As the warmth of spring breathes life into the world, it’s the perfect time to rejuvenate your living space with a touch of flair and sophistication. At Color Wheel, we’re delighted to offer a myriad of options to invigorate your home this season.

From vibrant paints to exquisite wallpaper, luxurious window treatments, and elegant reupholstery, we have everything you need to embark on your home decorating journey this season.

Create a Fresh Outdoor Oasis
With the arrival of spring, homeowners are understandably eager to revitalize their outdoor spaces. Enjoying a glass of wine on the patio or entertaining friends by the pool just isn’t the same with chipping paint on your deck or fading lawn furniture.

Whether you’re envisioning a serene patio retreat or a lively garden haven, our selection of outdoor paints and stains will bring your ideas to life. Add a fresh coat of paint to your fence, stain your deck to perfection, or spruce up your garden furniture for al fresco gatherings.

Our expert staff is here to guide you every step of the way. Soon, you’ll be enjoying a vibrant outdoor oasis just in time for the beautiful weather.

Enhance Indoor Tranquility
Embrace the season with soft, airy colors and exquisite wallpaper designs that evoke a sense of renewal inside your home. From refreshing your walls with a new coat of paint to adding depth and texture with stylish wallpaper, Color Wheel offers a diverse range of options to suit every taste.
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If you want to enhance your space further while enjoying energy benefits, explore our luxurious window treatments, which create a haven of comfort and style in your home while protecting paint, furniture, and flooring from fading.

Revitalize Your Furniture With Reupholstery
Give your furniture a new lease on life this spring with our expert reupholstery services. Whether it’s a beloved armchair, a worn-out sofa, or antique dining chairs, our skilled professionals will breathe new life into your pieces, transforming them into stunning focal points that seamlessly complement your decor.

Choose from our wide range of fabrics in every color and pattern you can think of, including stain-resistant ones. Soon, your furniture will be more comfortable, modern, and stylish than you ever thought possible.

Get Inspired for Your Next DIY Project
Feeling inspired to get creative this spring? Explore our vast selection of DIY supplies and embark on a project that reflects your unique style.

From dramatic color inspiration for an accent wall to creating custom window treatments, Color Wheel provides the tools and materials you need to unleash your creativity. Need guidance? Our friendly staff is always on hand to offer expert advice and inspiration.

No matter what you’re thinking of getting involved in this spring, we have the tools and insight to help you succeed.

Everything You Need for Spring Is at Color Wheel
This spring, let us be your partner in transforming your house into the home of your dreams. Whether you want to create a stunning outdoor space, a modern interior, or give your furniture a facelift, we have what you need to welcome spring. Visit Color Wheel today and let the beauty of the season inspire your next project!

You have lots of options when it’s time to redecorate your home (or decorate your new home for the first time). One of the biggest decisions you have to make is whether to paint the walls your favorite hues or get creative with wallpaper.

Both options have a lot to offer and can completely transform the look and feel of your interior spaces. But which one is the right option for you? While you don’t necessarily have to choose between them, we’ve put together this guide to help you decide between wallpaper vs. paint.

Types of Rooms and What They’re Used for​
While you can use wallpaper in any room in the house, there are certain rooms where wallpaper may be more suited than paint.

For example, a powder room is the perfect place to use wallpaper, as it can make a bold statement while not affecting the rest of your home’s décor or feel. The laundry room and mudroom are also excellent places to experiment with wallpaper, as they can make a visual impact without dominating large rooms or spaces.
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Other rooms that can be good to use wallpaper in include the dining room, nursery, or a home office. Get creative with colors, patterns, and textures you are most attracted to.

How Long You Plan to Stay in Your Home​
Paint is one of the easiest ways to refresh your home and provide a better return on your investment. So if you are only planning to stay in your home a couple years, paint may be the better choice.

Wallpaper is a more long-term investment, so if you plan to own your home for a decade or longer, you can get as creative as you’d like with different styles without worrying it will affect the resale value of your home.

Keep in mind too that wallpaper can be more resilient than paint and last longer. Whereas paint may need to be updated every few years, wallpaper can look good for over a decade with the proper care.

If You Want to Incorporate Texture
Wallpaper is a great way to bring extra dimension to a space, especially when you choose paper with texture or metallics. For walls or spaces that look like they would benefit from a bit more texture, wallpaper is the perfect way to bring your vision to life.

Ceiling vs. Wall Trade-Off​
If you decide to wallpaper the walls, consider painting the ceiling a coordinating color. And if you choose to paint the walls, you can always add a wow factor to your ceiling with wallpaper. In the case of wallpaper, a painted ceiling tends to be more attractive, but the opposite is not always true for paint!

Let’s Discuss Your Options​
Don’t let all your options overwhelm you--contact Color Wheel to learn more about your wallpaper and paint choices based on your home decorating project. Our friendly and experienced professionals are here to help make your next decorating task fun, simple, and stress-free!

* All the images are Farrow & Ball Paint and Wallpaper and available through Color Wheel in McLean VA.

It’s finally happened—the kids have moved out! Your job as a parent is never quite done, but now you have the house to yourself. Being an empty nester brings a lot of life changes, including extra space you can now redecorate.

Consider this a chance to transform your home based on what fits your life now, not what would suit your kids. You can take this opportunity to convert kids’ rooms into guest rooms, a home office, theater, library, exercise room, or craft room.

The following tips will help you revitalize your spaces and redecorate your kids’ rooms so you can start the next chapter of your life in style.

Declutter and Donate Kids’ Items
The first step in revitalizing any space, especially for empty nesters, is decluttering. The trick here is to keep any sentimental items you don’t want to part with but get rid of things you won’t use or need anymore.

If you love something but not enough to have it take up space in your home, you can always take a picture before donating or tossing it. A photo takes up less space and will last forever.

Once you declutter your kids’ rooms and donate or toss items, you can organize the things you want to keep and find a permanent place for them, even if it is in storage. And if your kids want to keep anything, have them take their stuff to their own place so it doesn’t take up space in yours.

Invest in Quality Furniture
Now the fun begins. If you’ve gotten rid of furniture you and your kids no longer use, or your kids have taken their furniture with them, you have a blank slate, and the first place to start is with quality furniture.

Keep in mind that while your decorations and paint color may change over time, furniture tends to stay the same. Therefore, it’s important to choose comfortable yet high-quality items with a timeless design that suits your taste.

You can even look for multipurpose items to maximize your investment, including a sofa bed, an ottoman that functions as a chair, and benches and tables with built-in storage.

Have well-made furniture that you love, but your taste has changed? Consider getting it refinished or reupholstered for a complete makeover that will help it fit in seamlessly with your new spaces.

Splurge for Decorations​
You can really get creative with the décor you choose for your space as an empty nester once you’ve decluttered and gotten some beautiful furniture you love. In fact, you can use furniture and flooring to create a color scheme for things such as:

• Art. Choose art you feel inspired by and will love seeing every day.
• Lighting. Lighting can completely change a space, so be selective when investing in lighting.
• New bedding. New sheets, blankets, and pillows can refresh a room more than you think.
• Paint. A fresh coat of well-chosen paint can quickly change the look and feel of a room.
• Wallpaper. Sophisticated wallpaper can revitalize your kids’ rooms with a dramatic visual effect.
• Window treatments. New window treatments, including blinds, shutters, or curtains, can make your kids’ old rooms feel luxurious.

Go shopping to get ideas and see what items, colors, or patterns most draw your attention for the décor in your new spaces.

Get More Ideas at Color Wheel
Need ideas for redecorating and revitalizing your kids’ rooms as an empty nester? Please contact our design specialists by phone 703-356-8477 or send us a message through our Contact page. We can help you find paint, wallpaper, window treatments, carpet and more to change the look and feel of your new nest.

Wallpaper is certainly in the spotlight with dramatic patterns, tasteful hues, and easy application. However, what happens when you have old wallpaper in your home that you want to remove, whether you want to paint or apply new wallpaper?

Although removing old wallpaper can seem like a headache you’d rather avoid, we have some tips and tools here for you to safely and effectively remove wallpaper without damaging your walls or your sanity. Some painting and wallpaper contractors will provide this service, but you can do this yourself!

There are several types of wallpapers out there.  Here is a list of the most common:

• Wallpaper with or without a vinyl coating
• Solid Vinyl with a synthetic or fabric backing
• Solid Vinyl with a paper backing
• Wallpaper with a strippable backing

Find Out If Your Wallpaper Is Removeable​
Before you get started with removing wallpaper, find out if your wallpaper is peelable or strippable. These are generally wallpapers manufactured in the last 10 years that easily peel off, leaving a paper backing on the wall or strip off completely without water or chemicals.  If your wallpaper is older, it’s best to assume you’ll need extra tools and supplies. Bring a piece of your wallpaper by Color Wheel so we can help determine what’s needed.

Determining if your walls were prepared before the wallpaper was hung is critical.  Wallpaper primer prevents the adhesive from soaking into the drywall or plaster behind it, which allows for easy removal. Unfortunately, this step is often skipped.

Plan Accordingly with Time and Tools
Proper planning will make your wallpaper removal job that much easier. If your wallpaper was not applied with primer or is not peelable, chances are it will take you the better part of a day to remove wallpaper in just one room.

Removing non-peelable wallpaper can be messy and takes time. Remember, the longer the wallpaper has been there, the harder it may be to remove. Therefore, it’s essential to plan and prep your space before getting started.
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Tools and supplies you may need:

• Wallpaper Stripper Concentrate and a bucket
• Scoring Tool to break the surface and allow remover to dissolve the adhesive
• Wallpaper Shaver and extra blades
• Drop cloths
• Painter’s tape
• Towels

The drop cloths, towels, and painter’s tape will help you protect floors, trim, outlets, and vents, although it’s still wise to turn off the electricity in that room and move furniture before getting started.

Let’s get started​
Use the Scoring tool, punch small and shallow holes in the surface of the wallpaper.  You can do the entire room ahead of time or work in smaller sections.  It’s kind of fun but your arm may get tired. Older children may enjoy doing this so put them to work.

Mix the wallpaper stripper concentrate according to the instructions on the container.  Mix smaller batches if you’re not planning to remove the entire room at one time.  There’s no rush.

Apply the solution, working in a small area, to the surface of the wallpaper and wait the recommended amount of time in the instructions.  If you hurry, the stripper will not have time to do its job.  Working in a small area first, will allow you to see how it’s working and when to start shaving.  Try a 3’ x 3’ square.

The wallpaper may be able to be removed in full sheets depending on the prior wall prep and the type of paper.  Pull gently in a diagonal direction, SLOWLY!  Never pull fast as you may tear off the surface of the drywall underneath. If this works, skip the next step and do a little happy dance.
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If you’re not dancing, we recommend using a wallpaper shaver which protect the wall surface from gouges and to more easily scrape the wallpaper off.  Putty knives are too thick and narrow to do this efficiently. It’s important to change the blades regularly. As you’re working, if it seems like an area is harder to remove, you probably need to change the blade.

Using a sprayer for the stripper can also help you properly saturate the wallpaper—often, a rag or spray bottle won’t do the job. Remember to do one section at a time, as the sections should not dry out before you can attempt to remove them.

Don’t Forget to Clean Your Walls
Your job isn’t done once the wallpaper is removed. You’ll still need to clean your walls, as paste or glue may be left over on the drywall or plaster. A sponge and stripper help remove any most of adhesive on drywall or plaster. You may need to patch a few areas before sanding and priming for new paint or wallpaper.  Apply a coat of a quality primer before painting, we recommend Benjamin Moore’s Fresh Start in most cases.

Contact Us for Wallpaper Help
Color Wheel can help you pick the perfect new paint or wallpaper for your space, as well as assist you with choosing the right tools for your next wallpaper removal job. Contact Color Wheel today or stop by and see us and we will be happy to assist you!