A four-year-old boy named Jonathan is now the lucky occupant of this custom-built, custom painted and landscaped playhouse. His parents were the winning bidders at a recent auction for The Ronald McDonald House Charities. We were asked to contribute to the project by donating the custom painting services, including the color consultation for this good cause. We gladly accepted.

Custom-Painted Playhouse

The house where Jonathan previously lived had a red door. After the family moved to their new house, Jonathan told his mom how much he missed his old house’s red door. During the color consultation, his mom asked us if we could find a way to incorporate a red door in our recommended color scheme. We said that it should be no problem. Jonathan got to have his red door. He was overjoyed!

This week, I attended a presentation where the speaker talked about the meaning of red doors through time. I thought it was interesting, so I did a little research on the web. I will pass along some of the information I came across.

A red door means “welcome”. The tradition of red doors dates back centuries. In religious circles, the red doors of churches indicated a place of sanctuary, refuge and safety. Those inside of the walls of the church would be protected, both physically and spiritually. In Feng Shui, a red door symbolizes “the mouth of the home”. By painting the door red, you invite positive energy into the home. In China, doors are often painted a fresh coat of red just before the Chinese New Year to invite good luck and happiness. And then, there is Albert Einstein who painted his door red, so he could find his house more easily!

As color consultants and house painting and decorating contractors in the Chicago area, we recognize the power of color to improve the quality of life for our clients and are committed to make that contribution available through our painting.

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Custom-Painted Playhouse

A custom-built playhouse, in an elegant Hinsdale backyard, complete with its own landscaping, surely deserves an exterior paint job that matches its bones and surroundings. The owner was the successful bidder of the playhouse at a recent fundraising event benefiting the Ronald McDonald House Charities for a whopping $14,000. Our painting and decorating company was invited to decorate this very special fantasy house for a lucky four-year old boy.

Sandy and Chris, the owners, wanted the color scheme to be fun for their son, as well as blend with the colors on the family’s house. After getting initial color input from our clients, we went about developing a color scheme that would meet their needs. Once the seven-color scheme was approved, we went about executing the exterior painting.

Jonathan - The Happy Occupant of the Playhouse

All the trim on the playhouse is cedar, including the five custom-built windows. The ceiling of the canopy and the front door were made out of fir bead board. We chose a solid-color stain from Benjamin Moore, called Arborcoat, for all the surfaces to be decorated. The execution of the work took about twelve hours to complete. Take a look at the completed project! Jonathan, the occupant of this special place, seems to really enjoy having dinner in his new surroundings.

Our house-painting company delights on this type of personal and custom decorating, where the clients’ desires are at the center of our efforts.

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When doing exterior painting, surfaces need to be cleaned and mildew spores have to be killed. In the Chicago area, professional house painting contractors know to clean and power wash surfaces before painting them. However, mildew can often be mistaken for dirt. Even though it looks like dirt, mildew has spores and is a living organism. When mildew is present, power washing or cleaning alone will not get the job done.

In order to grow, mildew needs three things in its environment: moisture, darkness and food. If mildew spores are not killed before the surfaces are painted, you have supplied darkness and sometime a bit of food to enable the mildew to grow. Especially on the sunny side of the building, the heat and cold cycles add condensation (moisture) to the painted surfaces. The net result of these different forces is: mildew will grow between the last two layers of paint and cause the last layer to fail and delaminate from the previous coat, as shown in our pictures.

Not Killing Mildew Spores Before Painting Causes Paint Failure - 1

Not Killing Mildew Spores Before Painting Causes Paint Failure - 2

When mildew is detected, it is essential to use a diluted bleach solution to kill the spores. In our case, we also use a specially formulated product, which includes a mildewcide and detergents, to help produce a more through cleaning of the surfaces. In Chicago and the Northern states, mildew is an ever present problem. It requires vigilance on the part of the house painting contractor. When in doubt, assume there is mildew and treat it accordingly.

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