Redoing my house

[Horse with no Name]

I thought I wanted the inside of my house to reflect Southwest Indians, but I am almost complete and I really don't like it. In fact, I kind of hate it,lol.
I'm most comfortable with a French Country/cottage feel--so I am going back to that.
I've decided on yellow walls in the living room with red gingham slipcovers, however, a couple things.
My walls are a color called "Painted Desert"--it is a medium brown with almost a mauve hue to it--do I just need to primer with KILZ or something like that or would a couple of coats of yellow be best?
Secondly--does anyone have any good sites to look at pictures and designs for French Country?
Thanks in advance.

[NMDemDist2]

1. it may take three coats to cover the tan, but that still may be cheaper

than Kilz

sorry no sites. I always start at HGTV an go from there....

[Stinky The Clown]

2. You might also try a coat of less expenive (than Kilz) primer

.... and even see if it costs a reasonable amount to get it tinted slightly toward the final yellow. We covered a light tan with a soft yellow (a good quality Sherwin Williams paint) and did it in one coat over one coat of plain white (cheaper) primer.

[Kolesar]

7. Drizzle some pigmented topcoat paint into your white primer

...and the top coat will cover the primer much better. About 2 to 4 ounces in a gallon of primer ought to do. Covering a brown color with yellow ought to be easy. Only do this with the same paint types. Don't mix oil and latex.

Personally, I never got good results with less than 1 primer coat plus 2 topcoats. The topcoat just never "films over" correctly on the first coat. I often find spots where the film shrunk back and left a dry dimple of the previous layer.

I use a 12" roller to save time now.

[Kashka-Kat]

3. is kilz really that expensive?

not too bad here-- from $6-20 gal depending on the type--cheaper or same as a good paint. I am a fan of zinszer myself. yes get it tinted the color of your final coat.

[fudge stripe cookays]

4. Here's a few I like.

Rue de France can be a little expensive, but they do have some pretty stuff.

http://www.maisoui.net/
http://www.ruedefrance.com/

FSC

[fortyfeetunder]

5. Mais Oui, Merci!

Mais Oui is in my neighborhood!!! I can't wait to go see it!!!

[fudge stripe cookays]

6. Well, how cool is that?

You might be able to check EBay for "French Country" too and see what comes up.

I like antiquing in interesting little places and finding nifty little bistro tables and chairs. You can spray paint them delicate French blue or something, then sand them so they look older and more beat up.

And Pierre Deux fabrics are quite the French country linens to have.

I know there's also a neat store up in Minneapolois called "Meli-Melo" that was in Good Housekeeping issue a few years ago. Neat stuff, but pretty expensive.

And Target has some great knockoff pieces in their housewares section. :-)

FSC

[Stinky The Clown]

8. Whoever is the buyer for Target deserves an award

Their stuff has a great sense of style and appeal. I'm not sure of the quality, but their stuff suuuuuuure loooks good.

[Longhorn]

9. Too bad Target is redder than Wal-Mart!

http://www.buyblue.org/alphalist.php#t

[NMDemDist2]

10. Hi Longhorn!!

:hi:

the buy blue site is sure getting nicer and more user friendly isn't it?

[Longhorn]

11. Yes, it is and I enjoy getting the email updates, too.

Unfortunately, we can't always buy blue but I always check before I make a decision and now I have some places that I shop exclusively because they're blue. :)