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As I usually try to save money at every opportunity I'd just like to share some tips which might be useful!
It is far cheaper to buy big containers of white emulsion and colour it yourself using Match Pots or any water based colour concentrate than to buy coloured paint. I painted my hallway a very pale beige using strong black coffee (you don't need much) mixed with white paint. It worked very well. A darkish ochre (yellow) Match Pot is good for making a pale yellow - test on a piece of board until you get the colour you like. Keep some extra in a big screw top jar in case you need to touch up in future. I even matched some oil based paint to a coral coloured soap dish and painted an old vase to make a loo brush holder. Then I painted a plain cheap wood loo roll holder so everything matched. Everybody thought I'd bought it all together!
For a cheap paint effect I did my sitting room walls white and then sponged over with beige (watered down emulsion with a sea sponge) I have had many admiring comments. To make imitation limed oak, just paint natural wood colour item with watered down matt emulsion then rub back with sandpaper leaving some white showing. It can be waxed when dry for protection if it's furniture.
I was given an old mahogany coloured coffee table - I painted it white (water based eggshell finish) then sanded the edges/corners so the wood showed through, then polished it with a brown tinted wax for a distressed/aged look.
Hope this might assist anyone trying to save money - every little helps as they say!
It is far cheaper to buy big containers of white emulsion and colour it yourself using Match Pots or any water based colour concentrate than to buy coloured paint. I painted my hallway a very pale beige using strong black coffee (you don't need much) mixed with white paint. It worked very well. A darkish ochre (yellow) Match Pot is good for making a pale yellow - test on a piece of board until you get the colour you like. Keep some extra in a big screw top jar in case you need to touch up in future. I even matched some oil based paint to a coral coloured soap dish and painted an old vase to make a loo brush holder. Then I painted a plain cheap wood loo roll holder so everything matched. Everybody thought I'd bought it all together!
For a cheap paint effect I did my sitting room walls white and then sponged over with beige (watered down emulsion with a sea sponge) I have had many admiring comments. To make imitation limed oak, just paint natural wood colour item with watered down matt emulsion then rub back with sandpaper leaving some white showing. It can be waxed when dry for protection if it's furniture.
I was given an old mahogany coloured coffee table - I painted it white (water based eggshell finish) then sanded the edges/corners so the wood showed through, then polished it with a brown tinted wax for a distressed/aged look.
Hope this might assist anyone trying to save money - every little helps as they say!
