Dawnsboutique

“The magic thing about  home   is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back.”         Unknown While the world is slowly getting back to normal and people are going back to the office, some people are still experiencing lockdown.  If you are working from home or staying home due to lockdown and are bored of your everyday tasks, here are a few things you can do to alleviate the mundane:   Paint Furniture If you have outdated furniture that needs a little TLC, painting it could be a solution.  It is an easy and affordable way to have aesthetic furnishings without spending a lot of money on a new piece.  When painting furniture make sure to use the appropriate paint i.e. Milk paint, latex paint, and chalk paint in either semi-gloss or satin finish. DIY Artwork Adding artwork to your home's interior can be very expensive and time-consuming. One way to remedy that is to DIY your own artwork.  With just a...

If you have a functional but outdated piece of furniture such as a night table or desk that you don't want to throw out consider revamping it with paint and fabric. Sometimes we tend to overlook certain vintage furnishings because they are no longer aesthetically pleasing and store them in the garage or guest room. That outdated piece of furniture can be brought back to life with the right paint color and decorative fabric. Below is a step-by-step guide to transform an outdated console table, desk or cabinet: Supplies: sandpaper, primer, paint, fabric, scissors, paintbrush, white glue, white paper, cardboard, razor knife, acrylic medium. Step 1: Sand the desired furniture, apply primer and sand again. Then apply paint color and let it dry. Sand and paint one more time. Cut the fabric (with scissors) along the outline of the design and brush a coat of white glue onto the reverse side of cut fabric. Step 2: Place the cut fabric onto the white paper (glue side down) an...

If you  have builder grade kitchen cabinets  or just  plain  old white  cabinets that  need a makeover or freshening up, below  is  an easy  technique  that  can  be  done  in a weekend. Tools  You  Will  Need: Electric Sander Paint  Sprayer Spray can handle Drop cloth Dust Mask Damp cloth Drill Drill bit Tape Measure Screwdriver Wrench Materials: Ready made cabinets and knobs Semi-gloss latex paint Tinted  primer   (one quart) Instructions: Sand Existing  Finish:    Put on dust mask, place  drop cloth  on floor and  use electric  sander to  remove   existing finish  from  cabinet.  Wipe cabinet with damp cloth. Pre-drill Holes for  Hardware:  Using  tape   measure  decide  where to  place  hardware and  mark with pencil then drill selected front door holes wi...

If you just moved into a fixer upper and want to tackle removing the existing wallpaper but were reluctant to, below is an easy step-by-step guide to removing outdated wallpaper: Materials You Will Need: Dish Detergent Fabric softener Tools Required: Drop cloth Step ladder Wallpaper scraping tool Putty knife Sponge Spray bottle Place drop cloths at the bottom of the walls that are going to be stripped and remove all switch plates and outlet covers from wall. Turn off power to the room. Cut small holes into the wallpaper so that the solution can permeate through to the adhesive base. Mix together the fabric softener and hot water in a large spray bottle. Use small batches of solution at a ratio of one to one, keeping the water as hot as possible. Spray a section of wallpaper with the solution and let it saturate the paper before stripping it. Start pulling the wallpaper up from the bottom and use the putty knife to remove the rest of the paper, repeating th...

One of my first DIY project was painting over the wood paneling in our living room. My first instinct was to remove the paneling and install drywall, but I knew this was going to be a huge and costly project. After doing some research, I discovered that I could easily paint over the wood paneling by following a few simple steps, thereby saving myself valuable time and money. Here are the materials you will need: Mild detergent Sandpaper Primer (preferably Kilz) Paint brush and roller Painter's tape Interior latex paint Spackle Drop cloth The first step is to place a drop cloth on the floor and remove any dirt from the paneling with a mild detergent and water as a clean surface will give you a better result. After the paneling has been washed and dried, fill any holes or scratches with spackle and sand the entire paneling smooth. Remove any trace of dust with a damp cloth. Mask off the ceiling, baseboards and trim with the painter's tape. Now you are ready to prim...

During the spring and summer months my weekends are designed for easy, do it yourself projects that I can accomplish in a day or two such as a kitchen herb garden, very easy and the cost is minimal.  I love cooking with herbs but find that over time buying them from the grocery store can be costly, so I got into my gardening gear this weekend and finally planted my own herb garden! If you have been longing to start a kitchen herb garden of  your own check out these beauties below. Colorful stenciled containers   Recycled paper pots Chalk board painted pots with twine                                      Save your soup cans and tie a pretty ribbon around                                                         ...

http://www.examiner.com/article/diy-how-to-paint-over-wood-paneling            All photos courtesy of Bing images

http://www.examiner.com/article/diy-how-to-paint-outdated-bathroom-tiles                                                                                                                            Transformed bathroom tiles in an array of colors                        ...