Before and after photos
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Old paintwork on some stairs
The same stairs properly prepared and painted
Tips archive
Below are a range of tips that Ady has had on her Decorating Tips page previously - scan through them to make your decorating more successful.
Ceilings – For a watermarked ceiling
It is easy to look up and see certain damage to your ceiling - the cracks or watermarks that have appeared over time. But it isn’t as easy to hide this damage by covering over with a thick coat of white emulsion – without preparation the damage will come back through.
Firstly find out what has caused the leak to start with and fix it as needed. Allow the damaged area to dry out fully. It there are any cracks, fill these first by using an interior fine filler.
Use a ‘stain stopper’ spray (or a paint if you prefer) to cover over the watermark. It will act as a barrier to stop the stain from coming back through. Allow to dry thoroughly (usually ½ hour), then repeat 2 or 3 times to fully conceal the marked area.
Finally complete the project by painting the whole ceiling with 2 coats of emulsion paint.
Plug sockets and switches
To make your decorating results more professional take the time to check what condition the sockets and switches are in. The build up of paint on and around old sockets can let down the finish of the room. Or maybe they don’t even fit too well, the wall could be damaged and there could be filling to do.
Firstly turn off your electrics to isolate your power supply. Then unscrew the 2 screws in each socket. Pull away from the wall and clean up around the edges by scraping off the old paint and scrub clean as needed. Put the socket back in place. If the area around the socket needs to be filled to tidy it up, use a ‘decorators caulk’ (cartridge with a caulk gun) as it is water based, flexible to squeeze out and dries quickly.
Radiators
As the heating isn’t on full blast - take a look at your radiators. Is there a bit of TLC required? The original white surface soon deteriorates to a yellow shade. Are they rusted at the bottom edges? Or perhaps chipped? It must have been ages since they were last painted. It's the detail of fixtures and fittings like radiators that can make a huge difference.
Firstly turn off your radiator(s). Ideally start painting as early in the day as possible to allow paint to dry out as quickly as possible. Wipe clean with sugar soap. Scrub off marks or lightly sand off using fine sandpaper. Rinse clean. Leave to dry. If you have rust, sandpaper all the flakes off. Paint a first coat of radiator primer to the rusty / chipped areas and allow to dry. If it’s a water based primer it will only take a couple of hours to dry. You may need to do a second coat.
I recommend white satinwood paint for a great ‘top coat’ finish. It dries to a durable, subtle satin finish. You’ll find the paint easy to control with a paintbrush. One coat is usually enough (16 hours drying time). Two coats would be needed if the radiator was in a very bad way originally or there is a dramatic colour change! You may prefer to have the radiator the same colour as your walls to blend in. How about having this paint colour mixed in a satinwood finish.
Making a picture
Make a picture for your chosen wall that co-ordinates perfectly with colour scheme of the room by using "off-cut" wallpaper that is left over from paper hanging.
Try out either of these:
a) Frame a section of wallpaper to create a modern picture. Have a mount cut to give a border and look even less handmade (see photo)
b) Paste the section of wallpaper directly onto a canvas board. If its vinyl ‘shiny’ wallpaper you’ll need to use PVA glue to get it to stick successfully. Smooth out any air bubbles straight away. Leave to dry. Personalise the picture by decorating with sequins or jewels.
Ikea has a good selection of picture frames with various finishes. Or try looking in supermarkets that sell homeware items. Art /craft shops such as HobbyCraft sell canvas boards of various sizes, whilst Wickes is good for picture hooks.