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

[Melodie-And-John0]

Thanks @Liv , this one was more of a re-purpose party than actual full out construction, they can be more productive and much quicker to outcome than chopping wood, fastening and finishing.  Mel dreads my impulsive work until it wears on her a bit usually, I think I may be wearing her down!   

Sadly we often remember the pain in the hind end guests more than the great ones, its awesome when one gives you memories that make you smile, She and a few others are in my hall of fame.  Stay well, JR

[Marg11]

Great guests are so memorable. Our twice Hong Kong guest now local friend arrived with her daughter at Easter with home-baked pudding and chocolates for these 70+ stay at home hosts. She couldn't go home for Chinese New Year and her husband can't visit as planned. He is spending the time getting his English up to scratch to immigrate while he works to support them. Lovely caring people.

[Mike-And-Helen0]

Great job John

You are a human dynamo!

[Sally221]

I am having all kinds of issues with uploading pictures and our tech support team (kids) are still practicing social distancing for now, we have a "classic" old computer that spouse spent too much refurbishing just before the world changed. I was actually a painting contractor way back when , it was just me, but the license allowed me to bid on jobs rather than going strictly on time & materials. I specialized in being incredibly precise, & tidy in small indoor spaces & in smaller outdoor ones being gentle on gardens. The Queen of french doors! So- if the paint on the chair peeled Liz, it could have been film or residue on the chair, that's why wiping it down with a solvent first is helpful, I often use plain white ammonia, not the lemon scent stuff, it is very effective for the toxic/yuck level. The other reason for peeling is latex or acrylic paint over oil paint, pretty much guaranteed to peel. You can put oil over water based but not the reverse. The solution is to lightly sand the chair, dry wipe it, solvent wipe it let it dry and then paint it with a coat of primer before painting with the water borne paint. This might seem like a lot of work but paint stripping is gruesome- never again sez I who did it once. There are some excellent water based furniture enamels on the markets these days, stinky when drying but much easier clean up.

My particular hack was spray paint, not the greatest for the environment but when pressed for time and with furniture that was headed for landfill (weaselly justification) it's very satisfying. I used satin finishes & flat finishes they are much more forgiving in general. I would spray on a base coat on a chair in the same order as brushing . Spray paint covers best when the can is held upright and the spray is applied in a slow even movement. Let the first coat dry to touch and then lay a piece of cheap but pretty lace across any desired l surface & lightly spray thru the lace and then lift it up. It's a nice effect that can hide a multitude of flaws and can be a subtle or bold contrast. With practice your can do short mists of color in metallic paints or flat primer -lots of possibilities.If anyone is feeling intimidated about painting a room I'd be happy to share a few tips & tricks. Painting offers so much bang for the time & $ and doing it properly is easier than you'd think.

[Sarah977]

@Sally221  I've never been a professional painter, but I've always been pretty meticulous when I paint. When I bought my old house in Canada, which was a wreck when I got it, almost everything was still covered in paint from the 50's, I guess. putrid peach, industrial green, a sickening puce. All lead base, I'm sure. We put up new dry wall in most places, so I didn't have to try to cover that old paint. I primed, then used 2 coats of high quality semi-gloss paint. used many different colors and always saved some in small jars for touch-ups. Lived in that house for 20 years, with 3 kids and multitudes of their friends coming and going.

When I was preparing to put it on the market, the real estate agent told me I should repaint everything white. No way was I going to do that. Not just that I wasn't going to use white, I had no intentions of repainting at all. I scrubbed down the ceilings and walls, filled any little dings or nail holes, then went around with a small brush and my matching touch-up paint, feathering it out into the original paint. When friends and neighbors stopped by to see my progress on getting the place ready to list, many said "Oh, you repainted the whole place!"!"  And the people who bought it, who were the first people to view it on Open House day and immediately put in an offer, said "We love the colors! We're so glad it's not all white or beige."

The only real paint striping job I did in that house, soon after I moved in, was on the stairs, which had several layers of old paint and ancient grubby lino runner. We had no idea what was underneath, but we sanded it down, and it turned out to be beautiful yellow cedar. Couldn't face trying to strip the risers, so I painted them turquoise.

[Marg11]

Excellent Sarah, you are a real estate and economic model for renovators and investors. On our return from a trip to Europe, we bought a cheap investment house which was a bank sale. Freshly painted but with splattered slate tiles, we found a little stripper on a toothbrush removed the paint and the floor looked freshly sealed. Missing slate in the kitchen under the stove and fridge was found in a pile of leftovers in the shed. A surprise find was rolls on unlaid insulation in the roof space which was quickly cut with the huge sheers left behind and very quickly laid. Shade cloth on a pine frame made a pergola cover, lots of plants from home, dripper reticulation and a new rotary clothesline was installed with a bag of quick cement. Twenty years later, leased with one paint job after an unfortunate tenant, the mortgage was paid early and assists us in retirement. 

[Melodie-And-John0]

I can relate with your renovation challenges @Sarah977 , our 220 year old colonial monster has been 15 years in the recreating.   Hundreds of truckloads of plaster, lath, tacky wall paper and lead paint and just as many truckloads of Sheetrock, lumber, wire, devices, fixtures, pipe, buckets of paint and appliances brought back into "this old house" to replace the ancient history that held it together for centuries.  I knew I was finally getting somewhere when Melodie started scolding me for leaving messes in her _________ (fill in space she now likes), before it was just "this nasty old house!".   My head spins thinking about it all but Im happy that there is far less to fix now than has been!  Stay well, JR

[Liv]

Hi @Sally221  , thank you so much for all the detailed tips! They're greatly appreciated, I'll be sure to follow them when going on my next painting adventure 🙂

I'm not sure what kind of issue exactly you've been having with posting pictures, but I hope this guide put together by @Quincy is helpful!

[Sarah977]

Those spots were on my camera lens, not the wall 🙂

[Sally221]

Love those saturated colors! And, yes indeed, it is smart to save a can of the original color- the next batch of "Song bird" or whatever will never quite match. ( there are some strange paint names out there) When we re-did our house post fire I refused to paint the beautiful fir doors  I found on Craigslist & kept them natural. I stripped a dresser, once .

[Sarah977]

@Sally221  There must be people who are employed just to come up with paint color names. Would be sort of a fun job.

It's funny how painting or natural wood goes in fads. Back in the 40's or 50's the way people showed they weren't poor was to paint all the natural wood. Then at some point everyone was stripping all the paint off and natural wood was the fashion. Then somewhere around the millenium or so, all the home decor mags had the wood painted again, mostly white. Even beautiful hardwood floors. Now it seems that natural wood is back. 

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Sarah977   "There must be people who are employed just to come up with paint color names", I've wondered about the schooling for those folks and how they decide between Medication or Paint Color Name developer, Im guessing a minor in Sciences would help with one while The Arts would be necessary for the other.  It takes a Masters in Namology  for Perfumes and a PHD to do Automobiles!  Don't even get me going on Human names, they are off the charts and need to be reigned in, so many dabblers,  Kathorpta and Brunkley havent been used yet, go for it, after all, its your kid!!!!!!  Big money in names! Stay well, JR

[Liv]

I'm loving the colours, @Sarah977! Thanks for sharing, it looks like they bright up the space and make it more fun 🙂

And I agree, it's super interesting how changes in fashion and design trends tend to be cyclical. Good thing is that it somehow keeps us innovating and trying out different things!

[Marg11]

Excellent use of lockdown time as we had planned to touch up the scratches and marks in walls and architraves. 

However, a delightful regular rural guest is still booking and we are now accomodating great interstate or international FIFO (fly in fly out) mining staff who need a fortnights isolation when they arrive in Western Australia or for their days off when they can't 'go home'. Helping to keep the economy of our state ticking over. 

Just have to fend off the local young people who inquire about a few days stay as are they probably tired of staying home or their parents are working from home and upsetting their social life.

[Melodie-And-John0]

Next project during covid 2020 is redoing the patio on our glamper as it was a bit small, hard to mow around, not as level as I wish and the mini gazebo got destroyed in a windstorm cause someone (me) didn't do a good job of making sure it stayed where he put it, its now tapcon'd to the paver blocks!   It was a few days work digging between the raindrops but it came out pretty well.  Here's some pics!  Stay well, JROld Patio and unsecured GazeboNew Patio, Secured Gazebo and Skirting