Home Improvement Tips & Project Advice
Helpful home improvement tips, painting advice, prep guides, and project ideas from Mike Ross Painting for Auburn-area homeowners.
August 31, 2026 • 9 min read
When your kitchen feels outdated, the default answer is usually replacement. But for most homeowners with structurally…
August 14, 2026 • 10 min read
You can skip sanding on cabinets in some situations. But you can’t skip adhesion prep, and most…
July 31, 2026 • 10 min read
Cabinet painting quotes vary a lot, and the cheapest ones almost always have a catch. Here’s what…
July 15, 2026 • 10 min read
Spray finishing gives you a smoother result on cabinets, but it’s not always the right call in…
June 27, 2026 • 9 min read
Pressure washing a house before painting isn’t optional, it’s what gives the new coat something to hold…
June 17, 2026 • 6 min read
Penryn is a small, quiet community where most homes have wood siding and a lot of fence…
June 12, 2026 • 11 min read
Color selection for deck stain in the Auburn foothills is more constrained than most people expect. The…
June 10, 2026 • 10 min read
Texture painting covers a wider range of finishes than most people realize, from spray-applied orange peel to…
June 5, 2026 • 10 min read
A black front door is one of the highest-impact things you can do to a home’s exterior….
June 3, 2026 • 9 min read
Fence staining looks similar to deck staining but it’s harder in practice. The surface is vertical, both…
May 29, 2026 • 6 min read
Loomis properties tend to have more going on than a standard suburban job, wood siding, fencing, outbuildings,…
May 27, 2026 • 10 min read
Chalk paint is everywhere on social media and it does look great. But it scratches and wears…
May 22, 2026 • 9 min read
Outdoor furniture finishes fail when people treat them like indoor projects. The primer, the paint, and the…
May 20, 2026 • 7 min read
Newcastle is a small community but the painting work here has its own character, older wood siding…
May 15, 2026 • 8 min read
Dry to the touch and ready for use are two very different things with deck stain. Rushing…
May 13, 2026 • 11 min read
A bathroom accent wall is one of the easier ways to transform a space, but bathrooms are…
May 8, 2026 • 12 min read
Choosing an accent wall color in an Auburn or foothills home isn’t the same as choosing one…
May 6, 2026 • 10 min read
Shiplap accent walls look simple but they’re easy to get wrong at the painting stage. The wood…