Redecorating during lockdown

[Liv]

Hi everyone,

Since we’re all spending a lot of time at home, this seems to me like the perfect opportunity to be thinking of a decor update.

I thought it would be interesting if we could explore easy tips and tricks on how to make the most of this time by redecorating. 

Here are some ideas that I think could be fun and helpful to get the creative juices flowing:

Rearrange furniture - simply changing a room layout could be a great way of giving the space a fresh feel.

Change door handles - whether it’s the front door or the kitchen cabinets, adding new handles could make things look more interesting.

Paint - there are so many things that could be changed by a simple repainting project: doors, chairs, fences, cabinets and even staircases.

Apply wallpaper - much like painting, picking a fun wallpaper could make a room look a lot brighter and more inviting.

Repurpose objects (Upcycling) - An old stool that’s no longer in use could make a great bedside table. A wine rack could also be used as bathroom storage for towels and other small items.

Do you have any tips or ideas to share with the Community? Have you completed any cool DIY projects lately that you would like to tell us about? 

Feel free to contribute, I would love to know what you’ve been up to 🙂

Thanks,

Liv

[Liv]

@Stephanie @Melodie-And-John0 @Helen427 @Sally221 Great points about handles x knobs, guys. I had never thought about most of it! Apart from the cat situation, handles do seem to be the most convenient option hahah
Also, amazing tip about the cushion covers, Helen. I totally agree with you, and I think mixing different colours and patterns could also generate interesting looking results. I'd love to see some pictures of yours if you've got some examples 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Melodie-And-John0  I'm with you there. If you forget to feed your dog on time, it just sort of hangs around you, hoping you'll remember soon. If the cat thinks it's dinner time and you haven't filled their bowl yet, they scream loudly and incessantly at your feet, insisting you do their bidding. 

My favorite funny author, Christopher Moore, has one book in which the main character's dog is given a voice in some of the chapters (well, he doesn't actually speak, the author just writes what the dog is thinking). The dog refers to his master as the "The Food Guy", which I believe is exactly how dogs think of us. And they love their Food Guy. 

Anyone who thinks their cat loves them is deluded 🙂 Cats just use and tolerate us.

[Marg11]

Yes, you are so right. Our cat used to leap up repeatedly until it grabbed the handle and opened the door.

When the kids were little we attached a cord with a bead on the end to the handle so they could open the bathroom, laundry and other doors. 

However, arthritis has shown me that lever handles are so much easier than struggling with knobs.

[Sally221]

If one were actually painting a chair, rather than  posing-: 1st give it a good wipe down with mineral spirits, or the nasty solvent of your choice let it dry.

2nd. turn the chair over onto a protected second chair & then paint the legs, bottom edges of the seat & rails & other surfaces that will be upside down when the chair is righted, let this coat dry.

3rd, turn the chair over and put it in something that will bring it up to a better height for painting, start by painting the chair back & then the seat - brushing from the back of the chair to the front, strive for a smooth coat, don't try to achieve total coverage in one go, 2 thinner coats will look & wear better, trust me.

4th, after letting the paint dry for at least 24 hours flip the chair over & put on a second coat, then carefully turn the chair over & put it where you can put the 2nd coat on the topside, then wait 3 days for the paint to cure, dry to touch & cured are different &you don't want to mess up both your freshly painted chair and your behind. . (and a good brush is a joy & will last years, a crappy brush is a pain in the behind)

[Sarah977]

@Sally221  Good one. A lot of people waste their time doing crummy paint jobs because they don't have the patience to do it right. And if I were actually painting a chair, rather than posing, I'd be wearing my junky painting clothes that are already covered in paint, not nice clothes, a string of color-coordinated beads, and an apron that barely covers anywhere I'd be likely to smear paint on myself. 

[Liv]

@Sally221 That's a great guide for chair painting! And I agree with you and @Sarah977 , patience is definitely the key when doing those types of projects. In the past I have made the mistake of skipping steps and ending up with a chair that started peeling after a very short while.
Sally, have you got any pictures of chairs you painted yourself? I'd love to see them 🙂

[Dylan143]

I've been using the downtime to do a bunch of updates myself! Guests are flying in now down by the beach, hopefully all the updates pay off!

[Liv]

@Dylan143 Sounds great! I hope your new guests enjoy the changes 🙂
What sorts of things have you been updating? It would be great to see before and after pics for inspiration.

[Hello6]

Hi from Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Spain.  Would never have thought in our lifetime we would live somewhere under a countrywide house arrest for almost 2 months and counting now.  Economic losses aside, its been fortunate in a way as we had a number of home improvement projects scheduled for our summer slow season - that just came way earlier - and that we had been slowly picking up supplies as prices were low over the last year and stockpiling them for slow moments. 

Anyway our summer list of projects is almost complete and thanks to amazing support and help from our longer term guests who stayed with us and continue to do so during this lockdown in Spain our hostel is looking better then ever.  Now hopefully Spain and the world will open again and invite the world to return to visit before we go insolvent 🙂 .  In regards to the power of paint.  Wow, painting old tile and bathroom fixtures vs stripping and placing new tiles etc. in a bathroom is amazingly cost effective. 

Same went for updating the old 60's and 70's bathroom fixtures and their off tone coloring to simple white.  Sure beat buying and installing new fixtures and huge savings.  Just don't forget to using the acid coat first on the tiles / ceramic.  We rushed to paint a bathtub early on without using the disolvent coat first to strip the waterproofing of the ceramic coat. 

The first job looked amazing until the first crack in the paint coating started to lift.  In the absence of using the dissolvent first the paint makes a lovely finish but doesn't stick to the tiles just coats over them.  If it cracks and water gets underneath the whole thing begins to lift and flake off.  Fast forward to watching tutorials and guests and friends consultations and wow.  Amazing finish to once very old / dated bathrooms - which some guests had mistook for unclean because of their original lack of curb appeal. 

Owning and renovating an old Spanish home has been quite the experience and we are grateful to Airbnb and all our guests past / present / future who have helped support us by coming to stay 🙂 Happy renovations out there to all of you hosting and good luck.  Hopefully travel returns soon and stay healthy everyone.  🙂

[Liv]

Hey there, @Hello6! Great tips on cost effective ways to updating old bathroom fixtures, thanks for those. If you by any chance have pictures, I'd love to see them. That old Spanish home does sound amazing  🙂

[Hello6]

@Livfor sure 🙂 , when we finally sit down in front of the computer again.  Posting pictures to community forums from mobile phones doesn't seem possible - at least not from our device.  Spain's emergency measures now allow us to go outside again so we limiting computer time to make up for the 2 months we were locked in. We plan to post a number of our new exploring pictures and house reforms to our listings too.  We will probably spring for another professional photography shoot for some of our listings if Europe opens to normal travel again too.  Thanks 🙂

[Debra300]

We are just about finished with soundproofing the common wall between our  Atlanta house and the apartment that we rent out, and it has greatly reduced the sound transmission between the two spaces.  We are also going to covert a large walk-in closet into a small sleeping space by adding a window.  When St. Lucia re-opens its borders, and we can fly down there, we will renovate our guest rooms by adding kitchenettes, and close the shared guest kitchen.  I think this will be a welcome change by our guests, and may increase bookings in general.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Debra300 , pictuires or it never happened, Ha ha!  Stay well, JR

[Debra300]

JR @Melodie-And-John0,

Here are some pictures of dear hubby putting up the second layer of drywall on our side of the wall.  We used an acoustic product called Green Glue in between the sheets of drywall.  Some tubes were damaged during shipment, but you can see what it looks like.

Green Glue

The wall has been taped and the compound spread over the joints and to make the wall even.  Now he just needs to sand the dry compound before priming and painting the wall.

The walls on the apartment side are done, and primed for painting.  This change has significantly improved the sound dampening between the two spaces.

While he's been working on the walls, I've been painting furniture pieces, because I thought there was too much brown in the apartment.

Before                                                 After

Before                                         Before                                            After

We will be adding a window on the wall where the gray headboard is resting.  We're handy, but installing a window on an existing wall is something new for us.  So, we are going to hire a builder to work with us on that project.

Before                                              In progress

[Melodie-And-John0]

Awesome project @Debra300 , seemingly little changes can be lots of work but make such a huge difference and extra points for the DIY for sure, good going!  Stay well, JR