!  I must admit I do love this cute little basin now, the taps however are bugging me now that I've painted it, so I think this calls for them to be painted next, might try to video that one for you, that's it from me take a look a below of the end results and my gosh if you've read this far down. Thank you!