Another day, another independent hardware store closes. This time it’s the one in Pyrmont. These places are essential for painters, builders and handymen – not to mention local residents.

When you need a small pot of paint or a couple of screws, these guys are great. But I’ve seen too many close their doors.

That’s why I like Ewens Hardware on Military Rd, Mosman so much. The guys have just about any small thing and they are really helpful.

Click here for more details.

Doors, windows, skirting boards and other ‘trim’ has traditionally been given a hard wearing layer of oil paint. But oil based paint smells – very strongly. I had one client leave his house for the night, so bad was the smell. Oil paint is also very slow to dry. The second coat always has to be applied 24 hours after the first.

Modern acrylic paint can pretty much be used on trim instead, with a few provisos.

-  While ‘dry’ in two hours, it can take over 30 days to ‘cure’. In this time it is quite soft.

- On very hard wearing areas such as a stair newel (the big banister), rings etc. often scratch acrylic paint to bits.

-  Sharp corners like door frames, that get a lot of bumps often fail early.

But with a with dab of touch up paint most scratches are quickly fixed.



PS. If you need an local interior painter/handyman in Mosman or the lower north shore click here.

Most interior walls are painted some variation of white/cream. But if you’ve ever looked at a paint chart there are dozens of white/creams and each one can be made paler (called haf or quarter strength).

Our friends at Dulux are no dummies. They can see what folks like and have created a range of pre-mixed colours to save painters the time of having wait while a colour is mixed.

The funny thing is that most people aren’t trying to copy the neighbours. They just like a colour and it turns out Mosman's favourite paint colours are Australia's too.

So without further ado, here are Mosman/Australia's top 3 paint colours from third to first (drum roll please).

3. Hog Bristle. Hog Bristle is quite a strong creamy colour. It’s often toned down to half or quarter strength.

2. Whisper white. Pretty much plain white. Good for units or modern houses.

1. Antique White USA. By about a country mile. This is a great colour. It’s bright but not harsh white. And it’s a little creamy without being yellowy. It actually has a tiny bit of black in it! Antique white USA is light enough to go unnoticed but cream enough to hide a few finger marks. With so many advantages it's no surprise Antique White USA is number one.

Dulux whites and neutrals aren't the only game in town but they have the widest range and can be bought pretty much wherever paint is sold. If you click on the word Dulux above, you can look at some more whites 


BUT remember your screen is only an approximation of the colour. Make sure you look at a proper colour swatch from a paint supplier before committing!

PS. If you'd like to discuss further, the many 'white' options in Mosman or the lower north shore click here.