Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
Leftover paint great for accents
When your d©cor project is done, you'll most likely have leftover paint. You'll want to keep some of it for touch-ups but still, there will be lots of paint left, which carries lots of possibilities.
Since the paint will be in the colours of your updated d©cor, using it to create accents makes a lot of sense. The creative possibilities are endless. You've got the paint anyway, so it won't cost you anything to try your hand at a truly unique personal touch.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Paint the inside back panels of bookcases or shelving units in an accent colour. The accessories on the shelves will pop with a bright colour behind them. If the entire bookcase is dated, then consider painting the entire unit still using an accent colour on the back panel. You could get creative with a cube-style shelf by painting each shelf panel in a different, co-ordinating colour.
Update the inside of a closet using leftover paint. If you find it dark then use a lighter colour to freshen up the closet.
Spruce up a flea market or garage sale find using leftover paint. Perhaps you found a unique accent table that could work in your space, for instance.
If you have enough of one colour, you can try updating kitchen cabinets in a fresh new colour. Use leftover primer to make the treatment last.
Small items such as wooden picture frames, storage boxes, mirror frames and wooden curtain rods can all be transformed with paint and repurposed in your updated d©cor.
Sometimes, painting only parts of furniture can update and refresh it. If you have a dated dresser, paint the drawer fronts in a different colour than the rest of the piece to give it a new look.
Mix colours to create a new colour. Start with small batches until you get the colour you want then mix larger amounts to use on walls. If you only need a bit of a new colour then stick with the small batches to update d©cor items.
Use leftover paint to give an old door a new lease on life. A fresh colour on the interior of a foyer door can brighten up the entryway.
Wooden shutters can also be revamped with a coat of paint. Lighten dark shutters or darken light shutters.
In the bathroom, update a dated vanity and medicine cabinet with a new colour. Use a primer to keep the finish durable and long lasting. Add new hardware to finish the look.
Paint clay flowerpots so they will co-ordinate with your new d©cor. Consider adding stenciled patterns to the pots for interest.
Paint a floor cloth using leftover paint. It can be hung on the wall as simple art or used as an accent mat in the home. Paint dated brick with a funky colour to make it current. I used leftover ceiling paint to revamp a dated brick wall in my kitchen.
There are lots of ways to use leftover paint. When you have an urge to be creative, consider the possibilities and go for it.
connieoliver@shaw.ca
Renovation & Design
Throwaway furniture lives again
Yard-sale season has arrived and with it a treasure trove of potential.
Buying used furniture is a great way to add character to your home, but searching through stained coffee tables and outdated dressers can have you rushing to the nearest big-box store.
For Katrina Barclay, owner of Malenka Originals (malenka.ca) in Ottawa, those water-damaged tables are diamonds in the rough that have the potential to become your home's signature piece and the envy of friends and family.
Barclay developed an appreciation of furniture upcycling while living in The Netherlands, where painting and recycling old furniture is common practice.
"When we came back to Canada, I wanted quality furniture for our house and I couldn't find anything in our price range," she says. She scoured neighbourhood yard sales, looking for good wood pieces.
Follow these tips and transform your own yard-sale finds into works of art.
-- Shop for quality. Barclay looks for furniture that is well-built and made with solid wood. A telltale sign something is well-made are the drawers.
"I check to see if they slide well and if they have tongue-in-groove and dovetail joints," she says. Up until the 1970s, fine-furniture companies used dovetail joints, but mass production eliminated this detail.
Barclay also looks for a stamp in the drawers or under a table. "If it has a stamp, it was made with quality in mind," she says.
-- Embrace damage. Cracks and water damage don't scare Barclay. In fact, she gets excited about a piece with surface damage. "I'm going to cover that up anyways (and the damage means) I can usually get a good price. If the structure is good but the finish is damaged, that's perfect," she says. Clean the piece with soap and water and use wood filler to fill in any deep scratches. "If you have wood filler, some gorilla glue if any parts have fallen off and some paint, you can pretty much transform anything," says Barclay.
-- Replace hardware. Replacing handles can easily transform a piece. Barclay recommends removing handles and filling the holes with wood filler, then drilling a separate hole for a modern knob. She mentions a side table that had been left out in the rain at the end of a driveway.
"It was just destroyed," she says. Barclay snatched it up, painted it and replaced the antiquated knob with a modern crystal one. "It was one of the first pieces I painted and it's gorgeous. I've had so many people want to buy this piece, but I'm keeping it for myself to remind myself of how much something can be changed," she says.
-- Postmedia News
Renovation & Design
Mirror trick brightens your outdoors
Dear Debbie: We live in a townhouse with a small back deck that gets lots of sun. We enjoy it all summer long as a quiet spot to relax -- it's just big enough to have a few friends drop by for a barbecue. Do you have you any ideas for making the space look bigger? Ben
Dear Ben: I discovered a brilliant idea a few weeks ago when I peeked into my neighbour's garden. He's a big rugby player, but deep down obviously has a great sense of style. Mirrors have always been one of the best solutions for making small spaces look larger. My friend has mirrored one garden wall. (You can use exterior-grade mirrored glass or plastic-backed mirror.) Lattice panels sit in front of the mirror, giving the impression you are looking through the lattice into more garden. It doubles the space. Very clever! Luke Brown took this photo so I could share the look. Old ladders rest against the walls; flower boxes and ivy decorate the lattice and metal flower pots are stacked up on the ladders. The table is also an easy project -- a piece of plywood covered in a sheet of bendable metal rests on two wrought-iron bases that have been spray-painted red. Benches are space-savers too, and suit the casual nature of the garden. Try the magic mirror trick, and enjoy the rest of the summer.
Dear Debbie: We bought a 30-year-old condo for our retirement and plan to fix it up nicely but do not want to put so much of our budget into tearing out the popcorn ceilings. Is there an alternative? The ceilings are low except for the cathedral ceiling in the living room. Ann
Dear Ann: I wish I had a magical answer for you, but I've yet to discover one. Popcorn ceilings have haunted decorators and homeowners ever since they were blasted on as an inexpensive way to cover a ceiling, especially when there were cracks and imperfections to hide. Removing the popcorn is messy and you will have to patch and plaster to get a smooth surface for paint. Or apply wallpaper designed for ceilings. You can paint over the popcorn to freshen it up. Use a split foam roller to get into all the nooks and crannies. If you decide to change the look, the most reasonable option is to apply ceiling tiles over the popcorn. Check your area home-renovation store and the internet for Styrofoam or metal ceiling tiles. They come in a variety of patterns and are paintable. You could also have plywood planks installed for the cathedral ceiling, again easy to paint.
Dear Debbie: We remodelled our kitchen 15 years ago and still like our solid surface countertops and light-wood cabinetry. However, we would like to add something fresh and new. Would glass tiles on the backsplash work with this type of countertop? Sandy
Dear Sandy: Glass tiles come in so many sizes and colours now that you can devise any pattern you choose in the space you have. Since your countertop and cabinetry are both solid colours, here's an opportunity to build in some interesting texture. A multi-coloured one-inch glass-tile combination in shades of mocha, coffee and cream would create a modern and fresh focal point and add sparkle to the room. Your tile store will let you bring home samples to test on site, which is always a good idea. Once you have seen the colourways of these beautiful tiles, you will have a difficult time making a choice.
Debbie Travis' House to Home column is produced by Debbie Travis and Barbara Dingle. Please email your questions to house2home@debbietravis.com. You can follow Debbie on Twitter at www.twitter.com/debbie_travis, and visit Debbie's new website, www.debbietravis.com.
Renovation & Design
Keeping the sheeting from rotting the shingles
QUESTION: My cousin built a house in a rural area of Manitoba about 35 years ago. His north and south walls are sheeted with Aspenite, and shingled with asphalt shingles. He has about a five- to 10-degree angle on the wall sloping in at the top. The shingles are in good shape, in fact they look brand-new. He has a problem with the Aspenite rotting away under the shingles, enough that they fall off in the area where the rot is. This is the second time this has happened to him. I feel he should strip all the shingles on both sides, repair the rotted portions, cover the wall with Tyvec and put on vinyl siding.
Do you agree this would be his best way to solve the problem? During the '40s and '50s, people would cover their walls with imitation brick panels, which looked like impregnated ground-up paper and tar. I heard a lot of walls rotted out because of this.
Thank you, Jack Aspin
ANSWER: I think you have a very good grasp on the problem and a very reasonable way to solve it. Your advice to your cousin is sound and I will elaborate on the reason for this and caution others about the reasons for this occurring.
Many homeowners will realize excessive moisture is the largest factor in deterioration to their homes. Not as readily understood is that most exterior siding appears to be impervious to water, but is actually not. Many types of siding materials are quite porous and will allow significant amounts of moisture to penetrate. While this seems odd on the surface, the explanation makes perfect sense. What we have to understand is many of the best building materials in our homes can absorb quite a bit of moisture from the environment. Proper release of this moisture is the true key to longevity.
To illustrate the previous point, we should look at two of the most common types of siding materials used historically: brick and stucco. Both of these products are made of natural materials that have been modified, mainly cement and clay. While they appear to shed water at the surface, both of these actually absorb water quite readily. That is why we may see a significant colour change when they are wet, as opposed to dry. What makes them both good siding materials is the ability to easily dry out after a significant wetting, with the help of sun and wind. This property is critically important in allowing the escape of moisture that gains entry to the wall cavity, behind the siding. This prevents trapping moisture in the wall system, which is the obvious cause of your cousin's dilemma.
Another unknown feature of many siding applications is there is a small gap behind the siding that helps in its drying properties. Both of the previous types of siding normally have a built-in cavity, which prevents any moisture that penetrates the full thickness absorb into the wall sheathing. With brick and stone veneers, a small void is installed by leaving the masonry finishes slightly away from the sheathing. With stucco, the wire reinforcement that holds it in place is crimped to naturally form a small space behind the initial "scratch coat" after it cures. Both of these small voids allow excess moisture that may develop in this area to run down to the bottom of the siding and harmlessly leak out to the exterior. For brick veneer walls, small weeping holes are installed in the bottom course, every few bricks, to allow this water to drain. For stucco, an often unnoticeable gap along the bottom serves the same purpose.
What is also critical is the building paper or housewrap installed between the sheathing and the siding. This material provided the dual purpose of being an air barrier, and moisture wicking from the wall assembly. While these paper-thin membranes allow water vapour to escape the wall cavity, they also prevent wind-driven rain from wetting the exterior sheathing. They also provide a moisture-resistant surface, for water that penetrates the siding, to flow down. Both of these properties prevent rot in the wooden sheathing on the outside of the wall. While it is slightly different in nature, natural wood or vinyl siding also should operate in the same manner in relation to moisture.
Older homes with typical horizontal siding, often referred to as lap siding, also have a gap behind to allow escape of moisture. This type of siding only has the top portion touching the building paper, with the bottom resting on the upper section of the lower piece of tapered wood. This creates a small gap behind a portion of each piece, so any water that penetrates the surface will drip on to the lower section. Because the bottom of the siding is not securely fastened, this moisture can work its way out to the exposed surface, where it harmlessly dries, preventing the wood from rotting. Vinyl siding, while not as breathable as wood, is also loosely connected to the lower sections and has small drain holes integral in the bottom of each piece. This also allows any rain or melted snow that penetrates the surface to escape.
You have properly identified the problem with using materials for siding that were not designed specifically for that purpose. Asphalt shingles may be well-designed for roofing, due to their properties of being completely impenetrable to water when sealed, but that does not suit a siding application. Proper siding materials should be somewhat permeable to moisture, and be designed with a method to eliminate any moisture that does penetrate the surface. They must also be able to allow the escape of water vapour that penetrates the wall assembly from the living space, not trap it like the asphalt roofing on the house in question. Use of proper vinyl siding and synthetic housewrap sheathing should prevent a recurrence of the problems, as you have suggested.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the president of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors -- Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be emailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at 204-291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com