EASY WEEKEND RENO HACKS WITH PAINT

BY LANA

If you’re anything like us, drooling over home inspo pics is a favourite pastime #pinningforlife. But if a renovation isn’t on the cards at the moment, sometimes you need a little project to get your creative juices flowing and spruce things up around your home in the meantime. We’re often asked for our best reno hacks, so here are a couple of really easy peasy lemon squeezy ones that you can finish in one weekend.

PICK UP YOUR POT GAME

A bit of greenery can do wonders to refresh both the inside and outside of your home. A whole garden makeover might be quite daunting (and exy!) but potted plants are a great way to update a space, on the cheap.

First of all, you’ll need to source your stuff. Gumtree, eBay, local Facebook sites and neighbours are all good places to find both pots and plants. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right? And don’t forget to have a good scrounge around your own back yard too! Any old pots that can be washed and plants that can be transplanted will be perfect for this task.

Give them a good spray down with the hose to wash off any dirt and debris, you might need a brush if they’re really dirty. Let them dry, then paint those pots! We keep things simple by using the same paint as we’re painting our houses, Dulux Weathershield, but if you’re not mid-reno, just grab a small pot from your local paint shop.

Once your ‘new’ old pots are dry, move them into place #poolside #frontdoor #sideboard before you fill them with soil so they’re not too heavy to carry. Throw in some greenery (or leave them empty) and voila! It’s that simple. Check out the examples below of pots we painted at Bon's and my house.

SANTORINI SHUTTERS

My window shutters are original vintage shutters from Bali. I know it’s not the Mediterranean but with a coat of Dulux White Box Half they look soooo Santorini. I painted them with my mum one evening and there were so many deep gouges and bumps in them – I loved it – they looked worn and real – the perfect counter-balance to an otherwise new property.

Whether you’re doing a small or large reno project, don’t underestimate the positive impact of reusing and recycling items. Not only can they look ah-maazing but you also get to enjoy the feel-good factor of saving money and saving the planet #winwin.

MAKE 'NEW' UNIQUE

The beauty of paint is that you can use it to transform new items as well as old. If you see a new <insert furniture item> that you love but the colour isn’t quite right, think ‘could I paint this?’. It might be the perfect solution to that bedhead you’re looking for that just doesn’t come in the right shade.

We can’t believe it took us until House #8 to do an IKEA hack! We painted the GJÖRA beds for Bonnie’s middle boys’ room in this gorgeous Dulux Light Leaf Green and they look a million bucks.

We used Dulux Wash&Wear for the beds which is really durable and hardwearing, perfect for everyday family use – oh and it can be wiped down #winning

So many IKEA products come in raw birch wood, it’s like they’re crying out to be painted to make them unique. Your imagination (well, and your inspo board) is your only limit!