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HC-80 Bleeker Beige

The warmest of the medium toned neutrals, is HC-80 Bleeker Beige. While it can be considered a taupey beige, it carries a hint of gray to create a soft, subtle beige. This pairs well with creams and off whites, as well as warmer, more traditional colours like reds, olives and burnt oranges. It’s also a colour that backdrops mahogany or reddish undertone wood furniture well!

OC-15 Baby Fawn

OC-15 Baby Fawn and HC-173 Edgecomb Gray are one in the same! This historical colour also found in the off-whites, is adeptly placed in both. It’s one of the darkest off-whites you’ll find in the off-white section, but maintains a light-to-medium tone within the historical colours. Truer to the name OC-15 Baby Fawn, in my opinion, is an ever so slightly flesh-pink tone you’d expect to see from a baby fawn indeed! It’s a highly versatile greige; a soft, milky beige, that creates a blend of warmth and familiarity. These factors lend it to be a popular resale home colour.

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CC-490 Stone Hearth

CC-490 Stone Hearth is a slightly darker neutral that leans a little toward the beige side. Having said that, light direction, and the amount of light in a space can affect this colour significantly. In Northern or Eastern facing rooms, it may draw on the gray side of the colour, whereas Southern or Western facing rooms will highlight the warm beige undertone. Conversely, lots of light will showcase a mid-tone depth, where the colour can become significantly darker in minimally lit spaces. This medium tone neutral is an ideal backdrop for muted shades, of all colour spectrums, as it doesn’t lean too heavily toward a green or red undertone.

HC-172 Revere Pewter

For the longest time, HC-172 Revere Pewter has been Benjamin Moore’s most popular colour! It’s a tried and true neutral to the core. It’s a perfect blend of beige and gray, to create a ‘greige’. With a slight green undertone (if any), it pairs well with traditional browns and warm tones, but also just as well with warm grays. The blend of different colours in this hue, allow it to go grayer in cooler lighting, but picks up the warmth in warmer lighting.

OC-28 Collingwood

Also part of the off-whites, this transitional greige, leans to the lighter and grayer scale of the neutrals. With a fairly neutral undertone as well, it makes for a versatile colour for throughout the home. It compliments the in-trend grays, while maintaining a good balance with more traditional dark brown furniture. It’s a friendly and elegant shade of gray that feels inviting yet fresh in many spaces.

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CC-394 Boulevard

One of my favourite neutrals that falls under a greige, is the CC-394 Boulevard. It has a slight pink undertone with a dash of yellow that creates a modest mix! This creamy gray pairs well with other neutrals and stronger pops of colour. Whether its furniture or accessories that are dark, light or even metallic, it gracefully backdrops many different hues.

2111-50 Stone Harbour

This trendy colour is a mix between the warmth of CC-394 Boulevard and the 2017 colour 2112-50 Stormy Monday. Stemming from a brown-gray, it captures the warmth from the brown, but predominantly leans towards a gray. This balanced colour is also a fantastic medium neutral tone for a transitional style, that merges the browns and grays seamlessly. This violet undertone gray looks grayer under cool lighting, and warmer under warm temperature lighting, like South or West facing areas. 

Stormy Monday

As part of the 2017 colour trends, this medium tone gray is a sober and modern colour for updated styles. The mix of blue and red undertones, gives the impression of a purple undertone gray, but coordinates better with cooler grays and red-undertone browns. Mixing pattern and contrast, makes this colour come alive, while layering similar neutrals like whites and lighter grays creates a streamlined and sleek impression.

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HC-170 Stonington Gray

Stonington Gray is arguably one of my favourite neutrals. While it undoubtedly falls into the grays, it’s one of the most neutral and true grays Benjamin Moore has, to offer! It’s mix of blue and green undertones, allows for a more natural gray, rather than an exclusively cold gray. While HC-169 Coventry Gray is worth mentioning as a close runner up, it’s certainly darker than the Stonington Gray and typically doesn’t assimilate in dimly lit spaces as well. The HC-170 Stonington Gray pairs well with crisp whites to create a modern impression or warmer whites to soften the grays. Most importantly it coordinates flawlessly with charcoal grays like HC-168 Chelsea Gray or HC-166 Kendall Charcoal. 

2121-40 Silver Half Dollar

While this colour could barely be considered a neutral, the strong blue undertones in this colour create a fresh and crisp gray that is in trend currently. It coordinates well with contrasting bold colours, and similar tone grays. It may perform better, to cool down a strongly lit Southern or Western exposed area, whereas the same undertone would be intensified in Northern or Eastern exposed spaces. It coordinates well with contrasting bold colours, and similar tone grays.

Goldilocks only had three options to choose from in her story, but there are 10 beautiful and perfectly neutral mid-toned colours to fulfill your own colour story!

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The post Top 10 Benjamin Moore Mid-tone Neutrals (warm to cool) appeared first on The Paint People.

10 Light Neutral Colours (light to dark)

OC-95 Navajo White

OC-95-Navajo-White

To start, this is the warmest colour from our top 15 selection! It’s a creamy colour, consisting of yellow and pink undertones to give it warmth, yet the lack of any gray in it makes it a bright, crisp coloured neutral. This type of bright colour tends to work especially well in rooms lacking natural light because they themselves have a higher light-reflective value, which means the colour is not dulled, but reflects light off itself better. This colour has the most amount of yellow from our top-ten light neutrals, which would be emphasized in south facing areas with lots of light. That’s why it’s a perfect choice for darker spaces including north facing rooms to create a more cheerful impression.

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CC-50 White Down

CC-50 White Down

This creamy colour pairs well with the popular CC-40 Cloud White, as it’s the slightly darker version. It also has pink and yellow undertones, similar to the OC-95 Navajo White, with an added hint of gray, creating a softer neutral.  It doesn’t appear too bright, but offers a cushy, light, warm neutral.

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OC-26 Silver Satin

OC-26 Silver Satin

This is one of the more popular choices for a colour that runs throughout the home. It’s as close to white as possible without being too white! It’s a slightly warmer gray tone, that doesn’t appear too cool, yet retains a silvery and iridescent quality.  It creates minimal contrast with white trims and gives off a subtle and translucent-like light neutral gray. Layering well with whites and light grays, this milky, neutral colour is versatile for many different types of spaces. 

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OC-23 Classic Gray

OC-23 Classic Gray

Realistically this isn’t a ‘classic’ gray colour in the true sense, but it is a fantastic neutral gray. Different lighting tends to draw out different characteristics of this multi-tone pale colour.  The balance of a silver-gray with a warm back drop makes for a subtle, soft shade. While slightly creamier than the previously mentioned OC-26 Silver Satin, it’s just as light and pairs well with the ever-popular greige HC-172 Revere Pewter as well as other neutrals of beige undertones and gray undertones alike.

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CC-80 Gray Mist

CC-80 Gray Mist

Similar to OC-23 Classic Gray, the CC-80 Gray Mist has a slightly stronger beige backdrop, with a misty overtone of gray. While it can pair well with some grays, it compliments greige or taupes that lean slightly more toward a beige tone.  What makes it a great option is that it’s not as yellow as other neutrals, and the dose of gray makes it a modern version of beige. 

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OC-27 Balboa Mist

OC-27 Balboa Mist

Balboa Mist is arguably one of the most popular colours. Whether for bedrooms, bathrooms, or a whole-house colour, it gives the HC-172 Revere Pewter a run for its money!   Unlike the HC-172 Revere Pewter which has a green undertone, the Balboa Mist (and entire colour strip series) has a slight red undertone to provide warmth. It’s a highly versatile neutral ‘greige’ that leans slightly more toward the grays and typically appears first and foremost as a gray.  It’s perfectly balanced mixture of warm beige and modern gray allows it to compliment both traditional browns (ie: dark wood tables & furniture) as well as current popular gray materials (ie: ash-gray flooring & gray tiles) 

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CC-110 Muslin

CC-110 Muslin

Muslin can be considered as a perfect neutral beige! This intensely warm beige upholds a good depth of colour that establishes a light and comfortable hue! With a harmonized balance of yellow and pink undertones that isn’t too dark, this makes for a great warm backdrop ideal for north or east facing areas and pairs well with classic brown furniture. 

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OC-52 Gray Owl

OC-52 Gray Owl

OC-52 Gray Owl is another tried and true neutral gray. It’s warmer than the cool-tone grays like HC-170 Stonington Gray, yet cooler than OC-27 Balboa Mist.  It has undertones of both blue and green, with a stronger green undertone. This colour can transform depending on the lighting. Under cooler lighting, like north or east facing areas, it may appear more noticeably green or blue, but in warmer lighting, like south or west facing spaces, it presents itself as a relatively neutral gray. While it carries a little more depth, its partner OC-51 Intense White is a lighter version with the same tones.

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2111-60 Barren Plain

2111-60 Barren Plain

It was hard to decide between the two very similar brown-gray neutrals, 2111-60 Barren Plain and 2108-60 Abalone, so I’ve decided to mention both. They’re both comprised of violet/pink undertones, which is intensified under cool light (ie: daylight) and all but disappears under warm lighting, (ie: warm pot lights). These colours are rooted in a brown base colour that leaves the impression of a warm gray, but typically remaining light and neutral!

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2112-60 Cement Gray

2112-60 Cement Gray

Last but certainly not least, this is a colour rapidly gaining momentum in 2017! The 2112-60 Cement Gray is a modern neutral gray. With its mix of blue and red undertones, it has a slightly purple undertone gray that appears not as cool as a blue-undertone gray and not as muddy as a warm red-undertone gray. This year we’re seeing many furniture and fabric pieces that have this undertone of gray, which makes it the perfect backdrop for many designs!

Many homeowners are going lighter, but they don’t want to commit to plain white walls. These top-ten Benjamin Moore light colours, whether for one room or the whole house, are perfect as those light neutral shades!

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The post Top 10 Benjamin Moore Light Neutrals appeared first on The Paint People.

When painting any substrate, we must always begin with a clean, dirt and grease free surface. If there is mould, dirt, grease or anything else present, we must remove and clean it before we can begin applying any type of coating.

Moisture Content

When coating bare wood, first things first, we must check its moisture content. Coating wood with high moisture levels will result in product failure; loss of adhesion.  If you do not have one already, a moisture meter is a good investment to make, especially for a painting contractor. It will cost you more in the end to have to return the following year and deal with a coating issue. Typically, exterior wood surfaces should not have more than 15-20% moisture present prior to painting & 12-15% for interior surfaces.

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Priming Bare Wood

If you are deciding to paint bare wood, you should seal all knots (spot prime) with a shellac based primer. Shellac based primers are great for sealing wood knots and sap streaks. They do carry a pungent odour, but dry very quickly and will not let the knot bleed through the top (finish) coat. If you are looking to stain your bare wood, you don’t not have to seal the knots with a primer, heavily saturating the knots with stain will do.

Removing all dried up and oozing sap is a must, especially when dealing with woods such as fir or pine. After removing the sap build up, use an appropriate primer/sealer to seal in the sap affected areas.

Shellac-Base Primer

Zinsser Shellac-Base Primer

Filling in the Holes

Finally, it is time to fill in the holes and cracks and begin sanding. Use an interior or exterior grade wood filler, when filling in holes and cracks. I would recommend using a higher grade wood filler as they tend to shrink and crack a lot less. When it comes to sanding, stick with 150g – 220g sand paper. All sanding should be performed in the direction of the wood grain. Sanding across the grain will create scratches that will absorb stain and polyurethane unevenly.

Preparing your bare wood surface correctly, will allow your coating to penetrate and adhere properly. Your new wood surface will last for many years to come!

Billy Petrovski
Creative Director
The Paint People

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Then, around 1940, everything changed. Following it’s invention by Canadian Norman Breakey, the paint roller revolutionized how we paint our homes by making the process faster while also spreading the paint more evenly and avoiding brush marks.

Today, few people would choose a brush over a roller to paint an entire wall in a house.

But they have another option too. They might choose to spray paint the wall instead of rollering it.

There is an ongoing debate over whether spray painting or roller painting is best for interior or exterior painting.

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Here’s a quick comparison to get us started.

Preparation Time

Without having to set up the spray equipment, put paint in the reservoir, connect hoses and cords, etc., rollering has a much shorter preparation time. And if you include all the masking that spraying can require, it doesn’t even come close.

Application Time

All the time you saved in preparation will be lost in how much longer it takes to roll on paint. Regardless of the preparation time, you can paint a wall many times faster with a paint sprayer than with a roller.

Painting Accuracy

When spray painting interior walls you’ll need to make mask off everything you don’t want to get sprayed, like the ceiling, windows, door and floor. So rollers are more accurate, but you’ll usually need a small brush to do corners.

Spreads Paint Evenly

It’s tough to pick a winner here. Both spraying and rolling spreads paint fairly evenly, but both can run the risk of overlapping unevenly too.

Clean-Up

While it can take some doing to clean your roller brushes and equipment, it’s not nearly as bad as having to clean the spray gun, reservoir bottle, and everything else connected to the gun.

Many professional painters combine spray painting, roller painting and brush painting depending on the exact surface being painted. Starting with the brush, each method is faster than the previous one, but each method is less accurate than the previous one. That means spray painting is the fastest way to paint large areas where you don’t need so much accuracy, like an exterior wall; roller painting is good for interior walls where you need to avoid getting paint on other surfaces; and brushes help you do the detail work.

If you want to learn more about how spray painting can help your next project go faster and look better, visit the the full-service Spray Centre at our Dixie Rd. and Eglinton Ave. location. You’ll find complete lines of paint sprayers and equipment, from the leading manufacturers, including Titan, Graco and Lemmer, that you can buy or rent. Seminars are regularly scheduled to show you how to spray paint like a pro. And, best of all, our specialized spray paint technicians are available to answer all your questions and help you find the right equipment for your needs. Call or visit the Spray Centre today.

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The post Should You Spray or Should You Roll? appeared first on The Paint People.

Instead, do the customer a favour and point out that they can paint vinyl siding for a fraction of the cost of repairing or replacing the siding.

The Best Way to Paint Vinyl Siding

In addition to saving the customer money, painting their siding offers a number of other advantages, including protecting the siding and increasing their home’s curb appeal. By using the following steps on your next siding paint job, you’ll end up with a job well done and a happy customer.

1. Thoroughly Clean the Siding – You know the importance of adhesion. And the years of dirt and grime on the siding doesn’t help. To clean the vinyl siding, you can hand scrub or use a pressure washer with a vinyl-safe cleaning solution.
   
2. Apply a Primer Coat – In addition to that adhesion thing, the siding may have pitted or porous areas that a primer will help to fill.
   
3. Pick Your Paint – Of course, your customer will choose a paint color, but here’s what to offer them. Exterior paints designed for use on vinyl is a must due to the expansion and contraction that vinyl goes through. Latex paints will make cleaning up faster and easier. Benjamin Moore paints’ Aura Exterior, Regal Select Exterior and ben Exterior are quality paints that are durable, resist mildew growth and, perhaps best of all, can be applied in temperatures as low as 4 degrees Celsius, which can help extend your outdoor painting season. Darker colors will help hide the old finish better in fewer coats.
   
4. Get the Job Done – With a clean surface and the right paints, now it’s up to you to put your professional skills to work!

If you liked this post, check out our recent article on the Benjamin Moore 2019 colour trends we’re most excited about.

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Ironically, the 2019 colour of the year, is most anticipated for its imperatively simplistic trait of being neutral. In comparison to last year’s personality-packed Caliente red, AF-690 Metropolitan is a cool and collected, mid-tone gray hue. There it is! A gray! Grays are effectively the core neutral of all interior trends currently, from shopping fabrics to tiles, to paint! While Metropolitan has an urban and dynamic ring to it, its fundamentally neutral presence establishes a foundation for a flexible, gray palate.

Other aspects of the 2019 colours trends, in contrast to 2018, is a noticeable shift in colour hues, from dainty, feminine pinks that shaped much of last years’ palate, to embracing cool, masculine hues that are present in 2019. The overall 2019 palate suggests a rich and moody atmosphere, with dominating colours like HC-154 Hale Navy, AF-165 Kona and 2041-10 Hunter Green prevailing, while the partnering paler shades such as AF-250 Head Over Heels and 2144-40 Soft Fern creates a complimenting combination and a balanced bond.

The introduction of greens and green-blues is prevalent, like 2054-20 Beau Green, Hunter Green, Soft Fern, 2122-40 Smoke, and even the colour of the year AF-690 Metropolitan has a subtle green undertone that emulates a warmer gray. Alternatively, ranging from light to dark, the comfortable and familiar neutrals of OC-27 Balboa Mist, AF-100 Pashmina, AF-165 Kona & HC-166 Kendall Charcoal flow into soft and sophisticated colours like 2130-40 Black Pepper, 2122-40 Smoke & HC-39 Putnam Ivory. Both the modern CC-20 Decorators White and the classic CC-40 Cloud White are also featured as 2019 colours, a perfect example of this transitional time where both warm whites and cool whites can be utilized, depending on the temperature of the palate.

The purpose of the 2019 colours is weighted in being adaptable, a canvas to share for opposing materials like honeyed hardwoods & shimmering metals. With a governing value placed in curated opulence and cultivated artistry in the design process, Benjamin Moore’s 2019 colour of the year and composed, ancillary palate demonstrates the intrinsic appreciation for both refined and indulged luxury.

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7 Steps to Painting a Tile Instead of Replacing It

Follow these basic steps to get a long-lasting painted finish on any floor tile.

1. Make Sure the Area is Well Ventilated – Open the windows and use fans whenever possible.
   
2. Clean the Tile & Grout Lines – Thoroughly cleaning the tile and grout is crucial to the success of the project. Ese water, a mop, and a brush to clean the entire surface with a product like TSP.
   
3. Apply a Coat of Bonding Primer – Ceramic tile is usually glazed. A bonding primer offers the adhesion properties needed for the paint to endure the wear and tear on the floor. We recommend StixTM Waterborne Bonding Primer from Insl-X. It’s a low-odor product that bonds to hard-to-coat surfaces and cures in even lower temperatures. Coat the tile and grout in small sections and let it completely dry.
   
4. Apply the First Coat of Paint – Go with a heavy-duty paint designed for floors. You can use most types of paint, but oil-based and epoxy paints offer the best adhesion and durability. Paint the floor as you would any floor.
   
5. Drying Time – Let the paint dry for at least two days. This step is important because many people are in a hurry and they won’t let the paint dry for long enough. Painting glazed tile means doing everything you can to maximize adhesion. Recoating too soon can reduce the bond with the primer.
   
6. Apply the Second Coat – Let it dry for two days also.
   
7. Apply a Urethane Top Coat – Any floor paint must stand up to lots of wear and tear. A polyurethane topcoat, in the finish of your choice, helps the painted floor last longer. For best results, apply up to three coats of polyurethane finish.

If you liked this post, check out our recent article on the Benjamin Moore 2019 colour trends we’re most excited about.

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Bedroom Wall Paint Color Tips

First, whether you choose the wall colors or you let your client choose and you design around them there are really no wrong choices. Even if your customer has no sense of the color wheel or complementary colors, you can get a sense of their goals for the room. If they choose lighter colors, maybe they want the space to look bigger. If they choose reds or earth tones, maybe they want to give it a warmer feel.

In any case, try some of the following to help get that personal sense from your customers for bedroom paint colors.

1. Ask them to Check Magazines and Social Media – Knowing what they like prefer can give you a clear direction for color choices. If they don’t know what they want or aren’t sure, ask your customers to browse magazine racks and social media to find things they like. As you know, Pinterest has become the online go-to place for decorating inspiration. Even let them in on some of the sites you use for ideas.
2. How Big is the Bedroom? – If it’s a smaller room, then lighter colors, like Benjamin Moore paint’s Palladian Blue, might be the way to go. Large bedrooms have the option of being made cozier with darker colors, either throughout the room or in a reading nook.
3. How Bright is the Room? Hand-in-hand with the room size is the brightness of the room. A small room with lots of natural light can tolerate somewhat darker colors, or bright accent colors, more than a small room with less light.

If you liked this post, check out our recent article on the interior design guidleine that will help you choose paint colours for any room.

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An Overview of the Colour Trends 2019

Before we get to our favourites, the 2019 colour trend palette represents a bit of a shift from colour trends of recent years. This is especially true of the colour of the year. The 2017 (Shadow) and 2018 (Caliente) colours of the year were bold, even emotive colours and their respective palettes reflected that.

As much as we loved the recent palettes, the 2019 colour trends are a welcome transition. We find the paint colors in the new palette to be comforting, composed and effortlessly refined. In her assessment of Metropolitan AF-690, the 2019 colour of the year, Ellen O’Neill, Benjamin Moore Director of Strategic Design Intelligence, sums it up nicely.

“Metropolitan AF-690 emanates nuance, harmony, and extravagant ease. Always adaptable, it softens to matte or shimmers with sheen. It’s neutral. It’s composed. It just is. This is colour, off-duty.”

Our Favourites from Benjamin Moore’s 2019 Colour Trends

First, we feel Metropolitan is an understated yet glamorous gray, but since we’ve covered it already, we’ll leave off the list below.

1. Metropolitan – This understated, yet glamorous gray creates a soothing atmosphere that is neither arresting nor aggressive, with cool undertones.
2. Beau Green – We thought we’d jump to the other end of the palette to Metropolitan with this bold, saturated green. It’s perfect for an accent wall in the living room, home theatre or family room.
3. Head Over Heels – This color is a neutral shade and adds staying power of the pink trend that’s been with us for over a decade.
4. Pashmina – As luxurious as the fine cashmere wool for which it is named, Pashmina creates a soothing, impactful ambiance.

If you liked this post, check out our recent article on Benjamin Moore’s colour of the year for 2019 – Metropolitan.

The post The Benjamin Moore 2019 Colour Trends We’re Most Excited About appeared first on The Paint People.