Doing It Yourself Decorated Life DIY€¦ · A few pointers before we begin. If you are already an...
Transcript of Doing It Yourself Decorated Life DIY€¦ · A few pointers before we begin. If you are already an...
Copyright 2014 Decorated Life
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Decorated Life
DIY
Cheat Sheet
Christine McVeigh| Decorated Life
Doing It Yourself
Basic Tool Set
Tool Set Extras
Quick-Start Home Decorating Tips
Safe Home Improvement
Handy Measurements for Home Decorating
Interior Design Basics
Using Color, Pattern and Texture in Home Decorating
Fixing Color Problem Rooms
Creating and Hanging Wall Décor Collections
Copyright 2014 Decorated Life
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Doing It Yourself
The best part about DIY is that you are making your
home more interesting, comfortable and livable
simply by paying attention to your home’s strengths and weaknesses and taking some action.
And the more interesting, comfortable and livable
your home becomes, the more you, your family and
friends will enjoy it!
Doing it yourself is fun, satisfying and easy, and will
save you a squillion… if you believe everything on
those glitzy home renovating shows!
Well, it can be!
Truth is; it’s all easy for someone with the right tools
and some experience.
And incredibly satisfying.
Even therapeutic.
With the right tools, a little know-how and some time
and patience, you will be surprised how much you
can do to make your home the exciting place you’ve always wanted it to be.
This quick start cheat sheet is just that - a few quick
tips, measurements and guidelines to help you on
your way. There are links to tutorials on the last
page!
Here’s what I recommend:
Skim through the cheat sheet. Save or print it.
Over the weeks decorating ideas and possibilities will
pop into your head. These are like diamonds! Grab a
pen, laptop or phone and make some notes.
Refer to the quick start cheat sheet when you need it
or search the blog to see how you can make these
great ideas real.
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A few pointers before we begin. If you are already an
experienced DIY kinda gal you probably know all this,
so just breeze on ahead… but if you are a newbie…
1. Be realistic about your own abilities and experience. Know when to stop and when to keep going. If you get in a serious pickle; don’t wait call a professional. A mess up can be very expensive and even dangerous.
2. Older homes can seem difficult if the walls, floors and ceilings are a little wobbly and no long straight. But that is also part of their wonderful charm.
3. Leave electrical, gas or water jobs to someone qualified.
You might swap an electrical switch for a dimmer but be careful. Don’t save money here.
4. Always allow enough time, so you don’t cut corners.
5. Home improvement retailers may have free workshops,
advice, leaflets or and staff who can help with specific problems. Don’t be shy to ask.
6. Make sure any work you carry out doesn’t contravene building or planning regulations. Check with authorities if in doubt.
So, where do we begin?
Well, with some tools, of course.
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Basic Tool Set
Use the right tool to save time and get great results!
Basic Tools
Hammer. Pick a size that is comfortable in
your hand and that allows you to hammer
and pry nails out.
Handsaw for smaller jobs.
A set of screwdrivers that includes several
sizes of both standard and Phillips head
(cross-shaped head) screwdrivers. Using the
wrong size or style driver destroys the screw.
Drill preferably cordless
Knife
Level
Chisel – one to begin with
Pliers; that feel comfortable for your hand.
25 foot retractable steel tape measure
Assorted nails and screws. Get sets that
include a variety of sizes for various jobs. Or
assemble your own sets, including fine, long,
short and finishing nails and screws.
An unlined notebook, small enough to fit
inside your tool kit and big enough for
sketching and making notes.
This list is small and basic but a great start. If you
don’t own these, buy a set. From hanging photos on
your new gallery wall to sanding an old table before
you paint it, be DIY ready. Larger items like industrial
sanders for floorboards can be rented.
The items below seem too silly to mention but
annoying when you don’t have them!
Tool Set Extras
Extra Tools
Glue gun for decorating and crafts projects.
Iron-on Magic Hem creates seams without
sewing. It's available at grocery stores and craft
or sewing shops.
Straight pins and safety pins for draping and
shaping.
Velcro for washable items such slipcovers.
Wire for hanging, fixing, and holding things.
Plate hangers in different sizes for both small
and large plates.
Picture hangers to make hanging art easier.
You’ll need a variety of sizes for different weighted objects.
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Quick-Start Home Decorating Tips
1. Set a budget! Stick to it! This isn’t always easy, but
more likely if you sit down and create a plan.
2. Your Action Plan. Decide which room(s) you want
finished, in what order and an approximate end
date to take the pressure off.
3. For bigger jobs create a floor plan using either an
online program or draw it on graph paper.
4. Get all carpentry, wiring and plumbing finished
first, before you paint, cover or decorate your
walls and floors.
5. Hone in on your personal style. Contemporary or
Traditional? Vintage, Classic or Eclectic? This gets
rid of fuzzy thinking and saves time and money so
you can focus on a look you love.
6. Decorate ceilings, walls, and floors before you
bring in furniture.
7. Decide which pieces you want to keep, recover,
paint or just add new hardware. New is nice but
upcycled can be simply gorgeous!
8. Shop! Pick stores that stock a large selection for
quick delivery or carrying home. Shop by mail or
surf the Internet for prices and products.
9. Buy major pieces first and accessories last.
10. Spice up your decor with accessories galore!
Choose only pieces that you love.
Home Safety Starts with Posture
Avoid accidents -
1. Keep your back straight and use your knees when
lifting heavy weights. Get help if you need it.
2. Use the right tools – jobs will get done faster and
the results will look more professional.
3. When renting tools, ask for a demonstration and
get a copy of operating instructions.
4. Cordless power tools are safer to use. If you are
using tools with a cord, make sure the cord is not
worn and always use a circuit breaker.
5. Position ladders on firm, even ground and get
help with extension ladders. Wear shoes with a
good grip, and don’t over reach.
6. Wear protective goggles, a mask and gloves when
necessary, and tie long hair out of the way.
7. Keep a first aid kit handy.
8. Supervise young children and pets around
equipment and store tools out of their way when
not in use.
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Handy Measurements for Home Decorating
Decorating requires taking lots of measurements to
make sure furniture fits where you want it, that
window treatments fit your windows and knowing
how much paint you need.
Getting it right will save you trips to the store, buying
too much ‘anything’, help you paint your rooms with
the same color and make the whole process feel
lighter and simpler.
These tips will help you decide what you need to
measure and how to calculate quantities.
Measuring a room’s square footage To work out your rooms’ square footage, multiply the
room's length by its width (this is the area).
this number is useful in lots of ways such as
whether large pieces of furniture will fit in your
room and
estimates quantities and prices of carpet,
flooring, paint, tiles and more.
Measuring a room for tiles To work out how many tiles you need:
Divide the width of the floor by the width of the
tile (horizontal row) and the length of the floor by
the height of the tile (vertical row) or use the
online calculator for an accurate measurement -
http://www.calculator.com/pantaserv/constructio
n/simpletile.cgi?units=Feet. Easy!
Buy up to 10 percent more tiles than you need for
errors and breakages.
Paint amount to paint a ceiling 1 gallon of paint covers about 350 square feet.
1. Multiply the length of the ceiling times its width to
find its area. (About the same as the floor).
2. Divide that number by 350 (the estimated square
feet covered per gallon) to figure out how many
gallons of paint you need.
You may need more paint for an unpainted surface
and if you want more than one coat of paint.
Paint amount to paint walls Use an online calculator like this one from Lowes –
exclude windows and doors to get a more accurate
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calculation of how much paint you need.
http://www.lowes.com/cd_Paint+Calculator_135222
5126183_
Or use this calculation & example below as a guide –
1. Add together the length of your 4 walls.
14 + 20 + 14 + 20 = 68 feet
2. Multiply the sum by the wall height, to find the
total wall area.
68 × 8 = 544 square feet
3. Subtract 20 square feet for each door (20 × 2 = 40)
and 15 square feet for each window (15 × 2 = 30) to
find the actual amount of wall area you're painting.
544 – 70 = 474 square feet
4. Divide this figure by the paint coverage (350
square feet per gallon), and the result is the number
of gallons to purchase.
If the surface is porous, you may need 25 - 50 % more
paint. Ask your store's paint pro.
Woodwork paint estimator
1 gallon of paint covers about 350 square feet.
1. Determine the total length of molding around the
room by adding together the length of all the walls
that the molding covers.
14 + 20 + 14 + 20 = 68 feet
2. Multiply the sum by .5 for an estimated width of
the molding.
68 × .5 = 34 square feet
3. Divide this number by 350 to estimate the gallons
of paint required to cover the molding.
34 ÷ 350 = .09
This is less than a quart. Keep for patch up work.
Door and window paint estimator
Door coverage is about 20 square feet = one door. To
calculate your door and window paint needed -
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1. Multiply the number of doors by 20.
2 × 20 = 40 square feet
2. Multiply the number of windows by 7.5.
2 Windows × 7.5 = 15 square feet
3. Add these numbers together.
40 + 15 = 55
4. Divide the result by 350 (the estimated square feet
covered per gallon).
54 ÷ 350 = .16
A quart of paint will go a long way on most doors and
window trim.
Ceiling heights – high, average and low Average ceilings are about 8 ft or 2.4 m high.
Tall ceilings are from 10 - 12 ft or 3.04 – 3.65 m
and more.
Low ceilings are less than 8 ft or 2.4m.
Use corrective decorating techniques by using the
right color, texture, or pattern to make the most
of space.
Distances between furniture pieces Be sure to add walk-around space between pieces
of furniture to avoid clutter.
Between chairs and sofas in seating groups, allow
around 2 - 5 ft or 0.609 – 1.52 m.
Leave at least 1 ft or 0.304 m around your bed.
This helps with bed-dressing and sheet changing.
Leave 4 - 5 ft or 1.2 – 1.52 m of walking space for
traffic flow through rooms.
These are a guide and depend on the size and shape
of your rooms.
For a quick guide on making chalk paint or milk paint
and the differences click here.
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Interior Design Basics
What you want to do in your rooms is combine these
five elements so they sit together in harmony.
Color - mood creator
Form - shapes of objects
Line - direction or boundary of an object
Mass - bulk of an object that occupies space
Texture - touch and look of matter
It sounds complicated but these 5 elements are what
interior decorators work with to create visual effects
and form one unified gorgeous look.
As a DIY interior decorator it’s your job to take note,
become aware of what you home can or can’t do,
what you can fake and what you can’t to create
mood, comfort and make it look great!
So let’s focus on just a few things -
Focal point
This is the spot in a room that the eye naturally
returns. It can be created; using a large piece of art,
furniture piece or wall gallery or built in to the room’s architecture like ornate moldings, a fireplace or a
spectacular view.
Every room needs 1 main focal point. If one exists;
maximize it. If it doesn’t; create it.
Minor focal points can exist around a room, like a
small group of frames, a small group of chairs etc.
The main focal point and minor focal points
should be in harmony and balance one another –
not compete.
A room looks flat and bland if it doesn’t contain
one strong focal point and busy if it has too many.
Scale and proportion
Scale refers to overall size, while proportion relates
the size of parts compared to the whole.
Keep these two factors in mind when selecting
furniture pieces for rooms.
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Larger rooms generally need large furniture pieces
to balance them or smaller grouped pieces.
Smaller rooms are often filled with smaller pieces
of furniture but one oversized piece of art can
make the room feel bigger.
Harmony and unity
This is a goal. Keep it in mind as you add furniture
or accessories. Does the piece add to the harmony
and unity of the room or detract from it?
Too much harmony and unity = dull! Add color or
a strong focal point if it looks monochromatic.
Contrast
Contrast is a pattern interruption for the eye. Placing
opposites side by side, like hot and cool colors or
hard and soft textures.
The eye loves contrast because it notices
something out of the ordinary, so make it count.
Positive contrasts make a room memorable.
Negative contrasts make a room feel chaotic and
messy.
Adding contrast without upsetting the room’s sense of harmony and overall unity is a fine
balance.
Variety
Like contrast the goal is to balance variety within a
single room, as well as within a whole-house design.
Think holistic!
Without enough distinct contrast, your room can look
flat and boring.
And like too much contrast, excessive variety creates
a confusing room which is not what you want.
Think in layers. It’s an evolving process.
Find a mix of elements that makes your rooms
interesting, functioning and beautiful.
Revisit your look every few months, remove some
layers, add others and keep most of the elements
you have, but move them around or add them
together in a different or unusual way.
The important thing is to bring these delicious flavors
together to create harmonious rooms full of interest,
surprise and balance.
Color, pattern and texture can help you do just that.
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Using Color, Pattern, and Texture in Home Decorating
Color, pattern, and texture create style, mood, and
ambience in each room in your home. Without them
you have a nicely furnished room, with them you
have ‘WOW’.
Creating mood with color
Test colors by painting large boards with your
new color, moving them from wall to wall at
different times of the day, in your room’s natural
light.
If your room has little natural light your new paint
color will appear dull, muddier or darker.
Light, cool colors make walls seem to fade away
into the distance, making rooms seem spacious.
Dark, warm colors make walls seem to come
closer.
Many recommend painting small spaces in cool,
light colors. The aim is to create the feeling of air
and space.
Watch out - White can be deceiving in small
spaces and often looks gray and dull in a
small room with little natural light, so try a
sample first.
Colors that are too cool can make a room
feel bare and lifeless. You may need to use
accessories to balance the coolness.
Darker colors look richer in small spaces and help
give a room character and mood.
Large spaces can take warm, confident colors
without being overwhelmed or crowded.
Neutral colors schemes are easier to live with and
need replacing less often because they don’t date as quickly.
Check the undertone of you new color scheme.
The undertone is color that makes up the base
color. The best way to discover a color’s undertone is by comparing it to another color in
the same color range. You can easily see whether
the undertone is cooler or warmer and if it will go
with furniture or your room’s natural light. Distribute colors naturally, with dark colors on
the floor, medium colors on the walls, and light
colors on the ceiling.
You can break these rules, but this is a failsafe
plan using the law of chromatic distribution:
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1. Put neutral colors on large surfaces or objects,
such as the floor and sofa.
2. Use stronger shades in smaller amounts on
smaller spaces or items, such as a short wall or a
chair as features.
3. Employ the strongest accent color in the
smallest spaces and places.
4. For impact, scatter accent colors around the
room.
Playing with pattern
Mix patterns such as check with florals or large-
scaled patterns with small-scaled patterns.
Use three different patterns that have different
size patterns and relate in color.
FIVE different patterns. Let one large-scaled
pattern dominate over one medium-scaled floral
and another geometric, and toss in two small-
scaled accent patterns (floral or geometric). Make
sure the colors in the large-scaled pattern are
repeated in all the others.
Place pattern everywhere! This is a great way to
blend your theme throughout your home and
makes a great impact.
Use wall stencils for wall paper patterns.
Too many patterns can be overwhelming.
Choose two or three areas unless you have
larger rooms that can take more.
This can date if your patterns or fabrics are
very modern.
Toying with texture
Traditional rooms like more refined, smooth
textures and subtle rugged textures.
Contemporary spaces like textural interest.
Feminine rooms like elegant, subtle textures.
Masculine rooms like nubby, tweedy & rugged
texture.
The more neutral a color scheme, the more
important texture becomes.
Heavy textures "eat" space, so use them only in
large or cozy rooms.
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Creating Wall Décor Collections
Before you grab your tools and start hanging pieces
remember that wall collections can be photos, plates,
art and even wicker or silver trays. Here’s a blog post
with videos with lots of gallery wall ideas.
Start by finding a space that needs filling. Define
and measure the space. It might be between two
doorways, the length of a sofa or a hallway.
Decide what you would like to hang. From photos
to plates, a street sign or some art. What group of
things would look better on the wall than
collected together on a table?
Buy hardware to secure the pieces to the wall.
Make sure the hardware will support oversized or
heavy items.
Cut shapes from kraft paper to match each of
your pieces.
Decide what shape you would like your collection
to have.
Test your arrangement on the floor or by placing
your paper cut outs on the wall with painter's
tape. Try different shapes until you find the
perfect configuration.
If you're hanging portraits, draw arrows on the
paper to indicate which way the subject is looking.
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Mix contrasting shapes. Instead of the same sized
square frames; add round, rectangle or thin
vertical objects together.
Use color or themes to unite these pieces.
Hanging rule of thumb; place the most prominent
piece at eye level off center and work outward.
Not all collections must be hung. Mount
decorative ledges and prop frames along ledges.
This option makes it easy to switch out art for a
seasonal change or update photos. You can also
add vases, candles or other accessories.
Hanging art too high. As a guide, leave about 6
inches between the top of the sofa and the
bottom of the art piece and adjust according to
your eye.
Pay attention to scale. When hanging art over a
sofa, mantel, or any significant piece, make sure
the piece of art or grouping has a width between
one-half and two-thirds of the item below.
To give art more substance, hang it within a few
inches of a cabinet or table so the two objects
look like one more substantial piece.
Remember, these are rules and rules can be broken.
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The mirror to the right is too big for the sofa beneath
it and the six inch rule has been thrown out the
window, but the four hanging frames and two side
tables and lamps, give it balance. So, all is forgiven.
Now it’s time to collect your ideas and get some of
them into your home!
Good Luck!
More tutorials right here:
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Chalk Paint and Milk Paint – Videos and Tips
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How to Make Build & Upholster and Ottoman
10 Ways to Use Blue Color of the Year
How to Choose Gray Paint for Your Home
5 Small Room Ideas
6 Small Living Room Ideas
10 Failsafe Decorating Rules
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