It’s the Den-DIY Week around here! We’ve been doing a big project this summer if you haven’t been around you can check out All Things Home DIY posts HERE!
Today I want to show you a super easy project that saved us (no kidding) hundreds of dollars.
When we painted the stained heavy moldings and the wainscoting in the den (Behr Ultra Paint with Primer: Sandstone Cove), the wood blinds screamed: Hey, what about me? Paint Meeee!
It was glaringly clear we’d have to buy new wood blinds or paint the old ones…
You know what we did don’t you?
And when I say we, I mean I had the idea and The Husband did the painting.
Blinds Before…
The Husband fears nothing. He’ll take apart absolutely anything. And the slats need to be removed before painting soooo he jumped right in…
There’s a knot at the bottom of the blind with a wooden cap holding it all together…this has to be removed so the 2 cords that run through all of the slats can be removed.
After you pull the cords up and out, the slats are left positioned in little hammocks. Slip the slat out of it’s hammock home.
He did one window at a time. Our windows are almost floor to ceiling so there were lots of slats with each window.
He set up some covered tables in the basement and using the trim color we used everywhere, Behr Ultra Sandstone Cove (which is in Semi-Gloss) he painted the slats.(Lots of Behr Ultra Before and Afters HERE.)
Now…our blinds are 20 years old and they did not have a shiny finish. The Husband is brave and didn’t sand them one bit. The Behr Ultra has primer in the paint…(cue the Hallelujah Chorus…) so the normal 2 steps is mercifully cut in half! If you decide not to use Behr Ultra, after having your sweet head examined, you’ll need to prime before you paint!
The Husband has a spray-gun so this was really easy…load the paint and spray. (He could have used my BFF The Paintbrush, it just would have taken a bit longer.)
The thing about this project is the time…paint-let dry completely-turn the slats over-paint-let dry completely…repeat on the next window.
When the slats are dry just tuck them back into their tiny hammocks and run the 2 cords from the top to bottom back through the holes…tie off the cord and WaaaLaaa!
This project is such a big bang for your buck and since I’m doing our entire DIY Project for next to nothing…one more time that Behr paint with primer has saved me!
Have a big bang kind of day my friends…xo
(ps… Some of you have asked when I’ll start back with some heart-posts…I promise, I’ll get back to them soon! Thanks bunches for being patient~)
I’ll be linking…
You Create , Transformation Thursday!, I’m Lovin It ,
A Fine Craft Guild~DIY Thursday!
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Okay, so when are they going to do the Mike Gay TV show? Who knew you could paint blinds??? I can’t imagine being brave enough to take them apart, much less paint them. Then he even knew how to put them back together!
All I can say is Mike is a patient man!!!!! I would have the strings so knotted up and tangled that they would end up in the trash. You both have done a great job with this makeover. Looking forward to seeing you.
.-= Lenora Gambrell´s last blog ..New Theme- Oulipo =-.
I LOVE this paint! I used it painting my OAK cabinets in my kitchen and it was AWESOME!!! The blinds look brand spanking new!! You would never know you didn’t go out and purchase new ones!!
Great job! And great idea!
Lou Cinda
Holy macaroni! Who would have THOUGHT to paint the blinds!!!! AWESOME….and thanks for letting us know you CAN! You guys DO need your own show! Have a great day! XO, Pinky
That is AWESOME!
Ok, I have a question. When Mom and Dad were here a few days before he was gone, we laid in my bed discussing how my house is too dark, and decided to paint my room a light blue. Mom is SET on doing this now since it was something Dad really wanted. So we’re going to spruce up my bedroom a bit since that’s where I am most of the time.
The other thing I want to do in the whole condo is paint all the woodwork some shade of white. (I like that Pottery Barn look) I’m thinking my friends would help with this if I asked, but I want to know first how hard it is. And since you’ve done about everything I figured you’d know. Is it hard to take off and put back on the baseboards and stuff? I’m afraid of starting something that is a huge or hard undertaking. It would also mean painting doors… Do I need a paint gun for this, or will a brush work? Any advice you and Mike have, I am here with open ears
I’m so excited Gitz!!! I’m FB messaging you right now.x0
Oh my heavens, Robin! Do you 2 ever have time to sleep?!
I seriously feel like such a slacker compared to you! LOL
The blinds look great and it makes so much sense instead of spending all that money.
Looking forward to your next DIY project.
-Ann
Seems like a lot of work to me but oh so worth it to save that kinda money! Thanks for joining us at Anything Related!
What a patient and loving man he must be! Jackie
.-= Jackie´s last blog ..Celebrating! =-.
your husband is a gem. some men would just walk out if they had to help with fixing up a house. i would never thought to paint the blinds. i know i’ll never forget that. rose
.-= rose´s last blog ..IS THIS SPRING =-.
Hi Robin! I’ve featured this post this morning on Craft Gossip. http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/diy-how-to-paint-wood-blinds/
{ 4 trackbacks }