Redecorating Tips ~ Need 'em? Got 'em? Pleeze share!

[Smiley Jo]

Maybe it's the fear of the upcoming prime months for Seasonal Affective Disorder, or the fact that I can't change my hair colour again cuz I like it too much now....
...either way, i've decided to redecorate my apartment.

Painting the walls, changing the flooring in my bathroom and kitchen area, probably two new pieces of furniture, different storage solutions - plus whatever else comes to me along the way.

However I have two problems, I kinda figure they are shared by a lot of people here who decide to do the same type of thing.

1) When it comes to being "handy" i'm okay with the basics, but I've never been to say... a Home Depot, so i'm not too sure about paint textures, brushes and rollers tiling surfaces and "How-To" steps to avoid a royal fuck-up.

2) I'm pretty poor right now... so I need ideas that are budget-friendly. My landlord is paying for the paint, but I live alone so i've gotta cover everything else.

I plan on getting a few books (any recommend?) before starting and I watch Trading Spaces when I can but if anyone has any tips or wise words or one of those "I sure wish I had known this before I f@#$% started" hints... i'd love to hear them!

And whoever else wants to asks questions or share ideas... do it up. I'm sure once I get going i'll have a few more myself - and maybe it'll also help someone else.

Yay for a cool new apartment!!!
Thanks!

SJ

 

[MoFo]

QUEER EYE.

 

[MoFo]

I find that a great idea for styling and colour scheming is to get swatches from a paint store. They're free to take and combine.

And a good way to start is to look for a focal point or object of interest in the home that you know you won't wanna get rid of for a while. Take colours from that object. Could be a pattern on a couch, a pattern on a rug, a pattern on a lamp, a piece or art...

 

[The Tesseract]

paint walls yellow
then get high on the fumes





go with a latex paint.
but you have to sand then prime before you paint.

You'll have to spackle some spots as well.



and DON'T WATCH TRADING SPACES, that's the worst thing you
can do, considering they usually have no taste.


holy fuck... now that i think of it... it's a lot harder to tell someone what to do, than to do it.

 

[labRat]

pictures of your current setup may help for one.

 

[labRat]

Originally posted by The Tesseract
but you have to sand then prime before you paint.

huh? that'd be a pain in the arse and messier than hell. a coat or two of primer will suffice.

 

[MoFo]

Mix old and new - sometimes a really antique piece can bring personality and charm to a room full of Ikea and modern furniture.

Organize - there is nothing more pleasing to a room than culture. Sure you can have a million pieces of nice furniture or matched lampshades. But a coffee-table book, a wall of cds, cartons of vinyl or shelves of great books say more than a chaise.

Don't be afraid - contrary of what most people say, red opens up rooms and makes them seem bigger. I would avoid pure hues for paint. Just like what they tell you in painting school, NEVER use colour out of the tube. Always mix it with something.

 

[terrawrist III]

OK everybody...JO just gave me the go-ahead to graffiti the shit out of her walls...who's in!?

yeah, go for the color tags at home depot...so many to choose from,that's the fun part though...imagining what your new place will turn into

 

[pr0nstar]

www.behr.com to help you choose paint combos.

pr0nstar

 

[The Tesseract]

Originally posted by labRat
huh? that'd be a pain in the arse and messier than hell. a coat or two of primer will suffice.

Ummm no.
SJ has to sand before priming.

Priming without sanding has a nasty tendancy of making the paint itself, flake and fall off.

Keep in mind, BUDGET, meaning, they can't go out and buy sandless primer, when it's $30/litre (where as normal primers are $10/L) Also, keep in mind, a lack of experience in this department. It's better to do it the hardway. and the mess is nothing a vacuum can't fix.

It will also take less time to sand and prime, whereas multiple coats of primer (without sanding you need 2 extra coats) will take days. Primer needs about a day to dry. So if you don't sand, and prime right away, you'll need that extra coat, so you're up to about 2-3 days and not any further ahead. Sand, and you only have 1 day of drying. The paint itself can go on shortly thereafter.

 

[the_fornicator]

home depot has weekly classes that you can sit on and watch.

they will teach you everything from installing laminate and harwood flooring to painting your walls to make em look pretty.

they do live demos so you watch how to use a brad nailer to install hardwood laminate floors. they set up demo walls and teach you painting techniques and such. If you want laminate flooring (the cheap stuff), go to Ikea. Home Depot and Ikea both get their Tundra brand laminate flooring from the same company in Sweden but Home Depot puts their own name on it and marks up the price.

just give them a call and ask them what classes they offer and when. They're free and they're super friendly. If you have any questions just ask. They're generally held on Wednesdays and weekends.

<-- used to work at the depot.

 

[the_fornicator]

oh yeah, what really looks slick if need be.

If you need a side table or something like that, a really cheap but cool way to make one is to slap something together with some wood and Home Depot (or any other paint store) sells this type of granulated spray paint. For example, they have this stuff that, when sprayed, looks and feels like synthetic-granulated rock.

My friend used it to build speaker stands.

 

[pr0nstar]

Also, make sure you pick one of these up...

 

[The Tesseract]

Originally posted by Smiley Jo
Maybe it's the fear of the upcoming prime months for Seasonal Affective Disorder, or the fact that I can't change my hair colour again cuz I like it too much now....
...either way, i've decided to redecorate my apartment.

Fret not... it's not that hard.

Originally posted by Smiley Jo
Painting the walls, changing the flooring in my bathroom and kitchen area, probably two new pieces of furniture, different storage solutions - plus whatever else comes to me along the way.

Painting the walls will be 2nd easiest to storage solutions.
Storage Solutions: you can't go wrong with rubbermaid

Originally posted by Smiley Jo
However I have two problems, I kinda figure they are shared by a lot of people here who decide to do the same type of thing.

1) When it comes to being "handy" i'm okay with the basics, but I've never been to say... a Home Depot, so i'm not too sure about paint textures, brushes and rollers tiling surfaces and "How-To" steps to avoid a royal fuck-up.

Go to home Depot and tell them you need a cheap paint brush for priming, a decent roller for painting, some 100grit sandpaper for sanding (you may want to ask the guy about that though... 100 may not be strong enough... i usually use it on a belt-sander, so i don't really know for sure) and cans of decent primer and paint.
As for the paint itself, you should go with Latex. It's easy to clean up and resists stains and stuff nicely. However, it helps to know what the walls are covered in first. You may want to ask at Home Depot for a paint tester kit. It's basically a marker that goes a funny colour if the paint is oil. that will mean you'll have to do more work.

Originally posted by Smiley Jo
2) I'm pretty poor right now... so I need ideas that are budget-friendly. My landlord is paying for the paint, but I live alone so i've gotta cover everything else.

Get in touch with Ontario Housing Corp, to find out if you can get the landlord to foot the complete bill, seeing as how you're doing the work for him. You should be able to work out the expenses being covered, as well as a discount on your rental fee.

Originally posted by Smiley Jo
I plan on getting a few books (any recommend?) before starting and I watch Trading Spaces when I can but if anyone has any tips or wise words or one of those "I sure wish I had known this before I f@#$% started" hints... i'd love to hear them!

Black and Decker has a series of books that are pretty good. You should be able to find a decent home improvement book at the Library.

Originally posted by Smiley Jo
Yay for a cool new apartment!!!
Thanks!
SJ

You're welcome. and indeed. Yay for a new apartment.

- Jos "the jack-of-all-trades tesseract"

 

[The Tesseract]

Oh yeah... if you want a nice texture, you can paint the walls a base colour... say dark blue, and then after a few days, blotch the wall with a sponge dipped in a light blue. The effect is rather nice, but is a bit hard... the effort is so worth it though.

 

[Smiley Jo]

Holy crap - this is great!! Thanks for all the ideas so far! I figured there'd be maybe one or two replies cuz it's Sunday afternoon... LOL

About the priming/sanding thing:
The priming is gonna take forever cuz the walls are currently a light orangey rusty colour, so it's gonna need crazy amounts of coats.
I was thinking I might have to sand, because whoever was here before did that thing where you take a lighter colour and paint a plastic bag or something and wipe it on the wall... (um, it doesn't look as bad as it sounds).
Since there will be so many coats of primer, should I still sand? I'm not concerned with the extra work if it's going to look better.
(I'm looking for a pic too)

My landlords friend re-painted my bathroom when they had to rip out all the plumbing - and it's the shittiest paint job i've seen in my life.... need to avoid that.

As for the Home Depot classes, that would be really helpful but I couldn't pull it off with my schedule right now. So i'm thinking reading material might be better.

Oh, and Sunny - Queer Eye? I thought it was just clothes! But if they do decor stuff...I'll check it out.! I've got my colour scheme already, but that's just the beginning really..

SJ

 

[labRat]

Originally posted by The Tesseract
Ummm no.
SJ has to sand before priming.

Priming without sanding has a nasty tendancy of making the paint itself, flake and fall off.

guess it depends on what's on the walls already ... if there's a heavy coating of latex paint already there, then for sure sanding's important.

 

[the_fornicator]

Originally posted by Smiley Jo
About the priming/sanding thing:
The priming is gonna take forever cuz the walls are currently a light orangey rusty colour, so it's gonna need crazy amounts of coats.
I was thinking I might have to sand, because whoever was here before did that thing where you take a lighter colour and paint a plastic bag or something and wipe it on the wall... (um, it doesn't look as bad as it sounds).
Since there will be so many coats of primer, should I still sand? I'm not concerned with the extra work if it's going to look better.
(I'm looking for a pic too)

the main reason why you have to sand the walls down is:
a) the color might show through the new paint
b) couples with a. the old paint may have a lot of dirt and oils in it so applying a new coat on there may prove to be fruitless cause it may peel earlier than thought.

if you want to keep it cost efficient, you can rent shit loads of tools (including belt sanders) from Home Depot for cheap vs buying one. All you need to do is sand off the first layer. No biggie. Doesn't even have to be perfect since you're applying a couple layers of primer.

Seriously, just go there and talk to a paint associate when you have some spare time. Make sure it's a paint associate though. If you get a hint that the person does not know what they are talking about, go to another home depot, revy, totem, etc and ask... but from my experience, the people who work in paint really know their shit.

good luck.

 

[pr0nstar]

Also... you can get the primer tinted with the colour you're going to paint so you dont' have to do as many coats.

pr0nstar

 

[the_fornicator]

Originally posted by The Tesseract
Oh yeah... if you want a nice texture, you can paint the walls a base colour... say dark blue, and then after a few days, blotch the wall with a sponge dipped in a light blue. The effect is rather nice, but is a bit hard... the effort is so worth it though.

note: he means to use a sea sponge. Makes for a better effect and doesn't look so synthetic or produced as a normal sponge.

plus, they're cheap so you can chuck em right after.

 

[the_fornicator]

here's what The Tesseract was saying:

sea sponge dabbing

 

[MoFo]

I'm a fan of mulitple colours in multiple rooms. A colour scheme is nice where you can a white living room, a red bedroom or a light blue bathroom..

I like off-colours too like olive or off-blues...
Easier to coordinate with furnishings.. and goes with everything from wood to silver to white to wicker.

 

[the_fornicator]

just out of curiosity, if this is an apartment, why are you dropping so much money into it?

 

[The Tesseract]

Originally posted by Smiley Jo
Oh, and Sunny - Queer Eye? I thought it was just clothes! But if they do decor stuff...I'll check it out.! I've got my colour scheme already, but that's just the beginning really..

SJ

Check out "What not to wear" it's a better show.

Fornicator: Sea Sponge? there's a difference? I was just told sponge. good thing i haven't done it myself, i guess.

 

[sugar]

For the love of god - NO FAUX FINISHES!!!!

If you take the time and do your research, you can achieve some really great-looking touches without spending a huge amount. We are only renting our place, but it was still really important to us to make the place livable and suited to our style.

We still haven't painted our living room and bedroom (can't decide on the colours exactly just yet - I'm looking for the perfect steely grey/blue for the bedroom and a nice warm mid-brown muted tone for the living room).

We spent about $100 on the bathroom ($25 in paint, $30 for a new plain white MDF countertop, and about $50 for wall tiles, grout, and adhesive), and the difference is incredible. I have to give Timo all the credit for the hard work - I just supply the ideas

Keep in mind that in addition to the supplies themselves (paint, tiles, wood, MDF, etc.), you will also have to fork out money for things like grout, adhesive, brushes, rollers, cleaners, etc.

In terms of furnishing, like Sunny recommended, go for an eclectic mix of old and new. I find that this makes for a more visually interesting and harmonious look than going for one straight "look" or theme. If you are not lucky enough to have been passed down any antiques, I highly recommend going to Goodwill every so often to check if they have any goodies. Also, don't be afraid to look behind large apartment buildings around the end/beginning of the month - treasures can be found this way! Seriously! You should also check out the various antique shops on Queen St E between Greenwood and Broadview. Target the ones that look more junky/disorganised, and these are the ones with hidden gems and bargains.