Insider Tips from Renovation & Decor Experts

Renovation and decor advice from top professionals in five disciplines: decorative painter, window-treater, general contractor, interior designer, and landscape architect.

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The Decorative Painter

Kevin McCormick, Founder, KMC Paint Design

How does your work differ from a regular paint job?

Decorative painting can capture a specific mood or add an extra boost of style. A coat of charcoal gray in a bedroom, for instance, is dramatic; an oversize pattern can transform a ceiling; and wide, horizontal stripes make a room look so much larger. When I painted the lobby of Kirkman Lofts, a converted soap factory in Dumbo, I made the walls look like they had been exposed to different chemicals with oxidized shades of pinks and blues.

How do you get to an idea like that?

Usually the client and I come together with some sort of shared visual reference or a mood board. Then we have a color ​consultation to make sure we are reflecting the desired mood within that palette. I’ll produce an 11-by-17-inch sample to mimic the feeling of what this painting might look like room-size. Before I get to work, I always let the client know that certain stages can be pretty rough-looking.

How do you mean? 

I often work with multiple colors and plaster sizes, which I’ll slice up with knives to give a suggestion of layers of different-colored paints that have been applied to the wall over several decades. Before I put paints and glazes over the wall, it’s one big mess. It all looks great at the end, but there’s the inevitable moment as things dry that can be difficult for some people.

All that layering sounds like it takes a lot of time. 

I try to stick to ten days max. I don’t want to intrude too much upon people’s living spaces.

TRICK OF THE TRADE

“A wall-size canvas for renters. It doesn’t put you at risk of losing your security deposit.”