 Yankee thrift had everything to do with it, Elaine Noonan says right up front. “I started painting because I was too cheap to hire someone else to do it!” declares the former banker, who was eager to stretch her budget far enough to decorate all the way through the family’s 40-year-old Cape Cod in Massachusetts. This included adding the painted accents that fill practically every wall of her charming home.
 We decided to sit down and ask a few questions of the novice folk painter, like:
• Where did she find her inspiration? “I’ve collected 1,000 decorating magazines, at least. Had to have a special cabinet built to hold them all!”
 • Where did she get the talent? “I don’t
really have any. My uncle was a real artist, so maybe something came through to me.”
• How did she get started? “I didn’t go straight to painting on walls, no way! I practiced first on the tops of stools and small tables.”
• Can just anybody else do it, too? “Sure. The great thing about paint is, if you make a mistake you can just paint over it and start again!”
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 Elaine practices what she preaches about repainting: Her own living room has been through eight color changes!
However, the deep, stenciled border need never change, unless she wants to add new color accents. According to her calculations, the border and the sidewalls can be repainted independently and still coordinate smoothly.
“Saves a lot of work,” she promises.
Not that Elaine really minds. Now that she’s about run out of walls in her own house, she’s begun accepting commissions from other home decorators. Her success is based not only on self-confidence, Elaine confides heartily: “I’d rather paint than cook, I’ll tell you that!”
6 Ways To Paint Yourself Out Of A Corner
1 Paint it freehand. Elaine doesn’t bother tracing or even copying her subjects.
Painting freehand looks more naive, more like authentic early-American folk art, she believes.
2 Try not to overplan. “Don’t sweat the prep work!” she urges. “You’re painting over old paint the same as if you were just putting on a new solid color. Just go ahead and paint!”
3 Hide flaws effortlessly. If your walls are in really bad shape, consider a surface texture that will camouflage problems like cracks and heaves. Rag-rolling and sponging are both good solutions.
4 Get an old look—instantly. To give painted walls a patina of age, sponge with very thin yellow paint.
5 Make it picture-perfect. Don’t bother leaving nails to mark your pictures—place when you paint your walls. The pictures will always need to be moved anyway.
6 Lighten up. Consider the effect seasons will have on your rooms and your psyche. “Never, never paint your bedroom a dark color after Labor Day! I did that once (dark green!) and it was so depressing, I had to repaint fast!” |
Photographs: Bradley Olman; stylist: Kim Montella.
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