Foreign

coast to coast, it's the nation's number one home improvement radio show and podcast with certified kitchen designer Eric G. And co host John Dudley, a former contractor and online technology expert.

Delivering real fixes, smart tech and trusted advice.

Remodels, repairs, energy savings, smart homes, diy.

We've got your answers.

It's around the House.

Dive in and get inspired.

Welcome to the around the House show, your trusted source for everything about your home.

Thanks for joining us today.

John Dudley, Good to see you, my friend.

Buenos dias.

Coming in from Columbia, South America.

How is everybody?

Good, man.

And of course, we've got Wendy Glacier back in the studio again.

Wendy Glister Interiors, thanks for coming back on again.

Thanks for having me.

It's so great to see you guys.

And I can't wait to hear all about cave biz.

I'm desperate to know about all the cool new things.

We'll talk a lot about that.

There was a lot of stuff about that, but I wanted to first talk out about, you know, really discuss paint colors because, yeah, it's paint colors.

It's painting as a whole.

You know, this time of year where we're getting into this early March, we're into at least the calendar of spring, even though the weather's probably not there for most people, it's a good time to get that stuff done on the inside so you can enjoy that summertime everywhere else.

And California people in the south down there, they've been getting the weird weather, too.

So it can be a little rough time for everybody weather wise.

So these last interior projects seem to be kind of high on the list.

That way we can go out and enjoy the outside.

Agreed.

And also, I think, you know, after the holidays, you take everything down and you're sort of in the end of February, beginning of March slump.

It's nice to see some kind of change that boosts your spirit.

You feel like you're moving in a forward direction.

So paint is a great way to accomplish that.

It is.

And, you know, we've got, we got millions of people now that have been following Chip and Joanna Gaines for a decade that have, you know, 50 shades of millennial gray across their.

And they're like, I think I need to add some color and texture someplace.

Yes, definitely.

Well, you saw a lot of color in High Point this year in October, and I think you'll see it again this April.

But that deep hunter green is back and the Bordeaux are back.

And gold and all those jewel tones, navy, all of that is back.

And it's really nice to see color on the walls.

And they say it's like the new moody way to go about doing things.

But really, Ralph Lauren's been doing it for a very long time.

I like it.

I.

Making fun with Johnny here.

Earlier on this year, you know, in the kind of fall, winter, they're kind of around the holidays where everybody comes out with their color of the year.

And some people were bold, and some of them.

What I think one of them I called apartment beige, because that's just what it was.

And I'm like, really?

Do we need to do the Navajo white again?

I'm good, but color is big out there, and, you know, I think most people would agree with that.

And we're just going big and bold, and I think it's fun.

But I also think for the people that have been kind of wooed into the.

Into the grays and stuff are scared of it as well.

I. I think people are afraid of change, period.

Really.

I don't think any of us are just ready to sign up for a major overhaul that we weren't expecting.

But I love to go to the San Francisco Art and Antique show every fall.

A year ago this year, Timothy Corrigan was there talking about his new book, Living in France.

And he loves color, and he's very opinionated about gray.

And just that.

I think before COVID that's all we saw was gray.

And then everyone went home.

And we've talked about this many times, and it hit on many different levels for homeowners.

But going home and looking around at how you really live and what it really looks like was kind of startling.

I think it was sterile because there wasn't a lot of life happening at home.

Everyone was out.

But then you go home, and there's nothing there.

So I think just seeing a resurrection of that deep with, like, my little plant here, that deep green colors of real life and in nature, bringing those things inside, it makes a really big difference.

And I think.

I think probably green is the easiest one for a lot of people.

Some people are very against blue because blue can be depressing if it's not the right color blue.

But the right color of green can really enliven a space.

And the contrast that it gives you and the way it sets off your artwork and some of your furniture, like the big color combination at High Point was camel color furniture and that beautiful, deep, deep green wall.

And it's just such a rich, cozy look.

It's hard to go wrong.

Yeah, I mean, it's interesting up here in the Pacific Northwest, right, Johnny?

I mean, I was going to bring that up.

Everything's already gray.

You don't want gray?

No.

You don't need more.

And at the end, at the same time though, we also have the challenge that if you've got lots of glass, that you also have a lot of green because that's the outside.

So sometimes when you're living in a forest, like my last house was if I painted a wall green, I kind of learned this.

The I went, oh, I'm gonna do green like four years ago on one wall just to see how it looked.

It looked great, but it disappeared because I had all these 150 year old fir trees outside.

So it didn't contrast the way it blended in with the outside environment, which was kind of different.

Well, something that I've learned, it's really great.

This mother son duo started a company called Sample Eyes.

And they color all.

They have all the Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams colors.

And they send you like, I don't know, 11 by 14 sheet of the color.

And it's a sticker so you can stick it on your wall or order multiple samples of the same color so you can see how does that read when it's next to a window colored by the sunlight?

How does it read at the very back of your space?

How does it read on the ceiling?

And then you can make that decision with a lot more confidence.

You're not spending thousands of dollars on a professional painter and just hoping it works out.

So I have found that to be really helpful and clients love it.

And clients can order direct from Sample Ice too.

It's not just unique to the trade.

So that's kind of a nice, I guess you could call it an insurance policy on the color that you're going to choose.

I got to get that to my mom because she's got about 73 of those.

Tiny, tiny.

It's not going to work.

It's not going to work.

I'm just paying a little square.

But that's not going to work because that little square is going to look way different when it's the whole wall.

Then it's going to look different, different in the back of the hallway.

And then it's a. Yeah, yeah.

Years ago.

What a great idea.

I think it was so clever.

And years ago I became a color expert.

I went to a class in la and I don't know if you guys have heard of Maria Killam.

Yeah.

Calls herself a true color expert.

But it's kind of fun because in her class she Talks about the undertones of color.

Is it a blue undertone?

Is it a green undertone of the whites?

Do we have more yellow?

Do we have more pink?

Do we, you know, all these different things.

And she teaches the class using the large boards that she actually has painted.

You can buy those sets.

But that is game changing.

Just getting the larger pieces of the color and having it read accurately in all the different light areas of your home.

So that it's really not a good idea to pick from the little itty bitty square from the paint store.

And another thing that's really important that I learned from her too.

And you would have thought was just like a.

Something that would just be obvious.

But it's not.

And I don't think it is a lot of people.

But don't test your color on a colored background because that will influence your color.

So I'm in my office right now and there's a piece of artwork behind me.

But you can see like my office is painted a true white.

Yeah.

And then I worked with my friend Carrie, she's a lighting designer, to get clean white light.

So all of the color that we work with in this space is specified in a white room that's truly white.

So it doesn't pick up influences from other colors.

Which is key I think too a lot of people put, you know, because there is still a lot of that Tuscan ish look that people are trying to overcome.

Yeah, that was the warmer colors and some different mustardy.

So.

But.

But you can't put like a beautiful blue navy on something like that and think that it's going to read the right way to your eye, it won't.

So even if you just get butcher paper, just white butcher paper and tack it up on your wall and then put your sampleized colors so that you can.

I'm sorry, I keep doing all these little moves like you're going to see it's all good, you know, Then that way you can accurately experience the color in this space.

So that makes sense.

That's super important.

Butcher paper.

Another great idea.

Yeah.

The problem I see too is so many people walk into their local home center, their local, local paint store and they have the office space flash lighting in there or the, you know, whatever section.

Yeah, yeah.

The light battle in there of all right, this is 6, 000 Kelvin over here.

And then whatever paint manufacturer that's in the home center, they're the worst because then they've got something that's way the other way.

You know, they've got 2, 000 Kelvin coming out of the, out of the description display, and it's just this hot mess.

And I, you know, anytime I've been in there with somebody that I knew and they're picking paint color, I'm like,

my paint chips are judging us harder than Eric G's ex mother in law.

We're going to pause the color therapy session for a quick commercial break.

Don't go repainting anything drastic while we're gone.

Wendy might still talk us out of avocado green.

Swing by aroundthehouse online.com for the podcast replay if you miss a tip or just want to laugh at my bad color choices.

Back in a flash right here on around the House.

Welcome back to around the House.

We're almost live from the paint chip battlefield with the color whisperer herself, Wendy Glaster.

Before the break, I was about to commit to safe beige.

Now I'm questioning my entire life.

Wendy, save us from bad decisions.

What's the verdict on that accent wall?

Stick around, folks.

More home wisdom and questionable life choices coming right up on around the House.

And hey, grab all the episodes and color tips anytime@aroundthehouse online.com now let's return to the conversation.

Yeah, the problem I see too is so many people walk into their local home center, their local paint store, and they have the office space, flash lighting in there or the, you know, whatever section.

Yeah, yeah, the light battle in there of.

All right, this is 6000 Kelvin over here.

And then whatever paint manufacturer that's in the home center, they're the worst because then they've got something that's way the other way.

You know, they've got 2000 kelvin coming out of the, out of the display, and it's just this hot mess.

And I, you know, anytime I've been in there with somebody that I knew and they're picking paint color, I'm like, go outside, outside and see what we can do.

At least get under the overhang in the shade.

Exactly.

You know, all right, let's go over.

Let's go out to the loadout area over there where they're throwing lumber up there and take a look because this is not going to be what you're going to see there.

And then you have to go put it at home, too.

So that's a key.

Well, we do that with like the stone yard that we love to work with.

We have a really good working relationship with Pacific Shore stones.

And nice.

They have this huge warehouse and it's full of the most beautiful material.

But the warehouse that they're re has that green corrugated over their skylights.

And so the guys know, like, Wendy's coming, we got to get the forklift out and that clamp because we're going to take every piece that our clients love out and because, you know, that's a, that has a major impact and you can really think you're totally onto something.

Then you take it out in the shade and the natural light and you think, oh, gosh, no, that was, you know, that was a mistake.

That looks like calamine lotion.

Yeah.

Where, where colors go to die.

Exactly.

Yeah.

But I think, you know, just normal, everyday people just looking to make some pretty improvements in their houses don't understand like how the lighting and what's on the wall now and the size of the paint chip and the light value that's coming through if you have a high tint on your windows, all of those things, how it's going to impact your color.

So honestly, to be fair, it's a lot to understand.

It is why it was one of my least favor things as much.

Seriously.

I mean, I love color and I love accent walls.

And I got big into the southwest thing for a while when I was living in Arizona.

I was like, yes, purples, oranges, yellows, like just fun stuff.

But you know, you brought up a good point, Wendy, where you know, whether it's a pink white or it's a greenish white or it's a, like the colors behind the color make such a difference and it gets really complex.

And I used to just refuse after years.

I was just like, nope, not picking colors.

Nope, not pick.

It's.

It was like the hardest part of any remodel job.

I'm like, yeah, I totally would go,

Eric, handle the colors and literally walk out of the room.

Not doing it, not doing it, not doing it.

Yeah.

You'd have no opinion, no nothing.

It's all gonna look beautiful.

And he'd walk away.

My brain would just spiral.

I'd be like, but that one.

No.

Yeah.

I obviously got that from my mother.

God bless.

And she's listening.

We've heard stories from.

Yeah.

Why do you keep picking on me for painting?

Well, it's kind of her to be an example for us so that we know that in real world, in the real life situations, that really happens.

But I think too, I think some of it's also managing our clients expectations.

I have a painter I really like to work with and he's just very, very kind and easygoing.

But he had a client who made him Paint a room in eight different variations of the same color because of the way the shadows would cross the room during the.

And I just thought, wow, he really needed a designer to help stick up for him.

Yeah.

Because that's just crazy.

I mean, he was getting paid for.

It's not that.

Yeah, it's really tricky.

Absolutely.

You know, and it's crazy.

I mean, and there's so many things to consider, too, you know, whether you're inside or outside.

Like my last house, you know, I.

It was just this navy battleship gray when I bought it, and I hated it.

And 1970s kind of northwest contemporary home.

So what did I do?

I painted it all black.

It was a licorice color, not black black.

But it was close.

But the one thing I had to keep in mind, and I learned this afterwards, it was cool.

I loved it.

Beautiful.

It's like cake taking care of a black car.

Every splash of rain that hits, the mud that comes up on the house, you now see it.

And so I didn't have to worry about the heat, which is another thing you have to be careful with, because now it's gonna be like the black car if you have sun.

I was under a full tree canopy, so it wasn't that big a deal.

But after the first rainstorm of even water hitting the driveway and coming back up and splashing on the house, I'm like, wow, this is going to be a cleaning nightmare.

And it was.

I was washing the house every month or two.

Yeah.

That was rainy.

Because just the environment was dirty.

Yes.

Things to think about when you're doing these things, Whether it's a kitchen, bathroom, an exterior, the maintenance part of it is something to think about.

And it can be nightmare if you're not careful.

I work for a lot of farmers, a lot of almond farmers, and a lot of dairymen.

And so I always joke that we're going to paint the house almond dirt color, because if you do, you don't see fly specks, you don't see the dust from the harvest, and it's just a lot easier to live with.

In fact, my car is almond dirt color.

Nice.

When I first started working here in the Central Valley in California, I had a lot of farmer clients, and I had a black expedition.

And you could tell, like, I would drive up to the job site, and the contractor and the client were like, oh, great.

Look at the designer.

She's, like, so high maintenance.

And they were right.

And it just didn't even dawn on me.

But those are major considerations that you have to.

Yeah.

I didn't think about that.

With a black house, too.

Yeah.

I wonder why all barns are that dark red.

That hides pretty well as well.

It does.

That can get dirty and you're not going to really notice it for some reason.

Like.

Yeah, something to be said about that.

And that's the thing too.

And anytime though, on the exterior of a house, though, when you do a bold color, the other thing is, you have to remember is that color is going to change a little bit as it ages.

Because, yes, older the color, it seems like the more chance you have for pigments to break down.

And especially when you get into reds and yellows and, and some of those things, it tends to.

Great paint is great paint.

And the cheaper the paint, the faster it's going to break down, it seems.

But at the same point, you got to be careful because if you go back and even take that same gallon of paint to go do some touch ups, a couple years later, you go, yeah, no.

On a dark burgundy, not gonna happen.

Yep.

You're painting the whole walls.

Yep.

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

And I think too something we, I do a lot of kitchens and baths and a lot of them are painted.

And favorite cabinet guy uses the Sherwin Williams pro line for his cabinet paint and it cures beautifully.

And it's absolutely wonderful to work with.

And it lasts and lasts and lasts.

But we'll every once in a while have a client who kind of wants to go out on their own and paint this little thing or that little thing, and they hop on down to the local Sherwin Williams to get their paint and it's not the same.

No.

And they just, you know, it's, it is different.

When you talk about a pro level paint product and a consumer paint product, they are very different.

And it's, that's another thing in a consumer education that people don't understand because they just aren't exposed to it.

But boy, does it make a difference.

My line is, is if you can walk into your retail paint store, whether it's Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, whatever, Sherwin Williams, Ben More, whatever brand it is, and if you can buy it easily off their shelf, you probably have the wrong product.

We will be right back with more from Wendy Glacier and Wendy Glacier Interiors after Around the House returns.

Don't change that dial.

Welcome back to the around the House Show.

To find out more about us, head to aroundthehouse online.com now let's get back to talking about painting projects with Wendy Glaster.

There are so many finishes now that are Water based out there for cabinetry that you can go out and spray.

You grab the two UV lights and in a minute it's dry.

So you don't get any of the, you know, any of the stuff with that.

So that technology is getting better.

But when you walk down to your internal is a great one.

You go down there and grab their emerald and go, I'm gonna paint cabinets.

I shudder because it's gonna be a nightmare.

And it's not paint's fault.

You're just using the wrong material on the job.

It's important to talk to the people who work at the paint store, say, hey, I really love this color and I'm gonna paint blank.

Which.

Which product within your line is the best fit for that?

Yeah.

Because you know that it can really make a big difference.

Yeah, absolutely.

You know, when you look.

It's funny when you look at what the major custom and the larger custom shops and the larger cabinet manufacturers out there, whether you're looking at.

Put your brand in there.

But if you're looking at those, most of those people are doing a spray stain on the wood and a top coat, or they're doing a base coat, which is a paint and then a clear coat over the top of it.

Even so, they're trying to do almost what you're seeing with car finishes these days to get that durability.

And it's getting pretty wild when it comes to finishes.

And it's good because you're going to get something durable.

I can't tell you how many times in some of the Facebook groups that I'm in that we see that somebody went down to their local and I'm going to use custom cabinet maker because the word custom and cabinetry has no meaning on their ability.

Are you doing this?

If I didn't have my other arm in a sling, I'd be doing it with both.

But it's definitely that.

And I tell you what, two things.

If they're.

When you're coming down to it, the level of finish that they're putting on there is just as important as the materials are putting on the project.

Look for a paint booth.

Yes.

Yeah.

And the big companies, it's amazing to go watch.

I mean, even we've got a company here that builds for a lot of the local builders here.

They have that flatline finishing system.

So it's so cool.

So the door goes down on the.

On the flat line it goes through.

The computer reads the profile on the door, and then it sprays at the right angles around it.

And then it goes in the.

In the bake area, which is a UV coat.

And within two minutes, the doors dry coming out the other end.

And it puts on the exact same mill thickness.

And that way you really get that good coverage and you get that consistency.

That's really where cabinetry is going, which is great for technology, but I hate sticky latex cabinetry where somebody used the wrong materials.

And I will shamefully admit that I was forced.

Never would have been my choice.

Literally white out rentals, right?

Go into apartments, white them out, just blast latex.

Okay, dude.

Like, see in a month when it's all peeling off your cabinets.

Yep.

I could sand them, I could scrub them down with tsp.

I could do all that stuff.

It is not gonna hold up.

It's not gonna work well.

And that's the thing.

Let's talk about that.

Because that's one of the biggest problems I see out there is paint prep and the lack of it now.

And just because in my opinion, this primer in paint is a great marketing scheme.

It's just a paint that covers better than other ones.

I do not.

It's a paint at quality that it should be.

It's not a paint and primer.

It's not going to cover your stains.

It's not going to fix your flaw.

I've run into that.

People don't get it.

Where people go spend the high end Sherwin Williams, Ben More.

It will cover better.

But if you've got a situation under there beneath it, it's still.

You still need to use a primer underneath it.

Yes.

Zinser.

Oh, you guys.

Are you on.

I hope you're on Instagram.

So yesterday, because you are.

Because of business yesterday, there's this great.

I wish I could remember the name of the guy.

And he was.

He did this spoof on Sherwin Williams meeting Benjamin Moore as though they were people.

Finish it.

Yes.

And then Pharaoh and Ball had something to say about it.

And they were very, you know, British.

And then sir primer.

1, 2, 3.

Bullseye guy was on drinking a beer.

And it's like all the different.

Like the way that you would read all these different people.

My Stephanie just found it.

Thank you, Stephanie.

This guy.

That is so awesome.

What is his name?

Delgado Interiors.

Okay.

Gotta find that one out, you guys.

It is hilarious.

Thank you, Stephanie.

I sent that to my whole time, my team, we have this little group chat on Instagram called WGI Baddies because we want to be fun.

But, like, that was hilarious the way that they gave personality to each Brand.

I thought that was great.

Really fun.

And how timely for our little podcast today.

Absolutely.

This is awesome.

Because, you know, here's the thing.

It's so true.

I mean, one of the.

I think the most expensive mistake you can make in painting is buying cheap paint.

Because let's say a gallon of paint is $60.

And we're just going to throw that out there as a round number.

If you go buy the $35 paint, you're going to take twice as much of that pack to equal coverage wise and durability wise is what that better paint is.

And so you're going to pay twice as much in the long run for the paint because you're going to need two, three, four coats and you're going

to work twice as hard.

Yeah.

It won't go on the same way.

It doesn't.

It'll drag.

All of that, I think, too, for consumers.

What's another thing that's important if you're going to hire out the paint job in your home?

If you have chosen a specific color that's by a specific brand and the painter says, I'm going to match that with my brand, it's going to be exactly the same.

That is not true.

It will not work.

That is a lie.

It is because he or she gets a discount from that paint company and they can mark it up and sell it to you as retail.

And it will not match and it will not go on the same, and it will not have the same sheen.

And I cannot tell you how many times that has happened.

So now when a client comes to me and says, oh, my painter says he can get into such and such and such and such, it'll be exactly the same.

I say, okay, that's great.

We'll have them get a brush out and we'll hold it up.

Your sampleized piece or your Maria Killam piece or whatever brush out we got from the brand that I specified it from in the correct sheen.

And we'll see how we do.

And inevitably, he has to go back.

He.

She has to go back and get the right thing.

And it's just.

I just.

You didn't catch it.

I feel like that's insulting.

You know, you just got the designer eye roll from me.

Sorry, did you?

Yeah, yeah, I did.

What?

You've never experienced that, Mr. Dudley, so many times.

Oh, my gosh.

He's calling my bluff with the bunny rabbit designer eye roll.

I'm gonna.

I'm gonna.

In contactor.

In contractor defense.

I am going to say that I used to Be that guy.

Because people are like, oh, no.

I found this at what was before with, you know, Ernst or something like way back in the day.

You know, they're like, back in the day?

No, it's only $6 a gallon.

I'm like, I'll tell you what.

We're gonna go with, you know, a Parker or a Benjamin Moore.

And I would make them change the paint.

So there is that.

You're asking them to trade up.

I am saying, yeah, I know we're talking two different things, but I just

want to thank you for being someone who really watches out for the client and gets.

I want to let people know there's another side to that story.

Don't.

Yeah, don't stop every contractor and go, you're lying to me.

No, no, I don't mean it like that.

I'm sorry.

I'm just.

I feel so mad.

I'm sorry.

That's not what I mean.

I've been scarred by this experience.

This happened to me.

And this too, because it just.

And then the touch ups are even worse about much.

But that's why I'm bringing it up.

I'm like, hey, no, certainly.

And you're entitled to stand up for your.

You believe in.

Yeah.

Two designers.

I got no shot here.

Okay, you guys win.

I give my bunny, though.

And this is where that custom mix comes into it, right?

So maybe you got one guy that's in there, a girl that's in the paint store.

They're really good at mixing paint.

And they do three gallons or whatever it is, and they've got them dialed in.

And then, man, I need another court.

You go back in there, and employee number two mixes it up, and they're just not as attentive at reading the custom mix.

One ext.

Drop of black, one extra drop of

this, one extra drop of that, and then you're back doing the thing over again.

Because it's just all a custom mix.

Yeah.

Better to have a formula and maybe it can be dispersed by a machine.

Yeah, absolutely.

That's tested for accuracy every day or something.

Yeah, that's.

That is.

That's like saying putting a patient on an IV drip and saying, well, we'll just kind of try.

They only have that.

They only have that machine in Pleasantville.

I don't know.

That's awesome.

Well, and that's the thing, you know, and again.

And the other recommendation I have, too, is when you're doing big painting projects, please stick within the brand.

I think there's so many issues if you have a Paint issue down the road, let's say something didn't turn out or you're having a paint issue.

If you have a brand a of primer and then you're using the competing brand of paint, if that paint manufacturer makes the primer, I would strongly recommend to use the same one.

We will be right back with more from Wendy Glacier and Wendy Glacier Interiors after Around the House returns.

Don't change that dial.

Welcome back to the around the House show.

To find out more about us, head to aroundthehouse online.com now let's get back to talking about painting projects with Wendy Glaster.

Yellow oak staircase.

Well, red oak, but you know how it turns out Yellow.

And I'm not really a big fan of yellow, so.

No.

It's usually that oak that the lacquer finish on it or whatever is yellowed

on top of the washed out varnish has gone yellow.

Yeah,

yeah.

And he sanded it all down and then he put this really thick primer on and sanded that and then rubbed black into the grain of the oak.

Okay.

And then did a spray over the top.

And it is beautiful.

And I'm so grateful.

I mean, it is like glass.

It is so perfect.

Yay, Jerry.

Thank you, Jerry.

It's amazing.

I mean, I just couldn't.

I kept coming in looking, going, this is unbelievable.

He's like, this is how we do it.

I saw this is fantastic.

So it's.

It's fun too, because now I know every time I run across yellow, ugly oak, I know exactly who to call.

So.

Hot dog.

Hard to find someone that can do that, by the way.

Yeah.

Every patient with going forward is in deep trouble because they gotta.

They gotta live up to Jerry.

I will say that honestly, in 30 years of construction, painting was always my favorite, favorite thing to do.

I absolutely loved it.

And to have a client that understands that and that wants that kind of perfection and those types of finishes and that understands that costs, you know, $20,000, not two.

Yeah.

Is a dream.

I'm like, oh, my gosh.

Really?

I get to, like, do everything right and make it perfect.

I'm such a perfectionist.

So to have a client that's not like, I just blasted on there and.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, I loved the high end jobs like that where it was.

Yeah.

Lacquer finishes and.

Yeah.

Taping off the trim and spraying it with hvlps and just getting every.

Yeah.

Loving the problem with oak.

You know, for people out there that don't understand, this is the open grain pattern.

And that is so Tough.

That's why you don't see a lot of things painted oak, because so many times, even if you put that thicker layer in there, it covers 90 of the grain, but not all of it.

So you'll see almost a little skim

coat lines, and you really have to lay it out there, fill it in, sand.

It really kind of almost do body work on this like you would see with an automobile.

Fill that grain in.

It takes somebody with that level of detail to do it.

I would say 5% of the painters out there do that.

Well, it's not a big number that is used to taking an open grain like oak or hickory or something like that and paint it.

And I think it's great if you can save that, because otherwise, your only option is to go in there with a poplar.

Poplar, maple, something like that, rip it out and do that with it, which is never.

That's just seemingly a waste and very expensive.

Yeah, it has a curve, too.

So to redo that handrail with a perfect curve.

Yeah, no, no, that's the other thing, too.

Right.

You look at some of the restorations we did in the Northwest that were, you know, turn of the century stuff or, you know, 1890s eras and stuff like that.

Super old.

You're not going to replace.

You're not going to.

Unless we go down to custom woodworks, get those things milled out to match the three missing batt ulcers.

You can't replicate that again by going and buying some poplar and making a new rail.

You know, we have to save this.

Yeah.

Okay, guys, before we go out, we're gonna run out of time pretty soon.

I want to talk about sheen, because this is just as important as paint color.

Because Charlie, conversation.

So, okay.

He's so funny today.

He's quick.

He's quick.

Quick.

It's because I just woke up.

Honestly, I'm a little.

I'm a little punchy.

There we go.

I like it.

But you know what I mean?

I mean, great example.

You know, this house here that we're in, seven years old.

I think they used the Chinese drywall in it.

I'm almost just gonna bet, because it was a developer that built it, and no matter what you paint, you can put three coats of primer on it.

That drywall soaks it in like it's a sponge.

And so I go primer, primer now it's not taking primer anymore.

Let's go with paint.

But, yeah, smart.

But the problem is, is they went through and did matte and Everything, including the laundry room, bathro bathrooms, and everything else with.

I saw the paint in the garage.

It is builder grade, lowest level.

Sherwin Williams.

And that's not great for moist areas.

No, in Matt, it's just not.

So what's your take on sheen, Wendy?

I'd love to hear it.

A lot of the homes I work in are.

Some are.

Some are custom, some are from blueprint.

Some are just a gut job remodel.

Some of the clients want to redo all the texture in the house.

Some it's not a priority.

When it's not a priority, you have the knockdown texture that's so popular with builders.

And I just think it's ugly.

And I don't like.

Yeah, and I don't like all the.

You know, it's just busy.

And when you put a sheen on it, it's in your face.

Then, like, the highs and the lows all show up.

And it gets to be kind of.

I mean, it's not good.

It looks.

It looks like cheap vinyl.

Yeah.

So I go for flat or matte.

And in my own home, in the bathrooms, I did eggshell satin.

But everywhere else, even the kitchen, I did the flat or the mat because I just.

Then you also see every single flaw because it's shiny, so it catches the light.

Not like when you do really beautiful lacquer.

Like in a library.

You do the lacquer.

Yeah.

Black or green or red or whatever you're doing.

Like a piano, you know?

Yes.

And it's a level five finish.

Well, what is a level five fin finish?

Exactly.

Make sure that your drywall guy knows what a level 5 finish is.

For real.

That the painter knows what's involved with the level 5.

Finishers have a nightmare with that if they're not careful with.

Because you walk in and there's every roller mark left.

I don't want to talk about it.

Johnny's Doug.

Johnny, who five minutes ago was talking about how he loved painting, is now

rolling his eyes going, man, but you're so.

You're on the money there.

And I have finished a piano, by the way, refinished the piano.

That was a lot of fun stuff like that I love.

But no, on a level five.

And you're like, really?

Every little possible spot.

Again, you're back to painting your house black on the outside.

You're like, everything shows.

Yeah, it's just any little bit of dust or.

But I've seen it done, and it's really stunning, and it's a really beautiful look.

But you have to Know, I mean, you have to be ready for quite an investment in your paint and in your painter and your drywall guy.

Because you can't just put.

You can't just go put.

What is it like glossy paint on just a regular surface and think it's going to look like lacquer.

It's just going to look like plastic.

Yeah.

And it's going to cheapen the whole thing and just be a mess to clean up and forever.

If you try to put something over the top of it, it's going to peel off.

It's just.

Just.

You really have to think long term.

How is this going to play out in my house?

So one other pain issue I want to talk about that I've had this issue before.

I want to see if, Johnny, if you've had it, because we've never talked about it on ceilings that had popcorn on them that have been stripped and they used water to strip it with.

This is a personal experience that I've had 1970s, six.

Obviously, I've dealt with it.

Yeah, we can.

Oh, exactly.

Is that one.

It takes so much to prime that after you've fixed it, because usually when they do popcorn ceilings, there is a one coat of tape and.

And mud.

Then they hog it on over the top because there's no need.

It's going to cover it anyway.

So people going, I'm going to strip the popcorn.

Awesome.

Yes.

Well, now you almost have to skim coat the entire thing.

Yeah.

If it was new drywall, you'd probably be better off.

But that old drywall, once it's gotten damp.

Damp.

It seems that you can put three coats of PVA primer on it for prep, and it still needs three or four more coats and then two coats of paint.

And be careful out there, guys, doing that painting project, because it can get you kind of in a bind with lots and lots of paint.

My house was a great example.

My shoulder was messed up.

I was trying to get it done.

I've had a.

My buddy's painter come over and do some stuff.

We need to texture on the ceiling because I had taken that popcorn down.

Same thing we actually were taking.

I had pva.

I'd stripped it.

Pva primed it because I was going to do cedar on all of it.

I didn't.

The PVA primer would peel off the top of the drywall and it was coming off in dinner plate sizes, so it just didn't bind.

So we had to strip that and then start over.

But it took, I think, five coats of primer to get it to work.

Hindsight being 20 20, I should have stripped the drywall off and just started over.

You should have gutted the drywall or you put three skim coats over the top.

Either way, it's about the same amount of time and about the same time, same amount of money.

Yeah, it's just whether you like doing mud or hanging drywall.

Drywall, exactly.

I'd rather do three skim coats because I don't want to lift drywall over my head.

I don't want to put but 4 by 12 drywall up over my head.

Yeah.

Yeah.

There's no way around it because.

Yeah, it's.

Yeah.

Both some nightmare.

Yes.

I've done it a number of times.

And you're right that it's like working with Bondo.

You get the popcorn off and there's one coat of mud and it's that thick and you're not sanding it.

You're like, you might as well cut it out with a sawzall.

Take a grinder to it.

Exactly.

Wendy, we are running out of time.

How do people find you if they're like, oh, my gosh, I need help with paint colors.

I need help with anything around the house trying to get things dialed in.

You were coast to coast, it seemed.

Thankfully, Wendy.

U E N D Y Wendy Glasester Interiors G L A I S T E R so we have a website you can check out.

We're on Instagram.

We do a lot of stories on Instagram so you can see the ins and outs of everyday life and being on projects and discovering new things, and it'd be so great if you want to follow along.

Wendy, thanks for coming on today.

This has been fun.

Two designers picking on one contractor.

I do love, love when we have.

Sorry, John.

I love you guys for it.

I really do.

I really do.

Great job reading the script there, brother.

It's always awesome.

I love it when you're on here.

Wendy, we have such a great time.

Thanks for having me.

Thanks for coming back.

Thank you.

You're an absolute blast and always smiling, and I love that.

Thank you.

It's great to be here.

Fun.

I'm Eric Chi, and you've been listening to around the House.

Thanks for tuning in to the around the House show.

Make sure and follow us on social media media.

We will see you next time.