Environmental Damage to Exterior Painting Projects

Of course, the sun is not the only harmful element that takes its toll on your exterior painting job.

Rain, dew, condensation, snow, and ice can all create blisters, stains and peeling. Moisture blisters are typically deeper than a heat blister and can reach all the way down to the base of the coat. These can be slightly harder to repair, which makes prompt fixes a must. Moisture blisters are also somewhat harder to repair because the source of the moisture may be difficult to pinpoint and eliminate.

Of course, other weather phenomena can also radically impact your exterior painting attempts. Winds whipping particle grains, pollen, or other debris can wreak havoc on your paint job. Wind damage over time can also erode the long term quality of a finish.

Getting a high quality finished product requires a painting company with extensive experience dealing with the effects of weathering. Contact a professional painting contractor for more information about painting weathering effects and suggestions for dealing with environmental damage to exterior painting projects.

Trends in Restaurant Redesign

Don't be fooled: The preferences of each generation will encourage trends in restaurant design that appeal to that group. For instance, the baby boomers will be seeking a tranquil dining experience, while preteens will want stimulation and innovation. Keeping current with trends in restaurant design means keeping current with what's going on in retail, with what your competitors are doing, and with what consumers want.

Trends in restaurant design have been spurred by all sorts of influences, from the world of celebrities to ethnic diversity. Today, the trend in restaurant design leans toward considering not only the visual appeal, but also the emotional response to the visual presentation -- this is definitely not a "one theme fits all" approach.

While some aspects of the design have a broad-based appeal by reflecting the dominant mood of the period, today's restaurant design trends typically enjoy a wide range of tastes based on the market the restaurant wants to reach. The various generations, such as baby boomers, Millenials, or Tweens, each have their own emotional requirements as well as their own food preferences. So trends in restaurant design are impacted by what such generational diners want and whether they have the buying power to make their desires known. Smart restaurant owners know how to read current trends and they vary their restaurant design according to that.

Three Popular Paint & Design Trends

Looking to the future, three paint and design trends will become popular this year:

1. Exterior Paint Pairings -- For the structure’s facade, windows need no longer be just the traditional high-contrast green, red, or black but will lean more toward a monochromatic color scheme. We will begin to notice that doors are painted a shade darker than the other areas of the building.

2. Patterns -- In 2012, patterned paint will be at the forefront, with growing interest in hound's-tooth finishes, intricate designs, and bold color blocking techniques. Sometimes, the pattern is the most prominent feature in an area; at other times, it is merely a less distinctive background for a room's furnishings and artwork.

3. Black and White is a classic combination that has moved beyond the basics. It is something that can be found in settings ranging from an urban building all the way to a large office complex. The combination is an excellent manner in which to refresh a design with something modern and sophisticated.

If you are working with an office building or structure with a stone exterior, you can still get in on things by making the window color the main color of the stone. Despite all the new hues and trends, not everything will change in 2012. The things that will remain the same are top quality paint, which gives the best performance and the best value to building owners looking to improve the value of their buildings.

Restaurant Themes & Painting Ideas

Themes that evoke nostalgia are a big example of the ways in which various eras can affect restaurant design. Sonic Corp., more familiarly known as America's Drive-in, relies heavily on nostalgia tapping into Baby Boomers' sweet dining memories while at the same time catching the interest of younger generations by adding a modern twist on a restaurant design trend from the past.

The Happy Days idea was originally created by Sonic in the mid twentieth century. But this largest chain of fast-food drive-in restaurants in the U.S., with some 3,000 eating facilities, still recognized the importance of staying current by incorporating some of the latest restaurant design trends as it sought to expand into new areas.

In recognition that the fashion for some restaurant designers today relies on a heavy case of nostalgia, Sonic chose to put a new face on its building facades. While Sonic didn’t abandon its time-tested concept of drive-in dining, it did add neon, tensile, metal cladding and other shiny, colorful design elements into its building facades. The new look and feel reinforces the timeless design that diners associate with the Sonic name while lowering its production costs and putting its unique selling point -- drive-up dining -- at the forefront.

There are trends in restaurant design that stay with us, which is exemplified by Sonic and its theme that has been successful for a half century or more. However, the majority of trends in restaurant design work like clothing in that they are cyclical, although their cycles are likely to stay in vogue longer than the edgiest fashion trends. Having a strategic plan for restaurant design trends are key to an all-encompassing restaurant marketing program that is consistent throughout every aspect of your design, from the restaurant's interior look and feel to your logos to online development.

Trends in restaurant design should only be utilized by you if they fit in with the needs of your consumer base, your special selling features, and the amount of money you have to spend. A knowledgeable restaurant designer can work with you so you'll know what restaurant design trends to adopt, and which ones you want to avoid at all costs taking into account your restaurant business plan.

Consider Repainting Your Building’s Interior

If you're considering repainting your building’s interior, you need look no further than the great American outdoors for inspiration. Following are some things to consider.

This year, color trends lean towards paint colors that are drawn from the hues found in native plants and flowers, oceans and lakes, and rocks and minerals.

Blue -- In 2011 the Jewel of the Sea Blues grew in popularity and will continue to be much in demand for 2012. According to color experts, almost everyone respects blue whether it is the blue of sparkling sea-glass or the more traditional colonial blue-grey, because blue enhances almost every working space, and because blue is a naturally soothing color.

Green -- Everything from Farm to Forest -- in every shade imaginable, with names like celery and asparagus, fir and fern, makes it possible for an office interior to contain all of the comfort nature provides outdoors. The "natural" areas for vogue greens are in conference rooms or the break room, but the hue goes nicely in lobbies and individual offices as well.

Violet, Purple Mountains Majesty -- Note that because violet is a pleasing combination of patriotic blue and red hues, it can wake up any large or small space when used as an accent color. It is also great as the main color in a work area or boardroom.

Curious about what paint colors will be in fashion this year? Stop wondering: color experts at the Paint Quality Institute, say that in 2012, inspiration for paint colors is from the natural colors of the American landscape.

Case Study: Waterproofing at The Wilshire Comstock

The 2012 Law & Exterior Coatings

In 2012, a law shifting the building industry to the use of water-borne coatings is in full effect. A significant change in favor of the environment, exterior painting contractors keep this in mind as they select products for their existing and future coatings projects.

Federal and local laws on environmental protection have influenced the design and manufacture of exterior coatings. Paints with the low-VOC formulations have been introduced. This aims to halt the harmful effects of VOC-emitting regular paints to the environment.

Exterior painting contractors and paint manufacturers must comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) VOC-level standards at the national level. In the north east and mid-Atlantic states, the Ozone Transport Commission (EPA) Model Rule is in place. State-based air quality programs also watch strictly over VOC compliance that covers the building industry.

Compliance to these varying environmental regulations and agencies resulted in new formulations of exterior coating products for architectural, commercial and industrial painting. These are often low-VOC latex, water-borne or solvent alkyd products.

The factors above often dictate the choice of exterior coating products to use in painting projects. Yet exterior painting contractors often advise building owners to continue to seek the balance between meeting these conditions and choosing the best-performing product for their projects.