A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post over here touching down on a campaign I will be doing with Builders Warehouse. I was super excited to finally get to DIY my bedroom into something a little easier on the eye! I’ve been planning a bedroom makeover for some time and I’m ecstatic that it’s finally done.
But before I woo you with my before and after photos there are some things I’d like to share with you that I learnt while working on this campaign.
Painting Tips
- When going from a very dark colour like I did, it’s best to first paint two coats of white paint to cover most of the dark shade. You can use any paint as long as it’s the same base as the paint currently on the wall and the paint you are going to paint with. My room was painted with PVA so I stuck with PVA
- You can never have to much masking tape! Use this to tape off the windows, doors, light switches, against the pelmets and skurtings. It will help you to paint the outlines of the walls faster, not taping will really slow you down as you have to go with a super steady hand not to get paint where it shouldn’t go. Once the outlines are done it’s super fast to paint the middle using a roller. Not to mention how much satisfaction you will get when you get to peel the tape off!
- Keep a wet cloth with you, if you do happen to drip some paint it’s easy to wipe away when it’s still wet.
- To speed up the process paint on a warm day, then it’s cold and rainy the paint takes longer to dry. I was lucky that we had a “berg wind” on the day I decided to start my project.
- Builders has excellent painting coaches that can advise you on any paint project! They are very approachable and easy to talk to.
PVA Interior Paint for my Bedroom Makeover
I used the Fired Earth white PVA paint to cover the “angry green”. Two coats of this covered most of it, I left it to dry overnight. This paint didn’t have any fresh paint scent hanging in the air, really loved this about it.
I opted for the Builders Warehouse house brand – Duram for the colour coat. This paint very cost effective with a large variety of colours and finishes. I chose a matte finish because there isn’t any flashback or glare with flash photography. Once you decided on a finish and colour one of the paint coaches will mix your perfect shade for you using a computer program. Always keep your paint code so if you need to have more paint mixed up you will have a perfect match even if it’s months later.
Because PVA is a water based paint it’s super easy to clean the brushes and rollers with just tap water. This cuts out having to use stinky chemicals. Some paint spots landed on the carpet and I could easily rub it out using a cloth and some nail polish remover.
Materials Used for my Bedroom Makeover
- 5 Liters of Fired Earth Whispers of White @ R178
- 3 Liters of Duram Peek-a-Blue @ R115 each
- 1 Liter of Duram Mike’s Eyes @ R115
- 1 Roll of masking tape @ R35
- Paint Pan @ R45
- Brushes and rollers I had (used 1 roller and 2 brushes, a small one and wider one to paint the corners and sides)
The Project
Because we had to first paint the walls white it took us two days to finish most of the painting. There is a 4 to 6 hour drying time between coats. We literally watched paint dry! I’m super short and scared of heights so our gardener Sam helped me out a bit with this project. He painted up top for me and helping me move furniture around.
If you watched my instatories and read my previous post you will also know that I was leaning towards two white walls and two blue. The headboard would have been painted onto the wall. We all know how indecisive I am and after a chat with a friend that’s an interior designer the painting project took a whole different turn. I ended up with 3 light blue walls and one dark blue wall.
We removed the paint and back off the bookshelf I had on the wall so it’s back to it’s initial original wooden state. It was painted with a chalk based paint and it easily came off with warm water.
The colour on the lighter walls is Peek-a-Blue and the dark blue is called Mike’s Eyes (I’m not sure where I can find this Mike but I’d like to look into his eyes) The new colours really opened up the space and it looks bigger and the natural light doesn’t get absorbed into the walls.
So what happened to the other paint I got ?
After my room was done my brother got serious FOMO and decided we are painting the entire house. We’ve so far done the open plan living area (which we got paint for) and the one bathroom. I used the pink paint I got for my room for the focus wall in the bathroom. A lighter pink covered the same angry green on the other three walls. Once we are completely done I will give you guys a walk through on my instagram stories! So don’t forget to follow me over here.
Final Thoughts
I highly recommend you to get to builders to get any paint project done! Builders has a colour just for you and with their paint coaches to assist painting doesn’t have to be daunting. They also have a wide range of paint colours. You don’t need to be a pro to paint, just the correct tools.
Let me know in the comments what you think of my bedroom makeover!
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