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March 2008 - Wil Herold
As Mother always said, “What better way to beat boredom than
with some hard work?” This time of year is great for getting back
on track with some household projects that might have gotten waylaid during
the past few months!
Think of all the projects you’d like to accomplish this year and
then get out a calendar and break the work down month by month or week
by week, depending on how ambitious you are. But remember to preserve
the time around holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and any other special
occasions.
For starters, how about pulling out all the garage sale finds and items
that you’ve collected since the summer and fall and do something
productive with them? This also creates a perfect opportunity to purge
and go through old clothes, toys, dishes, etc. – be ruthless!
A fairly simple and fun project to help you pass the time during the March
doldrums and when you feel like staying indoors is to make your own room
dividers.
The concept is so simple and can be adapted for any room. All you need
is three doors, shutters or wood panels. I’ve even used old windows,
although they’re not great for privacy. I recommend doing any design
work first. Sawhorses work great for this step. Then, attach your panels
together afterwards. You’ll need to secure the panels with two or
three hinges at each connecting point, depending on the size of the doors
and the hinges. The middle panel will have hinges on both sides, opening
in opposite directions.
Now for the fun part: designing your screen. If you use old doors you
can leave them looking weathered or you could paint them to compliment
or contrast with the décor or the room. If the screen has inserts
you can create depth by painting them a different colour or just a deeper
shade of the same colour you used on the outer frame. Or, how about a
collage of newspapers, pictures or other memorabilia? This is also a great
way to use old wallpaper or an expensive wallpaper in a reasonable way.
Alternate the paper from panel to panel or paper both sides of the screen.
For a child’s room, a neat idea is to paint something creative on
the screen. If you don’t feel very artistic, I suggest using an
overhead projector and a transparency that you can print with a design
using a photocopier, and then you can stencil anything you want. Just
project the image on the screen, draw your outline and simply fill in
the lines. You can use latex paint or acrylic depending on how many colors
you want. Be sure to put a sealer coat over the whole project to make
it durable.
Another idea is to design a fabric screen. Using spray adhesive you can
attach any fabric your heart desires, opening up limitless new designs.
You can also use thumbtacks and ribbon to create a memory board by crisscrossing
over your design. Then you’ve got a fun and funky place to store
concert tickets, photos and keepsakes. Please make sure you take the time
to do your prep work carefully, so you don’t have any accidents.
Always work in a well-ventilated area when using sprays, paints and adhesives,
and be sure your screen is safely placed in the room. Until next time,
work hard, have fun and be safe.
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