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From Curtains to Carpentry

July 20, 2017 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

6 Tips For Reinventing Your Home Without Renovation

We all want to live in a beautiful, cozy home.

Somewhere you love to relax after work, and entertain your friends on the weekends. But even if you are lucky enough to buy your dream home, or even rent it, there are often ways you would like to improve the space or style.

If home renovations aren’t really your skill set, don’t set those home style dreams on the shelf. There are plenty of ways to spruce up your home without having to knock down walls or spend a fortune on a contractor. Read on for my 6 top tips on how to reinvent your home without undertaking a renovation.

1) Window Treatments

Windows seem to be an overlooked when planning home decor. Often home-owners don’t know what to do with windows so they are left bare or maybe dressed with a simple blinds for privacy. If you are looking for a quick facelift to your living space, look no further than the windows. Choosing blinds for your home is sa great way add both function and style to your home.

2) Open Spaces

One of the things homeowners are looking for most right now is a house with open spaces. Where the living room and kitchen are open to each other, or rooms have ample space for hanging and entertaining. If your space is feeling a bit cramped, there are easy ways to give it more of an open space feel. Time to ditch big, bulky furniture for pieces that are more size appropriate for your space.

If new furniture isn’t in your budget, try rearranging what you already have, or even getting rid of something to create more space. If you have a large cabinet or another bulky piece of wood furniture try painting it a nice off-white colour so it blends in more.

3) Mirrors

Mirrors have way more function than just providing you a last glimpse of yourself before you walk out the door. Adding mirrors to smaller rooms will immediately give the appearance of more space. Placing mirrors opposite windows adds more natural light, and makes the room seem bigger and more open.

4) Lighting

Lighting is a really fun, affordable way to enhance any room, even a bathroom! A poorly lit room can small and cramped. The same room with good lighting will appear bright, airy and welcoming. Layering lighting is a great style technique. Adding tall floor lamps to otherwise dark corners, paired with smaller lamps on side tables will add depth and light to your home. If you are looking to take lighting to the next step, replace old light fixtures with more modern pieces and see your home come to life!

5) Cabinet Pulls

Another often overlooked style opportunity are the pulls on your cabinet.

So many houses have old, worn, dirty handles, pulls and knobs. This is a super easy fix to give your kitchen or bathroom an immediate facelift. A fun thing to do is contrast the cabinet pulls with the overall style. So if your kitchen is chabby chic, add modern pulls. If your kitchen is modern, add some artsy glass knobs.

6) Outdoor Spaces

Jealous that your friends seem to always be talking about the renovations to their homes? A new bathroom here. A fourth bedroom there. If this is out of your skill set and budget, it is time to look at what you do have and add some creativity.

Look outside! Even a small outdoor area can be jazzed up to be an additional living space.

A few things that can turn a patio or yard space into a desirable hang spot is a rug, a few cozy chairs, and maybe even a fire pit. Put some creativity and energy into your outdoor space and throw a party. Your friends will love it!

You don’t need in depth knowledge of a table saw or thousands of dollars to have a beautiful home. There are so many ways to spruce up the home without renovations with a little added time and creativity. I hope some of these tips inspired you to take a look around your house for ways to slowly but surely transform your house into your dream home.

3 of Signs It’s Time to Upgrade the HVAC System in Your Home

April 24, 2017 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

Most households don’t notice their HVAC systems. As long as their home stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter then they don’t think about it. However, when it stops performing effectively or starts getting more disruptive, homeowners are forced to evaluate their HVAC units to determine what can be fixed and what needs to be replaced. Here are three signs that your HVAC system needs to be replaced or at least needs to be inspected.

There Is More Dust Floating Around

Image via Flickr by pulverizer_13

Dust is more than a cleaning annoyance. It can worsen your allergies and make your children sick. If they have asthma, they could struggle to breathe — even in their own homes. Furthermore, pollen from the outside can spread to areas like the bedroom and den that you want to feel comfortable in. Replacing your HVAC unit and cleaning your ducts can make it easy to breathe in your home again.

If you have noticed more dust in your home lately, check your air ducts to see if they’re particularly dusty. While air filters catch a significant amount of dirt and dust, older models are less effective at trapping these irritants. Your older home could also have decades of dust build up in your air ducts if they have never been cleaned.

Your Energy Bills Are Increasing

There are two signs that your HVAC system isn’t performing like it should: your energy bills are increasing and your system seems to run constantly. In this instance, you might have a leak in your air ducts that is pushing the air out of your home instead of inside your rooms. If your energy bills have been on the rise lately, pay attention to your HVAC system and see if it’s not turning off as often as it used to. The two could be correlated.

Before you decide to invest in a new system, call your local HVAC company for a checkup. There might be something wrong with your unit that’s causing it to run longer or push out room-temperature air. This could be an easier — and more affordable — fix than a complete replacement. During your tune-up, the HVAC professional will also check other sources around your home for leaks, like a drafty room or loose windows. This too could provide an affordable alternative to an HVAC replacement.

Your System Is Loud and Disruptive

Has your HVAC system grown louder in the past few years? Is there roaring and clanking that is keeping you and your kids up at night? If so, then your unit may be on its last legs. Older motors have to work harder and lose pipes or doors could lead to clanking noises.

This is another reason to have your HVAC unit inspected by a professional. He or she might be able to tighten up a few loose elements or find a way to muffle the sound of your system without requiring a complete replacement.

A poorly performing HVAC system can make the summer miserable, whether you’re sweating through the day or sneezing all night. If you’re experiencing these symptoms, then it might be time to invest in a modern unit.

Prepping an Ottawa Home for New Paint

October 6, 2015 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

The best way to revitalize the look of a home is by having it painted by a professional. The older that a home gets, the harder it will be for the owner to maintain the luster that it should have. Taking the time to finding the right peintre a Gatineau will allow the homeowner to get the right results without having to put in any work. Before the painting can being, the homeowner will need to start thinking about how they are going to prepare. There are a variety of things that a homeowner can do to make the painter’s job a bit easier.

Covering All Furniture

Covering all of the furniture in a home is the best way to reduce the chance that any paint gets on it in during the process. Having the furniture in the home exposed to these elements will usually end in disaster and can cause a lot of damage due to pain droplets getting on it. Buying some thicker plastic and some double sided tape can do wonders when trying to get the right covering for the furniture in a home. Neglecting to do this type of prep work will usually lead to a homeowner regretting it.

Filling Holes on the Wall

Filling the nail holes left in a home will be the next thing that a homeowner will need to think about. Over time, a wall will have many different holes put in it due to the hanging of pictures and other things. By taking some putty and filling the holes, the homeowner will help to ensure that a smooth coat of new paint is put on. The work that is put into this process will be worth it considering the great finished product that it will help to produce.

Cleaning and Priming Walls

When trying to get the right results from a home painting job, the homeowner will need to take the time to wash and then prime their walls. By taking a sponge with soap and water to a home, the homeowner will be able to get a great finished product. Usually, the primer that needs to be used can be bought rather inexpensively at local hardware stores. The time that is spent putting this type of work into prepping a home for paint is worth it due to the great results that will happen.

The right painting company will be able to come and get the job done in a hurry. Taking the time to choose the right painters will make this process much easier.

How to Go About Building a New Bathroom in Your Home

March 17, 2014 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

This is a guest post…

Bathrooms are one of the spaces in the home where we spend a large amount of time. Bathing, applying makeup, performing our morning and night rituals, all take place in the bathroom. For this reason, you want a bathroom that suits your needs and makes you feel relaxed and inspired. Here are some simple tips on taking the necessary steps to build a new bathroom in your home.

Get estimates

Before you start any building project at all, you need to know that you have the finances to complete the job. You do not want any sticker shock when you begin working with your contractor and buying the parts for your bathroom. Look at some estimates for a similar job that you may want performed. Once you have some rough estimates, call around and ask for estimates from contractors in your particular area.

Measure out the space

The only way to know if the fixtures that you wish to place in the bathroom will fit is to measure out the space that will be used in the bathroom. Take the measurements for the width, length, and the height of the room.

Also remember to make allowances for any extra space that you may be using or space that may be taken out. For instance, if you are knocking down the closet to extend the bathroom, measure this space as well.

Hire a contractor

Your bathroom contractor is going to be the person who makes the magic happen. Finding a builder is the most important part of the entire task. The quality of the builders work will determine if your bathroom will be a first rate model, or if the bathroom will have issues down the line. If you want the image that you have of your dream bathroom to be brought to life, hire a top rated builder.

Make out the blueprints

Before you start the process of tearing down walls or taking out any bathroom fixtures, you need to draw up blueprints for the bathroom. This process may actually be simpler than you think. A builder can produce sketches as well as blueprints. The blueprints can help you visualize, but are also used to mark out the spacing for the bathroom.

Order the fixtures well in advance

As soon as you know that the spacing will work for the fixtures that you want in the bathroom, you should order the fixtures so that they come in. Your fixtures will include:

Sinks
Bathtub and accessories
Shower and accessories
Cabinetry
Mirrors
Lighting

Make sure that all of your pieces are slated to come in before they are needed in the building process. There is nothing worse than having construction held up because you don’t have parts that you need to put in.

Mark the Electrical

If you are going to change around the layout of the bathroom, remember that you will have to reconfigure the electrical plugs. You may need to bring in an electrician in order to install new plugs in the spots designated on your blueprints. Ask your builder if they have recommendations to make it easier to find a professional electrician.

Inspect regularly

Do not get to the end of the process only to find that there is an issue that will require you to take apart the pieces of your newly built bathroom in order to fix the issue. Code issues are also a major problem as the construction cannot be completed properly if not up to code. Inspect the bathroom weekly or more to determine that everything is going up properly.

Pay on a regular basis

Everyone should have a contract with the builder who is creating their new bathroom. A contract protects both parties as it clearly outlines the expectations from each side and the cost to perform the new build. Pay in accordance with the contract in order to keep the workers happy and on task.

Set a finish by date

The last thing that you want is a construction project that has no particular end date. When you first meet with your builder about the bathroom and create the contract, ask for an estimated completion date. The completion date will be one of the days you are looking forward to, so ask for updates on the estimated date so that everyone is on the same page.

Make sure that you are prepared to live in a construction zone for a few weeks while your bathroom gets done. Though the process of going through the actual building of the restroom may be difficult, the result of a perfectly customized bathroom is well worth the headache that construction can bring.