Home

As promised, this is the second post about decorating my downstairs room and the extra decoration I have added.

After painting and leaving the walls to dry for a time I decided to add some fun touches and textural interest to the arches and alcoves in the form of multi-colour pompoms. I measured the alcoves and archway and searched the internet for what I had in mind…. I eventually found what I wanted from Amazon . I was able to purchase this in long lengths which was what I was looking for, each length had to be more than a meter so I could run a continuous length rather than fixing lengths together to fit into the alcoves.

I bought some Command Hooks from B&Q that are meant for hanging decorations such as Christmas Lights, to hang the trim up. Command Hooks are able to be used and removed without harming the wall underneath and, having used several of their other products in the past, decided that these would be the best thing to use. The hooks were a bit fiddly as they come in a pack – the hooks all connected to one another and the sticky part separate. You need to break off the hooks and attach the correct side of the sticky to the hook before peeling the other side from the sticky and attaching to the wall. I found it easier to break off all the hooks and then attach the sticky to them all before using.

I placed the hooks up the alcoves at equal distances but alternating the facing of the hook, so one faced towards the wall, the next at 180 degrees and facing away from the wall before weaving the trim up and through each hook.

I was really worried that upon the trim being delivered it wouldn’t be as bright as I’d wanted or, not even the correct thing at all (going by past experiences…) and worried that the overall effect would not be like I imagined. I’m really pleased with how it turned out though, and it always makes me smile. Visitors to my home have commented on how nice it looks so I’m guessing that it’s not just a hit with me!

Here’s some pictures of the room with the trim up! (please note that some of these photos are really recent ones…)

I moved to my new home in July, moving, though stressful, especially when things didn’t go to plan for one reason or another, was all completed in a day. I went with my friend to collect the keys, hired a van, loaded and unloaded then began unpacking. I hadn’t got much furniture but that made decorating a bit easier as there wasn’t anything to work around or move out of the way.

I decorated in the first few weeks that I was here and had already decided upon painting the downstairs rooms pink and blue, leaving some of the walls the original magnolia colour. I chose B&Q Colours silk paints in Electric Blue and Playful Pink after doing some research into colours and application, drying time and price. I also looked into different paint application methods – roller, brush and paint pads, choosing the latter for ease and mess reduction. I chose the Diall Paint Pad set as it came with a paint tray, two different sized paint pads and the paint pad handle and seemed to be the best value for money. I also picked up a Harris Angled Brush as I knew from previous experience that an angled brush was easier for cutting in around the edges of the walls and allowed for a neater finish.

Once I had gathered all my supplies together (and made a coffee) I began by masking off the skirting boards and applying paint to the edges of the walls before in filling with the paint pad. This was my first time using a paint pad and I found it much cleaner than using a brush or roller. The basics of using a paint pad are to attach the handle to the chosen pad, pour some paint into the tray, rest the paint pad on the paint for around 30 seconds, wipe off excess, put the pad flat against the wall and drag it up and down the wall before changing direction – going diagonal until an area is covered before repeating. I was really impressed with how easily and quickly the paint went on and had finished the first coat in under 20 mins. I did need to do a second coat of paint but that was to be expected with such a vibrant colour.

I painted the side walls of the arches with the pink paint, using masking tape on the end walls to create a panel that was as wide as the arch sides and painting them pink in order to complete the look I was going for. The pink paint seemed to apply better than the blue and only really needed touching up in a few places rather than fully applying a second coat.

Next time I will be sharing the finishing touches I added once the paint was dry and also share some pictures of the nearly completed space 🙂