"First of all, before tomatoes and raw eggs are hurled at my windows, I must say that having walls or furniture painted by a reputable and talented professional will probably result in a better finish. It will have that artistic quality that only a trained professional would be able to produce."

"But if doing it yourself might be where it's at for right now, read on."

"Sponge painting involves blotting paint onto a surface by means of a sponge. The surface must first have a base coat colored to complement or contrast the sponge color. Selecting complementary or contrasting colors for sponging can be the biggest problem. If the color is sort of OK but maybe too dark, water might be added or white paint might be mixed in to lighten it."

"While all of that usually is done by trial and error, there are sponging kits available that come pre-matched. A light color used as the base coat will be pre-matched with a darker shade for the sponging. Then a clear coat is available that will both glaze and add texture to the wall."

"What about the ever-popular pickled look? To pickle wood, you would need to thin the paint to be used, brush it onto raw wood and then wipe it off. Thinning the paint is the most difficult part. Thinning too much results in not enough color; not thinning enough gives too intense of a color, particularly in the grooves of the grain."

"Guess what? There are products out there that take all the guesswork out of pickling. These products are usually water-based, making them user-friendly."

"Making a surface look like natural wood graining
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