One of the most effective ways of changing the feel and look of an interior space is through color.  By changing the colors in a room we can affect the feel of room making it seem smaller, larger, taller, more intimate, more welcoming, whatever that room lacks.  If you’re talking about bang-for-your-buck, painting is the most cost effective way to make a dramatic impact on a space.     Here’s a few trends we’re seeing in the realm of interior painting:

•   Cabinets-  Tired of the wood tone on your cabinets?  We can paint them!  We’re seeing a large number of bids coming in for people looking to paint their cabinets.  It’s a very cost effective way to seriously change the look of your kitchen.  Check out these pictures of a Broken Top home we worked on.

Before Picture

After Picture

• Trim and Doors-  Whether they are stained and lacquered or painted, trim and doors get a ton of abuse.  Vacuums routinely bash into them, shoes marks are left on doors from nudging them open, and areas that receive a lot of hand contact (rails, doors) soil over time.  We can repaint, touch up, and repair these surfaces giving a space a much cleaner appearance.

• Ceiling Painting-  Most new homes painted in the last 5 years were painted all one color.  By adding a contrasting ceiling color we can increase the ambient light and affect the spacial feel of a room.  The cabinet picture above is a great example, notice how it accents the features of the ceiling as well. 

   What ideas do you have?

   Hello everyone, just wanted to take a little time to inform you all about our upcoming charity event.  It’s called “Carving for Kids” and it’s a great local event where we sell cleaned pumpkins ready for carving, already carved pumpkins, and even some custom carved pumpkins with business logo’s or any extreme design you have in mind. 

   We started this event a few years ago, and each year it grows little by little.  We hope this year to crush last year’s donations.  Everything for the event is being donated, so 100% of all proceeds will go directly to MountainStar Family Relief Nursery, which is a great local organization assisting at-risk families in Central Oregon through support and education.  The Central Oregon Pumpkin Co has donated over 100 pumpkins, Newport Ave. Market has agreed to let us use their parking lot, High Desert Promotions has donated signs and flyers, and Sign Pro is even making a banner for the event.  It’s been a lot of fun organizing and I hope all of you come out to buy a jack-o-lantern this Saturday, October 23rd frmo 10am-5pm at the Newport Ave. Market.  Here’s an example fo one we did last year, Happy Halloween!

   Nearly every day I field questions about stained surfaces.  Whether it ’s some cedar shingle accents, hand rails leading up to the front door, the front door itself, or the gi-normous deck that extends 1500 sq.ft. out the back door.  The overall question I hear is, how often should I be staining “this” or “these”?  And it can be a tough question to answer because very few surfaces are identical.  We need to consider the amount of sun exposure, where the sprinklers are hitting, the amount of snow your neck of the woods receives, the age and condition of the surface, the products used before, and dozen other factors that will affect how well the surface maintains.  

   Over the last 5 years, my partner and I have made it our mission to undercover and unravel the mysteries and confusion behind stained surfaces in Central Oregon.  Through a series of tests and experiments, and lot of “what happens when we do this” ’s , we’ve uncovered the best practices for staining and maintaining in Central Oregon… thank you, I know, it’s kind of a big deal.   We’ve tested the top stain products from the leading manufacturers, we’ve experimented with numerous chemical strippers and bleachers, and we’ve field tested products from the greenest of the green all the way to the… brownest of the brown?  You get the idea.  So we can take a deck that looks like this: 

Deck needs to be completely refinished, because of a poor product choice from the person who built it! This is the deck after one year.

 To one that looks like this! 

Completely refinished deck from Webfoot Painting

   The secret we’ve discovered above all others is maintenance.  Regular maintenance will keep your stained surfaces protected and looking beautiful.  It is less expensive and easier on the wood surface to maintain it, then it is to let it go ugly for 3-4 years and have to refinish it or worse replace it.  We see this a lot with front doors.  These are inexpensive to stain or clear coat every other year, but very time consuming and costly to refinish.  Under our Stain Maintenance Program we’ll actually monitor your stained surfaces for you.  We can setup a plan designed specifically for your home’s needs with clear pricing and a schedule of maintenance.   We have clients all over Central Oregon who have enough things on their plate to worry about and their decks and shingles are no longer one of them.  Interested in exploring this program?  We offer free consultations, so give us a call. 

Here’s a quick guide to stain maintenance.  Remember no two surfaces are identical, this is just a guide. 

Cedar Shingles– Every 2-3 years. South and West facing walls require more frequency. 

Fences– Every 3-5 years depending on sun exposure and watering practices. 

Decks– Every 2-3 years to maintain a healthy deck and avoid costly refinishing. 

Garage Doors / Front Doors– Every 1-2 years to avoid discoloring and stains.

  Ahh, the sun is shining (here and there), snow is melting, and the trees and flowers are starting to bloom- it must be Spring.  Here in Central Oregon our Spring typically lasts about three weeks and then we go straight into summer, so we need to enjoy this brief transition while we can. 

  It is a time to reflect on last years planting and gardening- what worked, what didn’t, how can we make it better.  Last year my wife and I had a modest garden, the first in our new house in our first year of being married.  We had some successes and many failures.  This year we’ve planned a massive garden, increasing our planter box space by about 5 times!  We’ve read books, spoken to experts (Richard down at Galveston Gardens Nursery), and are now ready for our organic garden.  This last weekend was the build and seed germination phase.  Over the next couple weeks we’ll plant our hardy greens: broccoli, spinach, other leafy greens and some other tough plants that can handle a little freeze here and there.  Then in June we’ll get the rest planted.  I’ve heard everything from May to July being to the right time to plant, but since we are in the “Banana Belt” of Bend (NE Bend) I guess we’re able to plant a little earlier than other areas- who knew?  Below is a shot from the build weekend. 

The Build Phase

  If you’re thinking about planting a garden and need some help planning, building, and even maintaining talk to Jane Bowerman.  Her company GROW Urban Micro Farming, does just that.  They’ll walk your grounds with you, discuss your growing options, and they can even build and plant your garden.  And if vacations and being out of town keep you from having a garden each year, they’ll even maintain it for you.  Fresh homegrown veggies and you can still leave town for weeks or months? Sounds great to me.  www.growbend.com 541-419-0326

Lastly, the Deschutes County Spring Home & Garden Show is this weekend April 30th- May2nd.  Come say hi, we’ll be in the Hooker Creek Event Center.  Look for the giant “webfoot” … you won’t be able to miss it!  Free coffee as always from the Sisters Coffee Company.  See you then!

~Gavin

With warm weather all week, exterior painting bids are rolling in! 

Now is a great time to get your ducks in a row and prepare for those summer projects.  Many people know this already, but late winter and early spring are the best times to get contractor bids.  Most companies are hungry coming out of a slow winter and are working hard to book up their busy season and usually offer slightly lower prices to build up their portfolio.  So if you’re planning on painting the house this summer or redesign the front yard, get your bids before the last weeks of summer when prices are usually slightly higher.  Just a little tip from the guys at Webfoot!

Exterior Season is Around the Corner