Different Types of Concrete Finishes 

If you want to install a new concrete patio, walkways, or driveways, you can actually choose from different options in terms of design and style. Your new concrete incorporates aesthetics and character to your property. By improving your curb appeal, you are also helping your property’s resale value. For you to know more about your options, here’s a guide about the different types of concrete finishes.  

 

Salt finish 

This concrete finish is achieved by adding coarse rock salt crystals using rollers con concrete surfaces that are freshly poured and laid. After the concrete is set, it will then be washed with streams of water. The salt finish provides a rough yet decorative subtle texture, which is skid resistant to colored or plain concrete. It is basically utilized for wet areas like swimming pools.  

Integral color finish 

Utilizing this type of concrete finish can incorporate your concrete with a long-lasting and fade resistant color. Integral color finish is utilized to copy the appearance of natural stone products such as slate and terra cotta. It is a great option for your concrete countertops, patio, and floors.  

Polished finish 

A polished finish is one of the most popular interior concrete floor finish. This is the kind of shiny concrete flooring you would see in commercial stores. However, you can also observe this more on residential renovations. A polished finish will provide your concrete floor a polished, durable, and strong finish that’s easy to maintain and clean. 

Acid staining finish 

You can transform and provide a whole new look to your exterior or interior concrete surface by acid staining them. This concrete finish can result in a marble effect and change your concrete into a range of texture, tones, and colors. Sure, can do this on your exterior concrete, however, this is a typical finish for interior concrete floorings.  

Exposed aggregate finish 

This type of concrete finish is when you utilize aggregates and natural stones and “seed” them into the base of the concrete. Though this may seem like a rougher finish, it’s actually decorative.  Also, you can select from an extensive range of types and colors of aggregates, allowing you to customize how your concrete looks on patios, walkways, and driveways.  

Sealed and stamped finish 

A stamped concrete is usual concrete that’s textured or patterned to try mimicking various stone products. In fact, you can make your stamped concrete copy different patterns and textures such as slate, tile, Modesto pavers, and brick. This concrete finish provides lots of options for design and style and it’s also an attractive and unique option, you can also have your stamped concrete customized with a range of sealing products, stains, and colors.  

Broom finish 

This type of concrete finish is what you will usually see on basic concrete sidewalks and walkways. The broom finish is the least labor-intensive to do, hence, it does not cost that much. Regardless, it can surely provide a clean and fresh look to your exterior. 

How to Build a Stone Retaining Wall

There are a lot of different kinds of retaining wall and one of them is Stone Retaining Wall. Stone retaining wall are the same with all the different retaining wall but instead of another solid it comes from Stones. If you want to build a stone retaining wall then this is an article for you but before we step into the tutorial let us explain to you what is a retaining wall.

Retaining Wall

A retaining wall is a formed designed and built to withstand the indirect pressure of soil, when there is a want to change in earth altitude that exceeds the angle of repose of the soil. A retaining wall is very useful in terms of holding water or earth.

How to build a stone retaining wall

• Plan

Planning always comes first, it does not just help you organize your building but it can also help you know the steps and what you must do in the project you are working on such as a stone retaining wall.

• Plot

Plot out where the retaining wall will be located. The advantage of a straight terrace is that you can attach a line level to the string to make sure the courses of your structure are level.

• Dig

In building a retaining wall, digging or excavating is a must, not only does it make your retaining wall deeper but it also helps it not to get damage too much.

• Compact Loose Soil

In digging there is a lot of uncompact soil, in order to make it compact again use a skimming motion to remove the remaining soil.

• Level Footing

You can level the top gravel and spread the surface evenly for smoothness.

• Stone

When positioning the stones, we should take in mind that the larger and wider stones come first, we should have two flat side in each stone as much as possible. As you add another layer, you should do the largest to the smallest method, it can help a lot in terms of maintaining you retaining wall

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Look – Stone simply looks beautiful, and fits perfectly into any kind of traditional rustic setting.
• Flexibility – Natural stone can fit almost any situation that comes to your mind. Also, you don’t need any special connection or mortar to keep the construction together.
• Tradition – Natural stone is one of the oldest and the most reliable materials used for grade transitions.
• Durability – Much like any other stone construction, if made well, a natural stone can last you for ages.

Cons

• Price – Stone was always considered to be one of the more pristine, but also the most expensive building materials.
• Drainage – When it comes to natural stone, drainage can become a serious problem after just a couple of years.
• Heaviness – Setting up a stone wall is a very labor-intensive process.
• Building blocks diversity – Fitting too many different pieces together may prove to be a joy for some, but a chore for others.

Self-Thought Questions Before You Have Kitchen Renovation 

Even though you have enough money to use for the renovation of the house or on one part of your house, it is still hard to decide. You don’t know if you are going to hire a contractor to do this or you and your husband can handle the renovation project on your own. Aside from that, you have to consider about getting cabinet makers to make and install the kitchen’s cabinet properly and get the right design of it. You are still thinking about the possibility of wasting so much money for the remodeling or renovation if you are still satisfied about the overall view of your kitchen.  

 

You would need the advice and suggestions of your friends if you are still confused and undecided if you are going to have it or not. You can read some magazines for some additional information about this matter and you might be able to realize what you really need to change or to renovate. You can also get some ideas about this thought by reading some of the questions that you might encounter and think deeply before you have the kitchen renovation project.  

Ask Your Self About Your Main Purpose of Having This Renovation: It is necessary that you know what you want to do and the purpose of why you are trying to renovate the kitchen. In this way, you would be able to have a real reason to start this renovation project of yours. You can think this one before anything else to figure your great and ideal type of kitchen to avoid regrets in the future.  

Are you Going to Live There for So Long: Of course, it is important that you have to stay there in the house for a longer time to make use of the money that you have spent for this renovation? If you are planning to move to a new house after a year better not to continue having the renovation. It would be a waste of time and money to do something that you are not going to use for a lifetime.  

Can You Shoulder the Enough Budget? If you are decided to have a remodeling for the kitchen, then think about the approximate budget that you can shoulder for this. You need to remember that it is not going to be very cheap having this kind of project. You can look for a cheaper company that can handle your project to avoid too much spending of money.  

Do You Have a Bigger Family? If you are having a bigger type of family then you might need a bigger kitchen to use. But of course, if you are just three in your family so it is better to be more practical that using your money for something that you can’t use well.  

Can You Find a Good Contractor to Work with This? You have to make sure that you are going to get the best one in order to avoid delays.  

DIFFERENT PLATFORMS OF VISUAL ARTS

As a visual artist, there are plenty of platforms where you can express your feelings and your thoughts. The canvass is not the only venue for you to paint those wonderful colors. There are plenty of ways that can give you the luxury of art.

So here are some platforms where you can express your way of art in a unique and creative way:

Colored Pencils

For beginners, exploring the wonders of a colored pencil can be a good start. By using colored pencils, it only feels like you are using a normal pencil. However, this time you are going to combine the colors in order create some shades and some contour.  This is a good and artistic way for beginners as they can still have a great control over the strokes. One of the most wonderful practices and exercise for making an art work through the use of colored pencils is by making a color wheel. It is also a good practice by drawing some shades out of different shapes such as a cube, a cylinder, and a rectangular box. This can surely help beginners to have a good contouring and shading skill in using colored pencils as a medium.

 

 

Do not also forget the quality of the paper that you are going to use. A smooth paper would be recommendable. Some of the good papers that you can use with a smooth surface is a vellum board or paper which is really cheap. You can also use a Canson paper or sketch pad for practice too.

 

Watercolor Painting

Using watercolors are quite the basic thing that you should practice with in painting. Watercolors are just cheaper than actual paints. You can have the time to practice the mystery of mixing color and creating some shades in different coatings. There are plenty of watercolors out there that you can use. There are in palette or cake form, and there are also watercolors that are in the tube form. However, there is quite a distinction between these two watercolors. The cake can be easily wasted most especially for those starters, but it is really recommended for artists who are amateurs. While the tubes are recommended for those professional watercolor painters since they can easily use these wherever they go. The watercolors are also easy to preserve since it is inside a tube.

 

 

One of the basic things that you can do for practice in using a watercolor medium is by painting some fruits that you can see in your kitchen that looks like it was done by Kitchen remodeling Spokane. By practicing in making some paintings about those simple shapes of fruits such as apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, and other fruits that you can find at home, you can surely become a pro watercolor painter in no time. You can use papers that are acid-free and are thick enough to hold the water for the water color painting. Some good brands that are used for the paper are Canson paper or sketchpad, and Berkeley paper or sketchpad.  It is also important to be mindful of the brush that you are using. There are plenty of thick and thin brushes; and it is important to use the right brush for the right stroke and painting in order to achieve the best painting that you could ever do.

 

Acrylic Paint

Acrylic paint is one of the mediums that are used by artists who are in the professional or artist grade level. Acrylic paint has almost the same principle in watercolor painting in terms of mixing some colors. However, an acrylic paint has a different texture. It is the art of an acrylic paint to have a different and solid texture than the watercolor. Different techniques are used in using acrylic paints such as using isopropyl alcohol, acetones, water, and other solvents to lighten up the color or to totally remove it. What is good about acrylic paints is that it does not usually stain your clothes since it is water soluble unlike the oil.

Oil Pastel

Oil pastel is one of the easiest and most often used by elementary artists. This kind of medium is so easy to use and so easy to control unlike watercolors and acrylic or oil medium. Oil pastel is easy to control just like a colored pencil. However, an oil pastel can make your hands quite dirty and messy looking since the pastel is quite soft. The oil pastel is quite easy to use since it feels like you are just using a crayon with a higher standard of quality and texture. It is just stickier than those crayons. There are plenty of ways in using oil pastel too. You can surely use a cotton and an oil in order to spread the colors and control the level of the darkness or light of the painting.

Chalk Art 

If you think that chalk can only be used in school, then you should have some second thoughts now because a chalk can be used in a very wonderful, unique, and creative manner. Chalk art is one of the most famous forms of visual arts in the world. Using chalk in visual arts can be quite amazing especially when it is used in streets. It is actually famous in street arts such as making some three-dimensional drawings in the streets or on walls. It is also not a burden since it can be easily erased.

 

 

These are just some of the most wonderful platforms of visual arts. Art is everywhere; you can make art just by looking for an inspiration. As an artist, it is a responsibility to beautify the world through the form of making a visual art. Expressing yourself can no longer be isolated in the form of speaking, you can communicate and express yourself by simply making some paintings or drawings that can imply what are you thinking of in terms of different matters such as current events, social issues, environmental concerns, daily living, work situations, and everything else under the heat of the sun.

Furthermore, as an artist, you can also influence others by showing them how good art can be. Being an artist can be quite hard. It takes a lot of mood swings in order for you to finish a piece. It could even take you days, months or years before finishing a really good piece of art. But art is not just something that you can instantly make in a strike of a lightening or in a blink of an eye. Art is a very important thing that takes a lot of time, contemplation, and a lot of concentration as well.

UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD OF VISUAL ARTISTS

Being in the world of visual art can be a strange thing for people who cannot understand the uniqueness when it comes to the field of visual art. Visual artists’ way can be quite a lot different from the ways of living of people who are not inclined in the world of arts.

 

 

 

AN ARTIST’S WORLD 

That is why, for a person who do not understand the prerequisites of art, it is important to understand and get to know the output of artists. It is also important to understand the processes and every hardship that an artist has to go through before coming up with a very wonderful and world-class masterpiece.

That is the reason behind why it is important for artists to have a secluded place that are free from the noise and free from the world of people who are not into the world of art. It can be quite strange for people when they see how messy a visual artist’s place is. It can also be quite strange how an artist grows this long hair and long beard or how they indulge themselves in too much smoking.

Sometimes, there are circumstances that only an artist could understand. It can be different from the ways of living of normal people, but it is the way of an artist to come up with amazing ideas and amazing concepts that gives an artist the creativity, uniqueness, and artistic kind of piece of art.

ART STUDIO

This is just a simple reason why an artist has their own studio in order to have enough motivation, inspiration, and peace of mind. The studio is a comfort zone of an artist. That is why it is also important that an artist has a studio with a roofing contractors anchorage, a well-ventilated room, a place where the ambiance is peaceful, and a place where it can be inspiring for an artist.

A visual artist’s kind of art studio can look messy, full of clutter, full of spilled paints, full of dust and everything else that you can think of. But an art studio is a place that is so precious for artists. It is a place where they magnificently stroke their brush on a canvass and act as if nobody else can ever disturb them from what they are doing. Yes, artists have their own world, but that is just the way it has to be. They would feel comfortable in being alone, and sometimes they would feel like they need to see the other and outside part of the world to come up with excellent conceptualizations that they can use in their next art work.

PORTRAITS

Some artists do specialize in portraits. Through portraits, they can draw from an inspiration of a person or of people. They can paint something that gives them the urge to creatively paint a person. It is all about painting different people, different smile, different eyes, and different feelings and expressions. Portraits can be quite interesting. It is like picturing someone and then a visual artist will make their own version of that person through a portrait in a canvass.

LANDSCAPES

 

On the other hand, landscapes are a piece of art of visual artists by getting inspired with some places that they have been to. It is an epitome of how they look at some places that give them the concept and wonder to make a new masterpiece. Landscapes can be quite hard to do since it entails a lot of small details. However, landscapes can be quite interesting since it is a place where a memory of the visual artist might have taken place.  A landscape is a reflection of a story. It can be really interesting to look at other people’s story behind every painting, right?