PAINTED STAIRS – DIY

In a few of my own places I've painted stairs, it's a pretty easy DIY and can really transform the look. I've painted a few solid white, meaning I've painted both the riser and tread in white. I've painted some with a black tread and white riser. The colour choice really depends on the house and the look you want to achieve. The above image is my house with white stairs. I've also painted another set of stairs in the house in solid white (behind the chair in this image below). I've used a floor and porch paint on the stairs, and in the past have always used oil but I know it's been discontinued so I'm not sure about the level of durability of the latex floor paint.

If you prefer the look of a black tread and white riser this is also a pretty simple painting project. But it does involve more prep time, you'll want to tape the sides of the black tread so you don't get black paint on the white riser. It also is a good idea to let everything dry well before you move on to the second colour. Here is the black and white example, I think it's a nice classic look.

Another aspect to consider is adding a runner to the stairs. This adds another level of decor and gives you a ton of options for adding colour and pattern.

This is a picture I've had in my inspiration file for years, love how this runner looks on the solid white stairs.

If you're adding a runner it's important to consider the amount of stair you want to cover, I prefer a wide runner, leaving just an inch or two exposed on either side of the runner (I find the one above is a bit narrow). You can also add nice details like the metal bar between each stair.

BEFORE & AFTER: CABINET

Back when I was working on CBC TV doing a regular segment called Deb on a Dime, I was always looking for inexpensive furniture. I'd often go by Value Village and check out the second hand furniture, and this is where I found this cabinet. I wanted to show this makeover because you really can decorate on any budget. Sometimes it means you'll have to get your hands dirty and Do-It-Yourself but you can find some great treasures. The things I always look for are the size and shape of a piece of furniture, everything else can be changed. For this project I needed a narrow cabinet and this one fit the bill. It also provided a pretty good amount of storage inside the unit. I picked it up for $9.99, here it is before:

It definitely wasn't pretty but I could see the potential. I spray painted it white and I covered the glass doors with frosted vinyl. It didn't take a lot of time, or cost much in materials, to totally transform the cabinet. Here it is after:

BEFORE & AFTER: GARAGE MAKEOVER

I love looking back at this Garage makeover! I worked on this a few years ago and it was such a functional, well used space. When I bought the property I was excited to have a very large 'garage' on the property. Of course I had big plans for the space and thought I could do the work myself. It hadn't been touched in years and the space was actually divided in two: the front was the garage and the back was a room called a 'summer bedroom'. The summer bedroom had potential but needed a lot of work. The fabric on the windows would disintegrate when I touched it. Here is how it looked:

And here is a picture of the front garage area:

I decided to remove the wall between the front and back spaces to create one large room. The roof also needed to be replaced and my very handy cousin Mike came to help me do the job (he did the entire roof!) and I worked on getting the inside ripped up.

Mike up on the roof:

And this was happening inside:

The wall is down!! It made the space so much larger, brighter and open, I loved it.

Mike still on the roof:

And the next phase was the floor; we did a new inexpensive spruce floor which I painted.

And then I spent one entire summer painting this space. The old barn boards on the walls and ceilings just soaked up the paint. It took many coats of primer and white paint. But in the end it was all worth it and I couldn't have done this without Mike! Here it is getting a mention on House & Home magazine.

http://houseandhome.com/design/cottage-garage-renovation

Bedroom makeover: before & after

This bedroom went through a basic cosmetic makeover- mostly involving paint. I removed the old carpet and found there were original floors underneath that had been painted. I updated those with a new coat of black oil paint and finished the walls, ceiling and trim in white. I added linen roman shades at the windows, but for some reason they aren't up in this shot. Here it is before:

And the after shot with a spool bed:

The image above the bed is currently for sale in Great Village, Nova Scotia. It's an old charcoal sketch signed and dated 1874.

DIY: lamp for $9.99

This lamp underwent a dramatic transformation and cost less than $10. Back when I was doing a segment on CBC TV called, "Deb on a Dime", I was always looking for affordable and stylish DIY ideas. You can create some great looking lighting if you think outside the box and are willing to get your hands dirty. I picked up a pair of these lamps at a second hand store for $4.99 each. I liked them right away because of the shape and size. I used white primer spray paint to cover the colour and pattern, this gave them a perfect matte white finish. Here I am getting ready to spray:

Then I was able to pick up two shades in an 'as is' section of a big box store; each shade was $5.00, for a grand total of $9.99 for each lamp. I think they look pretty good considering the price tag.

Here's how the second lamp looked on the other end of the room.