cover image The Complete Book of Decorative Paint Techniques: An Inspirational Source of Paint Finishes and Interior Decorative Techniques

The Complete Book of Decorative Paint Techniques: An Inspirational Source of Paint Finishes and Interior Decorative Techniques

Annie Sloan, Kate Gwynn. Salem House Publishers, $29.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-88162-336-9

This carefully written, richly illustrated book is a splendid choice for home painters ready to move beyond the flat latex-covered wall. Muralists/designers Sloan and Gwynn tell us how to apply transparent glazes over a base colorand then some: merely break a glaze with your brush, they promise, and evocatively textured surfaces will come to light. (A helpful chart rates the suitability of 22 paint techniques to each of 16 underlying materials.) Twelve basic finishessponged, ragged, combedare described in step-by-step photographs. The reader is also treated to 20 bravura finishes that imitate nature's minerals, wood grains, tortoise shell, moire and gold. A rather daunting chapter gives advice on how to decorate doors and dados, ceilings and cornices, windows and stairs, but the authors' instructions on making printed patterns on the wall (using wooden blocks, vegetables, etc., dipped in paint) and designing, cutting and applying a stencil make painting fun even for beginners. Throughout, Sloan and Gwynn tell us what we should do and what we shouldn'tbefore it's too late. And the proof of the painting is to be seen here on every page, splashed with color. Better Homes & Gardens Book Club and Watson Guptill Book Club selection s . (Nov.)