Project of a month - October

One more Strata Building make over. This one is in Dee Why.

Val, the lovely older lady who is managing the property and owns an apartment here since the building was built in 60’s – is a great story teller! Hard to believe, but this was a very first building of a brand new green field subdivision. The land was previously owned by the Salvation Army, and the condition of property sale was that residents are not allowed to consume an alcohol. How peculiar!

And apparently Paul Hagan was growing up in this block! Val was telling stories of former residents “…We had those Hogans living here. Their young sun Paul was very naughty. The mother was always telling him off and saying – you will not end up well…” And then he grew up to become everyone’s favorite Paul Hogan! How funny!

After



Confirming colours



Before

Do man really colour blind?

So many times I witnessed woman teasing man about being colour blind. It got me interested to do a small research.

Aparently colour deficiency is much more common in (European) man (8%) then woman (0.4%). This is not an urban myth! This is because it is linked to the X chromosome. Man only have one X chromosome and would get a colour deficiency if it’s impaired. Woman with one good X chromosome will still recognise colours.

So ladies – next time a guy asks you if something matches, just give him a hand!

Whant a quick test? Within patters below are dots which form a number visible to those with a normal colour vision.

How to paint ceilings without damaging walls & furniture

Want to paint ceilings and worry that your walls or belongings can get damaged? Can’t move all furniture away? No need to stress out about!

This is what the preparation for a ceiling panting should look like. We seal with plastic drop sheets & tape all walls and cover all furniture. Obviously this is in addition to the canvas drop sheets that cover all floors. Only after everything is safely covered we would start repairs and painting.

I’m not going to hide – it is time & labour consuming work. But once we safely cover everything your walls and furniture will be protected even from tiny paint over-splash from a roller.

We always use new plastic drop sheet. We never reuse them, as over-splash from previous work would get on your furniture and can stick to it, or just create dust and dirt around your house. New drop sheets ensure your house will stay clean.

Feel confident your ceiling painting will be quick and safe? Concact Ol’ Painting for no obligation quote.

Project of the month - August 2

One more strata project completed – this one is a large art deco apartment block in Point Piper.

We had to collaborat with other traders here - all brickwork was repainted and front wall recalled and we did painting as a part of the same project. We had to schedule our works so we all can work of one scaffold, to minimise inconvenience and cost to the residents. So the work was done in stages over few months.

Stencilled & wallpapered ceilings

I was searching for some stencilles for a client when I came across these amaizing ceilings of the Peacock Pavilion rooms by decorative painter Melanie Royals from Royal Design Studios! Absolutely astonishing!

If you like to re-create the look check online stencil store at Royal Design Studios. Or you can use wallpaper can create a similar feel. And if you are in Sydney - contact Ol'Painting to book your project!

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Cool & easy designer's metal look by Liquid Metal

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Remember Sydney’s 3 Wise Monkeys Pub? Did you know that the iconic front sculpture is actually made out of an artist foam and covered in Liquid Metal! It’s cool, light, and looks and feels just like a real metal!

If you have a vision of a unique metal architectural or décor item, but hesitate at the though of complicated custom welding, casting, and expensive price tag – we suggest you check Liquid Metal Technologies (LMT) products.

This Australian company manufactures unique metal finishes that can be applied in cold liquid form to virtually any surface – timber, plastic, PVC, foam, ceramic, etc. Unlike metallic paints these are real metals in liquid form. It gives a surface a real look and feel of a solid metal.

LMT product range is impressive – they basically can provide any metal, and in many finishes. They also have a ready to install panels in variety of textures.

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Project of the month - August 1

Looking today at this gorgeous and spacious Surry Hills terrace it is hard to imagine that just few months ago this was a tiny dilapidated house! It was just redesigned and renovated by talented Jonathan Clarke from Urban Interior Design.

I do not recall such a spacious & brilliantly designed terrace (and I have painted a couple hundreds of them!). Helping to transform this tiny dark house was transformed into such a retreat was amasing. I’m still not sure where the light & space came from. Looking from the street you would never guess how large the house is inside - 3 high ceiling levels, 3 bedrooms (one with a study), 3 bathrooms, a dressing room, large kitchen, dining & living, & lots of light!

Courtyard is my favourite part of the house! How gorgeous are these manicured trees and antique mirrored French doors & shutters that Jonathan searched and selected in France himself! Some people just so talented!

Domestic Blitz Nomination Form

Renovations shows are if a great interest to me. But Channel 9’s Domestic Blitz is one of my favourite! The great work they do for the inspiring families in need never fail to amaze me.

Right now they are looking for families to help! If you knows someone who is going through some tough times and need a help – put their name on a list. Here is an online nominating form.
Keep in mind - they can only consider people who own their home (this includes properties with mortgages), not renting. Don't tell the person you are nominating them. Domestic Blitz is based on surprise!

National Treasure. Project of the month - August

The best thing about our work is that we get to meet some incredible people and learn some fascinating stories. But this is perhaps the best of all!

We did some project for a lovely family. As we helped them to move furniture to a new place the lady told us a story of her grandad. On 9 July 1900 on his property in UK and in this very chair was signed the Commonwealth of Australian Constitution Act! This it a true national treasure!!!

Most of furniture and the table a family donated to museums. But they kept this chair. I can't wait to hear the rest of the story tomorrow!

How to get timber turn a beautiful silver grey?

The naturally aged “silver grey” timber becomes very popular, as we search for low maintenance, environmental solutions and a look. Cedar is best known for it’s beautiful natural grey. But any exterior timber can be used to reach this effect.

However, without regular treatment any wood will become discoloured, weathered, mouldy, and cracked. The best product to let timber age naturally into a beautiful silver grey is Cutek® Wood Preservative, or its low VOC version Cutek CD50® LVOC. It’s quite expensive, but it’s worth it.

Cutek® Wood Preservative is a timber oil. Literally! It’s a fatty liquid, like a cooking oil you buy in a supermarket, but specially formulated for the timber. It does not create a hard finish coat, like a decking coat or varnish. Instead it gets absorbed deep into the timber, like shown on a picture.

If you want to get a silver grey timber look – use colourless oil. Initially timber will look golden, as if varnished. But with time it will turn a nice silver grey.

Cutek oil is water repellent, fungus and mould resistant. It does not peel or crack. Instead it will fade gracefully over the time. It has to be reapplied every 1-3 years – when oil starts to wash off. Application takes time. It requires 2-3 coats at least 1 week apart, so oil can absorb in a timber. If your timber is old and weathered it has to be cleaned and restored first.

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Project of the month - July 1

OL’ Painting just completed internal common areas painting of this Seaforth waterfront apartment block – walls, ceilings, unit, service and lift doors.

Painting unit doors always requires a good communications. We have to arrange each door to be open for few hours on 2 occasions – to put 2 coats of paint.

For resident’s convenience this is scheduled on weekends, few levels at the time. At the beginning of the project we send every resident a clear schedule with exact dates unit dors on their level will be painted. Then we simply stick to this schedule. If some people can’t be at home during scheduled days – they can contact us to arrange an individual appointment at time convenient to them.

The difference a good paintwork can do!

A lot is said about a difference and painting can do. But a picture worth a thousand words!

These photos are of two almost identical Kings Cross buildings. One was recently repainted in a fabulous colour scheme (it was mentioned in my post on the feature doors). Other one was neglected for a long time.

Guess which of two buildings reached a street record unit price? Which has a triple rent?

Ol’Painting in NRMA motorcycle campaign

Our manager Oleksandra with 4 other bikers went yesterday on the photo-shoot for the new NRMA motorcycle safety campaign by a talented photographer Dan Luke.

It’s freezing, windy and very wet in Sydney. The shoot took place in the Royal National Park - a long way from home and work. Oleksandra showed up back to the office late afternoon soaking wet, cold, and exhausted. Hope her effort will help to make roads safer for a motorbike riders!

Photos (drafts for now) by Dan Luke.

Check his website! He's so talanted!

Ol' Painting Kili Expedition on front page of OCRF

I just noticed that a story on Ol’Painting Kilimanjaro fundraising expedition made to the front page of the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation website. And they also created a separate page about us. Thank you guys! We are only happy we could help somehow!

Project of the month - June 2

We are spraying metal window frames. Again!
I have 2-3 jobs like this every month – units, houses, offices, train stations...

Spray painting it’s an excellent way to give your tired old metal window frames a fresh look! And it cost much less then getting new windows. We use airless spray and 2 pack epoxy paint for extra durability.

Spraying itself does not take that much time. If you prepare everything all house windows can be sprayed in just few hours.

But preparation is a killer! We spend days masking windows of this house (it has lots of windows!). But preparations are not the place to rush and is a very-very careful work. Everything exposed will be painted; everything not sealed off completely will get over-splash. So bit, but bit everything that isn’t getting painted has to be covered up. If it gets too frustrated – just take a deep breath and go back to work. But after everything is sprayed and covering paper is removed – you get a grate painted finish!

Top 10 feature front door colour

Most of people simply continue their colour scheme from the rest of the house to the front door. But you may find going against the common rule very rewarding. After reading this article I was inspired to search for the best feature colours for the entry door.

Check my top 10 picks! What door colour you liked the most?

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