cover image Paint Can!: Techniques, Patterns, and Projects for Bringing Color Into Every Room

Paint Can!: Techniques, Patterns, and Projects for Bringing Color Into Every Room

Sunny Goode. Sterling Publishing (NY), $24.95 (124pp) ISBN 978-1-4027-3094-8

An expert with her very own line of paints-Sunny's Goodtime Paints-Goode offers a wealth of projects and tips for the home decorator in this fully illustrated book, her first. Starting with the very basics of painting, Goode instructs beginners how to prep the area to be painted and what supplies to keep on hand. Techniques range from colorwashing and stenciling to more ambitious schemes such as stripes, plaids, diamonds and freehand. She applies many of the concepts to a range of surfaces, from walls to furniture to floors; tables and cabinets get a fresh coat of paint, and a light glaze can be used to achieve an aging effect. Goode explains exactly how she achieves each look, complete with information on the paints used, but almost all the projects call for at least one product from Goode's own line, which can give the book an advertorial feel. Additionally, some techniques, such as sponging, are notably absent. If they can look past Goode's distracting sales pitch, those ready to add color to a room will find this volume instructive and easy to use.