Archive for the ‘DIY’ Category

When it comes to buying a house it’s always location, location, location. When it comes to painting the exterior of your house it’s always preparation, preparation, preparation. Or at least it should be. A wise man once said “If you fail to prepare then prepare to fail”.

This is so true of painting your home – rushing things or cutting corners is really going to cost you in the long run. The usual result of no preparation is a sloppy finish that winds up having to be done redone. How much work you have ahead of you is down to the condition of the house itself – it will vary from one job to the next.

There are plenty of power tools out there to help you with preparing the outside of your home for painting but when it comes down to it you’re going to wind up using good old manual labor to get the job done. All that scraping and tearing and sanding will be worth it in the end. The sweat that you put into preparing the house will give you a result that’s well worth it.

Peeling paint and mildew (mold caused by dampness) are the main things you need to look out for when prepping the outside of your home. Any peeling paint will need to be removed. Any mildew spots will need to be cleaned and then the surface underneath treated to stop the problem coming back. If you don’t treat mildew properly it’s guaranteed to bubble up underneath your newly painted walls and ruin all your hard work. If you have aluminum siding on your house then all you’ll need to do is give it a good clean and maybe sand down any really rough spots.

Once you’ve scraped away the worst of the damage (if there is any) then it’s time to sand the surface. But before you start sanding anything you’re best served to give the walls a wash down first. You can use a pressure washer to do this but you need to be really careful because some of them are powerful enough to actually cause damage to wooden surfaces. Usually using a garden hose is enough for the cleaning job.

Always make sure the surfaces are completely dry before you begin sanding. How long will it take for them to dry? It depends on the time of year and hours of sunlight per day. If you want to be completely sure then use a moisture meter to measure how dramp the wooden surfaces still are.

The areas you want to pay most attention to with your sanding tools are any spots that had peeling paint or mildew. These are the spots that could ruin the final finish so make sure they’re sanded and treated properly before you move ahead with your painting plans. Just make sure you totally clean off any dust left behind after sanding – otherwise you’ll wind up with it mixed into your paint.

Now that you’ve done all of the hard prep work you can get on with the easy bit of the job…..the actual painting!

If you want more interior and exterior painting tips pay a visit to -> http://www.squidoo.com/paintingideas

You need to do something about your home’s lack of décor, but you feel completely overwhelmed. There are so many interior decorating ideas available. How are you supposed to choose just one or two of the many interior design options you see in magazines, on television shows and in your favorite stores? You have no idea, but you do know one thing – if you don’t make a choice soon, you are going to be in big trouble, because you’ve been bringing home a random assortment of items that struck your fancy without worrying about a theme.

Get more great home decor ideas at www.aboutdecor.com

If you are looking for paintbrushes, chances are that you’ll see that many of the quality brushes on the shelves are Purdy brand brushes. Purdy is one of the biggest paintbrush manufacturers and makes many types of brushes. Whether you are a professional painter in need of a specialty brush or a do it yourselfer who never realized that there was more than one type of paintbrush before, Purdy probably has just what you need.

If you are in a hurry to get the job done, you’ll want to look for brushes that can hold a lot of paint. This allows you to paint more of the wall between trips back to the paint can. Purdy has two types of brushes that are designed to hold larger quantities of paint: the XL Series and the Pro Extra Series. Purdy says that the Pro Extra brushes are the company’s best model. If you are on a tight budget, you may be tempted to look for a cheaper brush. Just keep in mind that a quality brush will last through quite a few paint jobs if it is properly cared for, while an economy brush may not make it through one job without losing bristles.

Read the full article on the Purdy paintbrush range here.

Then it’s time to decide on the colors, which mainly center around pale cream and blue, and white, which all seem to work equally well. Strong colors like red and green shouldn’t be used on the walls, as they ruin the relaxation because they are ‘busy’ colors. The walls need to be just a little bit duller than the furniture, so make sure you keep color in mind throughout the design process.

More on chalet style decorating tips and ideas.

Wall murals are another way of instantly adding to your dolphin decorating theme. You could go with deep blue murals on a pale background or the opposite with pale blue murals on a dark blue background. The size of the mural will be down to personal preference but be careful not to make your walls too ‘busy’ by adding dolphin murals everywhere.

This style can be marginally adapted to create a European bistro look. The stylish appliances will still fit in well, but instead of the light coloured paint you will want to go for rich reds and gold. Faux plastering to add a bit of texture, as well as mosaic tiling on the work surface or walls also go really well here.

Kitchen redecorating tips and ideas.

On the ceiling, you will be fine having a plain white ceiling, and this is often better in a small room, but in a less cluttered room, a mural on the ceiling will look much better. With the floor, carpet is not the thing, for an authentic look you could go for a lavish mosaic, although simple marble often looks better. Sometimes you can even get away with having a wooden floor covered by a rug.

Get more Italian decorating tips and ideas.

Your home office space should be designed to not only be functional but also fun. Make it a playground business womanas much as a working environment. Fill it with color, posters, pictures, plants or whatever makes you smile the most. Have your own mission statement and goals planted there in front of you to remind you of why you’re there. This is far better than the bland, pointless mission statement you had to stare at in your 9 – 5 job (and secretly hated and totally disagreed with each and every day).

If you would like it to be Asian themed, then the main colours you will want to use are white and black, as Asian themed rooms thrive on simplicity. For the furniture you will want to use hardwood, which had a tight grain, or black leather, and to bring colour to the room you will want to use dark coloured, or sometimes gold, cushions and pillows, and then finish off the room with an Asian themed fountain and candles.

More decorating ideas for your bedroom.

http://www.decorsecrets.com

When it comes to furniture, for a really Asian decorating style or theme, Rattan sofas look great, especially if they are completed with plump, loose cushions. If you want a more modern look then black leather furniture blends in and also gives a more up to date feel. Instead of Chinese style rugs, which are rarely used with this theme, go for a very simple and plain rug. If your room seems to be becoming very dark, then spice it up a bit with read, turquoise or gold cushions and throws.