Update, Refresh, Renew Your Staircase

With a little (ok, a lot) of elbow grease, you can update and refresh your staircase. What I did was lightly sand and wash with soap and water entire surface. I mean spindles, risers, handrail, side-rails, steps.
Then I applied a coat of high adhesion primer (I used Fresh start by Benjamin Moore) over all surfaces with a paint brush.

When that was dry I painted the spindles in a BM White, OC 117 simply white semi-gloss for the spindles, risers, and sides, basically everything vertical and I did 4 coats. Yes, 4 coats, 1 per day. It is a lot of work but only the first coat takes the longest, the rest goes pretty quick.

Next is the hard part, the steps, I am pretty good at cutting so I did not use tape, I found that a 1 inch brush did a good job if you have a steady hand if not use tape but you will have to wait for the white paint to dry very thoroughly at least 1 week or more before you put tape on it. Or what I did was do my best and then I applied a 1/2 inch cove trim to the joints in the same white pre-painted to give an extra clean line and more detailed look. I used a satin finish BM and the colour was Space black 2119-10.
(note: I did every other step so we could access going up and down)

Finally the hand rail in the black, everything horizontal in black.



With all the steps and drying time, it took about 3 weeks from start to finish. I only used 3 quarts of paint, 1 white 1 black and the primer. I have left overs of all three. Total cost was approx 80.00 including brushes. I had a quote from a painter to do this job because of the steps and labor it would have cost me 1200-1400 dollars.

I think I did pretty good

Move, Stay or Renovate?

Move Or Stay and Renovate?

I chose to stay and renovate. After considering all my options renovation was the better fit for us. The house was a good size and in a good neighborhood, area had everything we needed, commute was good, schools very close, people were nice, kids didn't really want to leave. So we thought a little reno aggravation was better then moving and besides moving doesn't always get everything you want anyway.

4 months total it took but if you read my previous blogs you will understand why it wasn't so bad for me. The blogs I wrote are real events and things that happen to me and how I dealt with it.

Planning first and doing research is important, you must have a budget in mind and then go out there and dont be afraid to ask for things at a better price, Remember you are in control of the trades and as far as I am concerned they are coming to you for the job so be firm about what you want and expect from them. Dont give your money away freely, the person that wants the job and is honest will give you a proper contact and will not take huge deposits before doing anything.

Ask for referrals before hiring anyone.Everyone wants to make a good buck but know your prices and get several quotes from reputable business. If you dont know what your style is, cut out some pictures from magazines or books of rooms you love and perhaps the hire of a designer will be worth the time and money you can save making costly mistakes.

If you love your home, make it into the space of your dreams and stay. It may take a few years to get there, one room at a time, but for me it was well worth it. I love my new kitchen and am now planning the next reno event. I look at it as a  regular upkeep, upgrade or maintenance as you will which is needed anyway.

Rose Arangio

Visionary Spaces: Coping with a major reno.

Visionary Spaces: Coping with a major reno.: "How do you cope when your doing a major renovation. Well I will tell you what I did and I hope it will help you. I've been in the middle of..."

Coping with a major reno.

How do you cope when your doing a major renovation.

Well I will tell you what I did and I hope it will help you. I've been in the middle of an entire kitchen redo from top to bottom, new windows, ceiling, walls, cabinets, lighting, the works. It all started off as a vision and a whole of excitement, I love demolition because I know what is to come and it has to get bad before it gets good. But then  reality sets in when there is no more kitchen sink, what now? I am one of those people that does not have a second kitchen in the basement. Well I did anticipate this so from the beginning I did make myself a make do kitchen in another area, after all a complete kitchen reno will take 3 to 4 months. when the old cabinets were removed they are in separate sections so I saved the cutlery section, it had 4 pull out drawers and and put a big cutting board on top to cover the open spaces since there is no counter top on it anymore, and with everything still in it pushed it into my family room where I set up my new preparing and eating space. Next I pushed my sofas to one corner and created a cozy seating on one side of the room and the other half was designated for my kitchenette. Basically I turned my family room into two functions, eating dinner and watching TV. I set up a table for prep and it housed my coffee maker, microwave, toaster oven (a must have, I made so many great meals in that), plates and some staples. I purchased a mini bar fridge for my new kitchen so I put it to good use in my new space and used that too. I had everything I needed and didn't
feel the strain of having no kitchen and at the same time the husband and kids thought it was so much fun having everything at hand right in the TV room.  I think they will actually miss it when I take it all away. I am at the 4 month stage, I am just waiting for granite now, I have not felt any stress although I do have some aches and pains from the work that I contributed but I made sure we always had a nice family dinner at the end of the day in family room and kept things as normal as possible for the kids. A glass of wine now and again helped too :)

What a difference the paint makes!

Visionary Spaces said...

Nothing really seems to make a big impact on a renovation until the painting is done. Paint is like putting on a makeup foundation, it evens everything out and makes for the perfect backdrop for the makeup (decor and accessories)to be applied. I have just been renovating my kitchen for 2 months now, and I can tell you that the demolition, drywall, electrical, sanding, cleaning was not very exciting at all but we just finished painting and even though the cupboards haven't arrived yet I had such a sense of calm finally. Its now looking as if we have accomplished something. Its the crumb coat of the cake ready and waiting to be adorned with the final. When its all said and done you can have the cake and eat it too! Rose Arangio

DIY with a little help

Being a DIYer is a great way to save money. Some people however don't have a clue how to pick paint colours or decide on a design scheme for the project. Don't panic in this case, you can still attempt doing it yourself but I will suggest to get a consultation from someone in the design/decor field. It doesn't cost a lot of money to get consultation from someone that is qualified and it will actually save you time and money making costly mistakes. Choosing paint colours is very stressful for most people and really who wants to paint the same room over and over again. A reputable colour expert will help you to choose colours that will compliment your furnishings and tastes.  If painting more than one room it is important that you have harmony throughout and if you have any trouble with that an expert eye can help. Depending on your budget you can hire a professional designer or decorator just for a consultation on furniture placement or purchase ideas. Once you have the plan it will give you a vision and you can go ahead and do all the work yourself.

Rose Arangio

Why DIY?

Home improvements are a daunting task. We are living in a great era, where we have a wealth of information at hand through media and technology. Flip on the TV and you can at just about any time of the day watch a show about home improvement do's, dont's and how to's. TV, magazines, flyers, mail, you name it, where ever you look there are messages and suggestions on how to improve your home. What should you do? Well no matter how you look at it, it is a good thing to do. If your selling your home it is time to spruce things up and get your house into the best shape possible so that you can generate the most money for your investment. If your staying in your home you need to update from time to time so that things done start to break down or decay.
What ever your story is the best way to stretch your dollar is to DIY. Big box stores offer classes and seminars and tool rentals for home improvements so that you can learn how to. Internet also has a wealth of information, just ask a question press enter and there it is...the answer. The thing I'm trying to say is don't be afraid to try it yourself. Start off with a small project and see what fulfillment you will get when its done. You may catch the renovation bug and try another project because you just saved so much money Doing It Yourself.
Don't forget to have fun!

Rose Arangio :)

When you know you've chosen the right colour!

Paint on walls, unless its a focal wall should not attract the attention. A properly chosen wall colour should accentuate everything in the room. It should make the furniture, fabrics,art, floors and decor pop so as to be noticed. I think that when you have freshly painted a room and someone comes over the immediate reaction will be, OMG your room looks great! did you get something new? When the wall colour is over powering everything you put in it will disappear and all you will see is the colour on the wall. This does not mean that you should not use beautiful dark or bold colours at all, any colour in any fan deck can be used. For example a dark espresso brown you may thinks is so bold and dark but in a room with lots of windows, white trim, very light furniture and floors and decor will look stunning and will be the perfect backdrop! Have fun with paint.