pinstripe – The Interiors Addict

Dulux’s new paintable wallpaper is removable too

Wallpaper is an easy way to inject interest into your space. Dulux’s new Design Wallpaper Paintables range gives you the power to add textured dimension to your walls in your preferred colour scheme. It’s wallpaper meets paint! AND it’s removable.

Comeing in three textures – linen, concrete and pinstripe – this new product offers completely new possibilities for design from bold and striking walls, or used sparingly to create subtle visual interest.

Dulux Colour Trend Forecaster, Andrea Lucena-Orr, says combined with paint, this innovative design solution is simple and cost-effective. “The range not only beautifies walls but easily covers small imperfections, with no stripping, filling or sanding required for slightly damaged walls,” she says.

Gone are the days where the application and removal of wallpaper is an arduous task. Using the latest technology, Dulux Design Wallpaper Paintables can be easily applied and maneuvered for precise application; as well as effortlessly removed by peeling off where the glue does not damage or remain on the existing wall substrate.

“The range is incredibly easy to work with in regards to fixing on the wall and painting because the paper is so much thicker than standard thin wallpaper,” Lucena-Orr says.

There are many ways that wallpaper can be used to complement existing room features by adding an accent above a fireplace, hallways and inner wardrobe walls. “Paintable wallpaper adds texture to your walls that paint alone can’t achieve. Textured wallpaper takes your paint to the next level, allowing you to create a luxurious bespoke look,” Andrea adds.

“It offers homeowners, and even renters, the opportunity to have more control over the design of their living space where you just peel the wallpaper off the wall when it is time to redecorate or move.”

Dulux’s range of paintable wallpaper allows you to transform and hide slightly damaged walls, turning them into the ‘wow’ factor of your home without having to add more costly items such as tiles, stone or textile fabrics.

Available exclusively at Bunnings stores with an RRP of $34.95 per roll. Roll size 10.5m x 0.52m. For more information and project inspiration.

A behind the scenes look at the work of sign maker TJ Guzzardi

It was at age 15 that TJ Guzzardi began his journey to becoming a sign maker, taking his bass guitar to be pinstriped and being inspired to give it a go himself.

TJ Photoshoot-10 — Photo Credit: Andrew Watson

“I saw a guy doing pinstripe designs on my double bass,” says TJ. “And while I watched him, I thought that’d be pretty cool to learn to do and so I decided to give it a try.” From there, he bought some brushes and started painting. Thanks to his dad owning a hot rod shop, TJ’s skills continued to grow, being commissioned by his clients to paint their cars.

TJ Photoshoot-2 — TJ’s Melbourne workshop. Photo Credit: Andrew Watson

Yet it wasn’t until five years later that TJ really found his groove, when he took the jump from pinstriping to lettering. “I was asked to do a tattoo shop sign for a friend and I had never done any lettering before,” he explains. “I was always scared to give it a go but we designed it together and I painted it. Through that, I left some business cards and from there all the work I’ve done has slowly built up to a full-time job. Now I have jobs booked through to September which is really cool.”

Since those initial days, the self-taught sign maker has gone far, literally, with TJ having travelled around Australia painting signs, created a couple of signs for Mexican soft drink company, Jarritos, as well as being commissioned by Harley Davidson. “They invited me to create a helmet and paint one for an art show which they ended up buying and displaying in their Sydney head office,” says TJ. “They gave me a brand new helmet to do whatever I liked with, and I got to be very creative and make it look like it was 40 years old and all distressed.”

CS_20131030_0081 — Harley Davidson helmet. Photo: Andrew Watson

A lover of everything 1950s, all his signs have a definite vintage vibe, something else which harks back to his childhood: “When I was a kid, my parents dressed very 50s,” explains TJ. “My dad was very Grease like, he had the slicked back hair and the leather jacket. I was kind of just brought up in that culture and have taken that and then combined it with my own feel.”

Painting on salvaged materials — anything from a toilet seat to an old trunk — TJ is not afraid to paint on any surface: “If the paint sticks to something, I’ll paint on it!” His sign making process is very delicate and time-consuming and is something that a select few will get to experience during the Meet Your Makers Studio, a new feature at the upcoming Life Instyle trade fair in Melbourne.

1456673_692672684084682_2031091481_n — TJ’s Melbourne workshop. Photo Credit: Andrew Watson

Featuring artists and designers, including TJ, these live workshops will give visitors a unique opportunity to see how these creators bring their designs to life. “I’ll be painting one of my signs on the day, either an old sign for a café or just a decorative sign,” explains TJ. “I thought it’d be something cool to be involved in, a place where I could show my work to a different audience, compared to those who I normally do my work for.”

Life Instyle Melbourne is being held at the Royal Exhibition Building from 31 July to 3 August 2014. TJ’s workshop is on Thursday 31 July from 10-11.30am. More information on this trade-only event can be found here.

Check out TJ’s blog.