Tripod member Amee asks:
A friend has had a professional painter working in her house for the past year, à la Murphy Brown. One of the things he's done is a wonderful color-on-color rag job in her library. I can't afford the painter and my home doesn't include a library, but I'd still like a creamy yellow ragged paint job for my living room/entry way. How do I do it?

Handy Girl Karen suggests:
Amee,

There are many, many ways you can accomplish a beautiful, layered paint job in your entry. I'll give you one step-by-step method here, but it's so fun to experiment, you should let your imagination roam on some primed boards!

The materials you will need are as follows: painter's masking tape for woodwork, ceiling line etc., a flexible 2-inch brush, a sea sponge or several all-cotton rags, a big bucket of water, something to cover the floor, a screwdriver to remove outlet covers (it looks cool to paint these, too — prime them with a spray primer), two or three different yellows (I'll go more deeply into color choice momentarily), and a ladder or step stool.

Start with a white wall. Experiment on a board first. Seriously. Any paint store can mix your colors. You probably won't need more than a quart per layer. The colors are probably one of the biggest issues in trying to get a really fab look. Since you are just starting, I recommend you start with a couple different shades of the same color, as opposed to trying to mix different colors on the wall. In other words, a very pale yellow, a medium yellow, and a darker yellow if you want to go for three. For your first try, go with the darker colors first; the lighter one can cover up mistakes. And look for colors that are muted, unless you want it wacky; bright yellow is weird.

I'm going to give you the sea sponge way, because I think it's easier. (Although rags work too and are cheaper.) When you are ready to start, remember that water is your ally. First, dilute your paint so it is the consistency of heavy cream. Dunk your sponge in water and ring it out so it is damp, but NOT WET. Put some paint on the sponge and work it into itself like you're scrubbing a stain. Then start patting or wiping onto the wall. Keep turning the sponge over to the cleaner side to feather out the section you're working on in order to seamlessly connect all your paint areas. For the corners and ceiling lines, you can scrub the paint in with a brush. Good luck, have fun, and don't forget, experiment on a board first!

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