PAPERING CEILINGS
Ceilings, like walls, have a much softer feeling if you hang lining paper before you paint them. If you want to cover a ceiling with patterned paper, choose pale colors (unless the ceiling is very high) and patterns which do not have an obvious 'right way up'. Ensure that you are standing steadily at a comfortable height to reach the ceiling with your head just below ceiling level, using scaffolding planks with ladders.
Decide which way you want to hang the paper. The patterned paper is hung with the pattern running down the length of the room. With plain or broken color paper, the job may be easier if you hang shorter strips across the room.
1 Mark a straight line across the ceiling, 53cm(21 in) from the wall with which you want to align the paper. Measure out from the wall at each end, and join the two points with a length of the chalk-covered string, pinned in position. Snap it to leave a mark on the ceiling as a guide for the first strip of paper. 2 Paste the paper as for wallpaper, making neat, concertina-style folds so that you can control the paper more easily.
The folds should be about 50cm(20 in) apart, and arranged so that the pasted side is sandwiched to the pasted side of the next fold. 3 Lift the folded wallpaper to the ceiling, beside the marked line, un-wrap the first fold, sticking it in place so it is in line with the mark. Allow a few centimeters to overlap the cornice or wall at the end. Work down the length of the paper, unfolding and smoothing as you go.
Trim ends by marking with the back of the scissors as before. Repeat for subsequent strips, butting the edges carefully and rolling seams with a seam roller. 4 If there is a ceiling rose, cut a hole to ease the light fitting through the paper. Turn off the power at the mains, then snip into the paper around the rose. Trim away the paper to leave a couple of millimeters overlap, unscrew the rose slightly and tuck the edge of the paper under the rose as you tighten it up again.
DECORATING PAINTWORK
All the colors of the spectrum - and aver 1000 variations - are available as paint. This vast range of hues means you can choose precise tints and shades to get the effect yau want whatever the general color scheme. Natural color Compare this wealth of color with the restricted palette available to early decorators. It is a common misconception that historic homes were decorated in pastel tones. The colors contained natural dyes which faded fast.
Buff, sky blue and brown were among the first commercially produced paint colors and a favorite Georgian color scheme was sage green woodwork teamed with chocolate colored walls - an adventurous and effective combination. Strong colors of equal value like these underline the beauty of perfect proportions but altering their relative depth can help to improve the perspective where necessary.
A dark color appears to lower a high ceiling while muted, matching tones allow unsightly features like radiators and pipes to pale in ta insignificance. The nineteenth century saw the development of synthetic dyes, progressing from the crude brilliance .of mauve, magenta (named after a battle) and Prussian blue, to delicate shell pinks, creams and celadons used in elaborate paint effects at the turn of the century.
These were ail-based paints like modern eggshell finish, whose sheen suits bath walls and woodwork, increasing the impression of space and giving a soft, subtle look. The chalky colors of distemper had been used in unpretentious cottage settings, but urban living demanded dark colors which did not shaw the dirt. Until well into the twentieth century, pastels were the preserve of the rich who did not have to concern themselves with cleaning.
Pure white paint became available in the 1920s and contributed to the widely held image of the homes of movie stars in the 1920s and 30s, made famous by interior decorator Syrie Maugham.
