Debbie Travis' Painted House: More than 35 Quick and Easy Finishes for Walls, Floors, and Furniture

The author and television host shows beginners how to create today's most fashionable painted effects easily and safely, through simple-to-follow instructions and 250 photographs designed to help readers create ingenious painting effects for the home. Reprint. 75,000 first printing.

Believing that wonderful paint effects need not entail the many complications of oil-based materials, acclaimed painted-finishes expert Debbie Travis has developed easy step-by-step methods for terrific-looking treatments, all achieved with water-based supplies. With large, beautiful photos, clear instructions, and well-chosen colors, she demonstrates 35 different finishes for walls and floors (textured, patterned, and stone types) and for furniture, trim, and accessories (antique and specialty, metallic, and stenciling methods), plus four "master techniques" (colorwashing, ragging, sponging, and dragging). Travis also gives careful attention to getting started, which she believes intimidates people even more than learning the actual techniques. She explains how to find inspiration, choose a style appropriate to your own tastes, and select colors. Even the most timid of amateur decorators should be able to handle most of the techniques presented in Debbie Travis's Painted House.