Stairwell Before and After

March 20, 2012

Stairwell Before and After

You might have seen the bits and pieces of my super-cheap stairwell makeover already, but I thought you might like to see how everything came together. We have one of those homes (you can see before photos in the Townhouse Tour) that looked so bad when we bought it that even looking not-bad, looks good. So what might seem like a simple makeover is a major improvement for us, especially when you consider that we spent very little money.

Here's the before. And yes, the mess is included. Because the stairwell looked so ratty, it was easy to rationalize not tidying up. I would shove things there, instead of putting them away. It looked terrible and was a major trip hazard. Plus, the paint was dingy and chipped, the railing was faded and worn, the mirror and art I randomly hung did nothing for the space, the light fixture appeared dis-coloured and the carpet was a major eyesore.

Various problems . . .

And now:

What changed:

I painted the walls
I painted the railing & hardware for about $1.00
I hung my DIY framed bakelite brooches (finally, they have a home)
I made a graphic, black & white painting for the space
I cleaned the light fixture and replaced the mis-matched light-bulbs with the same kind which made what I thought was a problem (discoloured glass) no longer a problem
I tidied, de-cluttered and donated bags full of unused items to charity

I still want to paint the light switch cover and steam clean the carpets (which are less noticeable now that the walls are a lovely greige, making the line between wall & carpet a little less obvious):

Since replacing the carpet was out of the question, painting the walls a greige shade make the carpet stand out less.

Grrrr . . . with white walls, switch plate covers have never been an issue - I plan to paint this one.

But even with just a little freshening up, the entrance to the basement looks less tired, less dated and just, well, prettier. More like part of the home, and less like a space we enthusiastically ignore. The rest of the stairwell still needs art & accessories, but it already looks so much better painted:

Treasure Hunting Report: A Nightstand Clutter Solution

This weekend yielded uninspiring estate sales. However, courtesy of my treasure-finding Mom and a sweet online classifieds score, I have goodies to report.

I fell in love with a green Beauce Canada pottery dish at the most elegant mid-century shop in town about a year ago and, despite the steep price, bought it on the spot. (For local Ottawa folks, the shop is White Monkey). Every now and then, I feel it pays to splurge on an item I love instead of nickle and dime-ing myself with thrifty finds I only like. So out came the wallet, home came the pottery, and it has lived on my nightstand since. It has been so handy for corralling things like my cellphone and glasses at night.

Hubby liked it too, and we engaged in a pottery tug of war until my Mom recently found an identical piece at her local Salvation Army, in a different glaze, for a fraction of what I paid. So thrifting does pay off, but I'm still happy I splurged because now we have two. We each have a lovely place to stash our random bits of life.

If you're thrifting, keep an eye out for this logo because some Beauce Pottery can collect a pretty penny at the antique shops.

My thrifty score came from the "free" section of the online classifieds (kijiji.ca). I found a listing for a FREE, unopened gallon of latex paint and I actually emailed before anyone else, so I scored have a lovely can of minty green paint, waiting to be used. The woman who gave it to me was moving and gave me her paint supplies too, including unused rollers, brushes and a paint tray much nicer than any of mine.

I just can't decide if I want to use this colour as an accent wall in the basement, or save it for a project. Either way, it saved me a good chunk of change and is a colour I like.

Did you score any fun, thrifty finds this weekend?

Basement Update: Actual Progress

I promised I wouldn't blog about the teeniest details of our cheap-cheap-cheap basement facelift but I'm super excited. After painting the stairwell (which I thought would motivate me) I kind of stalled. I painted the railing, sure, but then totally distracted myself painting wood spoons and canvases.

However, yesterday I painted a wall in the basement!! Yep - actual work on the basement took place. I shoved all of the stuff to one side and painted an entire wall. I will need to work around the basement slowly, shifting our stuff as we go. No way am I letting this mess spill into another part of the house.

But that's not all! I also:

Started work on the play kitchen I finally decided to make
Primed an ornate mirror I bought ages ago
Painted a frame Hubby made for this painting (details next week)

Hubby:

Measured the laundry room and made a supply list (lots of drywall . . . )
Removed the Styrofoam that releases toxic fumes if caught on fire
Removed the hideous door/curtain thing
Ran out to get more paint, and tried not to laugh at me when he discovered I had sat in paint in his absence (I guess I shouldn't DIY unattended)

And today . . . we are off to Lowe's to get drywall and supplies. We're hoping to make a major dent in the basement this weekend (even one wall actually created in the laundry room would be swell) and I hope to knock off at least a couple of my in-progress projects so I can show you next week.

Here's a sneak peak:

Meanwhile, my painting area is out of commission, which is a bummer because I was disappointed with the last two paintings I made (although I am still loving the bedroom abstract changes and the new bold painting, which will soon find a home). But maybe, given my track records, it is best if I have fewer DIY distractions.

Meh . . .

What are you up to this weekend?

Reader Q: Tufted Ottomans

I started my new blog series, Reader Questions, with a post on how to pick the right frame for artwork. Although I have privately answered hundreds of reader questions, with topics ranging from help designing a space to suggestions for cleaning hardwood floors, I have yet to answer many on the blog. With a number of projects in a stage of half-completion (including a play kitchen, basement plans and a frame for a DIY painting), I thought I would answer one of my most frequently asked questions: where did I get our ottoman?

Our faux leather ottoman was a clearance purchase from The Brick, the same source as the sofa that disintegrated (so much so we could barely give it away, once we snagged a nicer leather sofa from kijiji.ca). I don't recommend the brand, but I recommend the item.

A large ottoman in lieu of a coffee table is so comfy and practical. It's a cushy place to put your feet up, seat extra guests during a cocktail party and kids are obsessed with it. Add a couple of trays, and it becomes a handy place to put snacks or drinks during movie night. Plus, when you walk into it, frantically cleaning before family visits, it won't hurt like slamming into the edge of a coffee table does (which also makes it desirable for homes with small children, whose soft heads seem to always find the sharpest edges in a home). The tufting is truly optional, but I like the look. However, you should be warned that tufted anything seems to attract lint, cookie crumbs and dust better than anything else in this world.

I rounded up a couple that look a lot like our ottoman:

Pemberly Dark Brown Bonded Leather Ottoman (currently about $250); Amazon (currently less than $100)

But I also found waaaay more stylish versions of the tufted ottoman:

Overstock ($344); Ballard Designs ($399-599, depending on fabric choice)

Ours was very inexpensive, but cost can be prohibitive because some tufted ottomans can be over a $1000. Wow. Luckily, there are a ton of fabulous tutorials for DIY tufted ottomans. I think next time I might try making my own, so I rounded up my favorite projects:

Less-than-perfect-life of Bliss; Five Days Five Ways; Fancy Goods; Sheer Serendipity

DIY Play Kitchen Project Ideas

(clockwise, from top left): Young House Love; Ikea Hackers; Spacey Casey Creates; The Dancing Toad Blog

I have been ooo'ing and ahhh'ing over DIY play kitchens for months. I especially love the ones made from bound-for-the-trash furniture pieces. These little DIY'd gems are so adorable (and such a great chance to paint some kitchen cupboards, since the Hubs vetoed painting ours ages ago).

Because Hubby & I have chosen not to have children, I pushed these ideas to the back of my mind until one day it dawned on me: there are kids in my family! How the heck did I forget? I'm the worst auntie/cousin. Having remembered about my tiny family members, I am finally planning my own mini-kitchen makeover, for my adorable little cousin (you can spot her in this post).

I rounded up some inspiration, and I am headed off in search of some thrifty supplies. Has anyone made one of these? Any tips, tricks or ideas?

UPDATE: I actually made one! Check it out here.

(clockwise, from top left): flickr; Dwellings by DeVore; Life as a Thrifter; flickr

Below is one of the coolest makeovers I've seen. I love that someone saw potential in that wall unit!

Design*Sponge

Basement Update: $1 Railing Makeover

Did I mention I want to make over our basement for as close to free as possible? In the process of freshening up our stairwell to the basement (I know, I'm taking forever), I painted our tired, dated railing - plus the accompanying hardware - with a tiny amount of paint for a brand new look! I happened to score a quart of a mis-tinted paint (a charcoal, almost black hue) for only $5.00 and I have so many more projects to paint with it. This makeover, using a fraction of the paint, worked out to be about a dollar.

The Details:

I removed the hardware from the railing. It was covered in gunk, so I lightly sanded and wiped it clean. I primed the hardware with metal primer (from another project). Then I simply applied a few, thin coats of my mis-tint paint, letting each coat dry 24 hours. I used a tiny craft brush.

I can't use spray paint until it gets a bit warmer here, so this was a bit of an experiment. But it worked well!

For the railing, I lightly sanded the wood until the glossiness of the former finish was removed. I cleaned it with a dry cloth, painted a thin coat of primer (which I also had lying around) and then painted four thin coats of the black-ish paint. I used a foam brush to avoid brush marks.

Ta da! I love the "after":

I'm into little details. We don't always have money for major makeovers (although I'd love to gut the basement and start fresh). But I find the little things make the difference. When we first moved in, we removed all of the ugly brass door hinges and knobs (many were coated in chipped layers of paint) from interior and exterior doors. We gave the doors a fresh coat of paint, added new silver hinges and knobs and each door looked brand new. It made the whole house seem more modern, like a new-build. After I saw this post about spray painting doorknobs (okay, I re-pinned it on Pinterest), I decided I could tackle a hardware project with paint, instead of buying new.

Giveaway Winners!

I'm super jazzed that so many of my readers were excited about the recent giveaway. I promise I will organize more in the future. It's my way of saying "thanks," to my lovely readers. Thanks also to Gemma, of audrey & gem, for offering THREE of her gorgeous prints.

Using Random.org, I drew three lucky numbers: 11, 22, 23. Below are the winning comments. Congrats to the winners!! Please email me at dans.le.townhouse@gmail.com so I can put you in touch with Gemma, to choose and claim your fabulous prize.

Treasure Hunting Report

My treasure hunting reports are pretty sporadic in cold weather months because my thrifting drug of choice is definitely yard sales, which our cold winters prohibit. Every now and then though, I pop into a thrift store (is it just me, or are prices getting high?) or a local flea market. Last weekend I stopped by a local flea market/antique shop (Bentley's Flea Market, for Ottawa folks) with Gemma and brought home these gorgeous glass salad tongs. Yep, I'm on some weird spoon kick. These are surprisingly sturdy, quietly elegant and will suit any salad bowl far better than the chipped plastic Dollarama set we've been rocking for four years. Do you like?

Have you had any thrifting/yard-saling/flea marketing success recently?

Don't forget, today's the last day to enter my current giveaway! Be sure to check back tomorrow to see who the THREE winners are. Good luck!

DIY Painted Wooden Spoons

I have pinned so many inspiring ideas to my "DIY to Try" board on Pinterest that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I've noticed how much longer the "to try" list is than the "My DIY Projects" board I started. To remedy that, I've been chipping away at the ideas/projects I've pinned. Last week I made a simple abstract, inspired by a painting I pinned and loved. More recently, I tackled some wooden spoons.

I saw these gorgeous wooden spoons from Milk Farm Road and was instantly smitten. Pinned! I think gussying up the handles of wooden spoons with paint, or even stain, is such a simple but clever idea.

Milk Farm Road vintage painted spoons

Feeling emboldened, I rummaged around in my cooking utensil drawer and found two, inexpensive dollar-store wooden spoons to experiment on. Because the spoons weren't varnished or coated with anything, I didn't need to sand and I didn't bother priming. Lazy!

I taped off where I wanted the colour to be and, using the same acrylic paint I use for my artwork (I actually did these while tweaking the bedroom abstracts), I painted on two, super thin layers of paint, letting each coat dry for about an hour. I used Hubby's work bench to keep them upright as they dried.

The next day, I remove the tape and applied a super thin coat of water-based varathane finish (we have tons left over from our DIY desk project). I applied the finish just slightly over the painted surface because I didn't want a really pronounced edge of where the paint and clear coat begin. I let the spoons dry overnight (but will have to refrain from using them for another two days, as per manufacturer's instruction).

This photo captures the glossiness:

And voila! I want to grab every single wooden spoon and paint the ends.

I think this would look so cute for wood serving ware, too, like wood salad tongs. And you can use craft paint, leftover wall paint - even stain. I plan on running these through the dishwasher and I will keep you up to date on wearing/fading. It is probably best to hand wash these, though, and I don't recommend painting any part that touches food or using a toxic, lead-based paint.

EDIT: Yep, hand washing is best. The dishwasher did not get along with these painted spoons. No biggie - nothing a little touch-up won't fix!

How about you - are you tackling any projects you've pinned on Pinterest? Can we all agree that simply pinning something is productive?

P.S. I linked this project up to the DIY Project Parade at the DIY Showoff!

Dans le Lakehouse

March 20, 2012