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Home-Dzine It’s all about caring for and improving your home
April 2011
sweet dreams for boys & girls Giveaway
We’ve got 5 double tickets for Decorex Cape Town
In this issue ... • Winter colours • Bedrooms for boys and girls • Entertainment bench • Pet feeder and more...
Make it
a word or two MARCH 2011 WORKSHOPS JOBURG 09 Closets & Cabinets 16 Upholstered Screen/Basic Plumbing 23 Upholstered Kist 30 Basic Electrical/Beginners Power Tools
CLICK HERE TO BOOK
Chillin’ time Over the past few days there has been a definite nip in the air, especially in the mornings - and with winter around the corner - this month’s issue is all about cozying up the home affordably. Don’t forget that Easy DIY magazine launches this May and will be available at your local Builders Warehouse or Builders Express store. Be sure to get your copy of our new and exciting magazine that is chock full of projects and ideas. For those who prefer to read online, HomeDzine Online will still be bringing you plenty of ideas and inspiration. Enjoy!
Janice Home-Dzine Online is written and compiled by Janice Anderssen. All projects in this issue, or any other issue, remain the property of Home-Dzine and Janice Anderssen, or the respective copyright holders, and may not be copied or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. Image and content credits: good homes - family handyman - sunset publishing - popular mechanic - house & home - georgia pacific - expert village - channel4 - pottery barn - flikr - nkba - resene - mitre10 - lowes and any others.
EAST RAND 02 Floating Shelf 09 Beginners Woodwork 16 Basic Electrical 23 Shoe Storage
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FAR EAST RAND 02 Wall Clock 09 Basic Tiling 16 Upholstered Ottoman CLICK HERE TO BOOK
PRETORIA Next workshop in May
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CAPE TOWN 09 Basic Electrical 16 Beginners Woodwork 24 Welding Workshop 30 Beginners Power Tools CLICK HERE TO BOOK
DURBAN Tamlynn is on maternity leave - workshops will resume in August CLICK HERE TO BOOK
sweet
dreams
sweet
dreams
Children seem to be spending a lot more time in their bedrooms and parents are decorating kids’ rooms with comfort, storage and entertainment in mind. While lots of fun, you need to be careful not to go overboard when decorating a child’s bedroom. Similar to your own room, a great child’s bedroom provides a happy, cosy and nurturing retreat. It’s a place where your child will spend precious hours playing, learning, sleeping and dreaming. Follow these easy steps and create a bedroom your child will love.
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BELOW: This glamorous, Hollywood style bedroom is decorated to be practical and functional, yet be comfortable and a place to spend time. One wall is decorated with 3mm panels wrapped in fabric and surround the large mirror. The comfy day bed provides for both relaxing and sleeping.
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MEASURE THE SPACE Plot the bedroom dimensions on the room grid on the following page . Measure the room from wall to wall and transfer the measurements onto the grid. Measure doors, closets and built-ins from the outside trim. Note whether doors open in or out and mark this on the grid. Note window heights, as well as window distance from the oor, as you might want to put cabinets and window seats below. Also measure and note the window height and width inside the window trim, as you might want to hang a window shade behind your draperies. 3
Measure the main ceiling height. Measure and note any archways. This is especially important if you plan to install a 4-poster or loft bed. Mark all electrical outlets with an X and all switches with an S. DEVELOP YOUR DESIGN DIRECTION Now it’s time to get creative and craft the heart of your bedroom design. Involve your child in the planning process. The design should be a reflection of his or her personality. Start with a comfortable bed that inspires sweet dreams and contented sleep. Although your child is probably still small enough to fit in a single bed, consider a three-quarter or double bed that is ideal for reading stories together now and keeping ahead of growth spurts in the future.
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Before you rush out and buy a new bed, measure up on the grid to make sure that there will be enough space and that the room will not be too cramped. BELOW: Let the bedroom reflect your child’s personality rather than your own. This little princess love frills and butterflies and the bedroom was also designed to tie in with the rest of the home. A large crown canopy matches the drama of silk coverlet. The walls have been give a sponge treatment in shades of cream and taupe. Just a hint of blue is added above the window and elsewhere in the room, pink flowers and accessories add a small amount of colour. The overall effect is of a luxurious boudoir that any tween or teen would love.
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Make the bed the focal point of the room. Then, add other essential pieces including a nightstand, dresser and desk. Finally, determine whether you have room for additional pieces like a bookshelf, armoire, toy chest or activity table. Ask your child about his or her favourite colours. Have them help pick out sheets and a comforter that tie into these favourites. Be sure to let them feel the fabric; touch is one of children’s most acute senses and they love feeling different textures. Select three hues from the bedding — a light, medium and darker tone— and use these as the foundation for your colour palette for the rest of the room. 6
Small details give the bedroom its unique personality. Choose a few fun pieces of wall art that tie back to the theme of the room. Add a thick rug to provide a soft surface for play. Try some novelty pegs on the wall to hang pyjama sets, robes or jackets. Look for fun buckets, baskets or shelving to provide storage in an aesthetically pleasing way. Will your child be sharing the bedroom with a sibling? If so, plan this into your design and consider space-saving furniture including a bunk bed or trundle. Each child can still display their individual personality in the room with colour and bedding choices.
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sweet
wild child When decorating a bedroom for a boy there are certain factors that need to be incorporated. Boys are naturally lazy when it comes to keeping their room tidy and you need to plan for plenty of easy storage so that they can easily stash their stuff away.
Boys prefer brighter, more solid colours such as shades of navy blue and hunter green and there are home stores that supply comforters and sheets in every colour and a wide variety of popular cartoon themes, from Spiderman to Ben 10. If he’s a tween or teen he may prefer a single solid colour or a mix of colours. 7
ď ś For small rooms, make use of walls by adding vertical and horizontal storage, or purchase a Spacesaver Storage bed that offers underbed storage. These are just a few basic ideas that can get you thinking about improvements to make in your boys’ room.
RIGHT: A skater boy bedroom must have space for the essential board and gear. Chocolate brown and orange , combined with turquoise and lime green add plenty of colour to the room.
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Full range of matching Wave Accessories. For boys we offer our new Skater Boy range of furniture and accessories. www.Design-A-Bed.co.za
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HIGHLIGHTS AND FEATURES Below are a range of exciting highlights and features you can look forward to! Some are brand new, some revamped and of course some old favourites are back by popular demand... Plascon’s 2011 Colour Forecast From Rose Shadow and Rickshaw Red to new nudes, vibrant urban brights, future forward metallics and greens from the forest floor, expect a tide of fashionable hues for nurturing home, play and work spaces at the Plascon stand. South African Handmade Collection The South African handmade Collection is a window to the heartfelt and the handmade. Decadent Diner Pull up a chair for sweet delights and seductive treats in this designer space devoted to the good life. Sip on blushpink bubbly and bite into French styled patisseries. A perfect rendezvous for show guests to catch up on industry gossip and take a breather.
Giv
y a w ea
We’ve got 5 double tickets to giveaway for Decorex - Cape Town.
Send us an email and let us know what you love about Decorex. Mail to: home-dzine@iburst.co.za 10
All things Green House Green design now leads the pack. A whole new genre of eco-caring products and planet-saving inventiveness flourish in this all-green house, setting a new standard in exhibition design. BOS Tea House by Neil Stemmet The BOS Tea House brings the hottest new trend in café society circles to Decorex Cape Town: food and tea pairing. Young, strong, conscious and super-sexy: this is how we envisage the BOS Tea House at the show, designed exclusively by Neil Stemmet. Dream rooms & Fabrics Statement chairs. Layered interiors. Subtle sensuality. Afro-French go country and Romance gets an urban twist.
kaleidoscope of
colour
In the world of colour, no one quite seems to get it looking as stunning as Jamie Drake Design. But before you start looking for their contact details, I’m sad to say that they are not South African, but they are still one of my favourite designers. In line with Plascon’s 2011 forecast for more use of colour, take a look at how Jamie Drake uses colour combinations that soar with endless possibility; combining a veritable kaleidoscope of colour to create designs that are filled with life. 11
Eclecticism at its best, Jamie Drake can combine a faux-zebra rug with a stately Louis XVth style chair, a Persian rug with a custom ottoman upholstered in fuchsia velvet, chartreuse with olive and coral. Where some see disparity, Drake sees semblance in line, pattern, spirit, or concept.
“More than any other element of design, colour has the ability to make us aware of what we see, for nothing has meaning without colour...”
Edith Anderson Feisner, “Color Studies”
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LEFT: Jamie Drake keeps his interiors harmonious by using one to two colours in different shades and adding accents of contrasting colours. In this room two main colours, different patterns of blue and green were used to make the room fresher and more modern. The Turkish-inspired copper table is a very unexpected touch in a room covered with a very tropical sea grass wallpaper.
“I do love colour and utilize two strategies depending on the space. One is to envelop a room in one colour: walls, upholstery, curtains - all would be in the same colour but with varied tones and textures. It is important to give it some relief, with either light or dark wood pieces or accents in another colour in pillows, lamps, or other accessories. My second strategy involves using shots of colour in an otherwise more neutral room. I like to disperse the selected shade throughout a space, so the eye moves from larger items (curtains, chairs) to midsize (pillows, lampshades) down to small (tabletop accessories, a single flower). I often paint the ceiling a pale, pastel shade of the colour to bring the eye up.” Jamie Drake
RIGHT: I love the colours of spring, pastels with personality. Orchid, rose, angel skin coral, fresh kiwi mousse, May sky blue. I’m rather tired of chocolate and pale blue, but anything can be beautiful if done well. 13
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Paint a zebra cushion A zebra pillow with a good pattern and a nice price was surprisingly hard to ďŹ nd. And what do we do when we cant buy it? We DIY it! This must be the quickest and easiest DIY ever! One white pillow, a pencil and some black acrylic paint.
Rainbow colours
source: the lennoxx.com
Another quick and easy option is to cut the zebra pattern out of felt and attach to your cushion with fabric glue.
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We are often requested to run a full day workshop, where ladies can get together and cover a wide range of topics at one workshop. Our new full day workshops do exactly that. Starting at 09:00 and ďŹ nishing at 16:00 - each workshop will offer as much information as possible on the various subjects. Have a day out with the girls at the tranquil Black Eagle Guest House, just off Hendrik Potgieter Road in Strubens Valley. Enjoy a light breakfast and buffet lunch while honing up your DIY skills. The emphasis is on a casual and relaxed atmosphere, where previous power tool knowledge is not necessary. And our experience is second to none... with such projects as Decorex, Homemakers Expo, Gardenex, and more under our belt.
Interior Decorating Full day covers: * Elements of design * Basic upholstery techniques * Paint and paint techniques Design, plan & make an ottoman to take home with you. Certificate on completion.
Do-It-Yourself Home Repairs Full day covers theory/practical: * Beginner - Advanced DIY * Basic Electrical * Basic Plumbing You will make small projects to take home with you. Certificate on completion.
Woodwork & Furniture Making Full day workshop covers: * Joining and fastening * Hardware * Timber and board * Design and planning - bookcase, coffee table, TV unit & make a small cabinet to take home. Certificate on completion.
Cost R1250 pp includes light breakfast, tea/coffee & snacks and buffet lunch. All materials and use of tools included. CLICK ON THIS PAGE TO BOOK 15
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naturally heated As we head into autumn, it’s time to think about dragging out and dusting the heaters; this year perhaps we should look at alternative and more ecofriendly ways to warm a home - like adding warm colours and accessories.
On the following pages we have put together a selection of colour combinations
S1010-Y40R
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Choose from soft, sophisticated earth tones to bold combinations that will bring colour and comfort into your home.
S5020-Y50R
S1080-Y80R
images: massucco warner miller
from Prominent Paints, that will instantly add warmth to you home.
Warm wall colours and matching soft furnishings create cosy, comfortable interiors for cold nights, and colour is an eco-friendly and affordable way to add heat to any room in a home.
TOP and LEFT: Walls painted in a soft cream provide the perfect backdrop for touches of gold and cast a warm glow on a cold day. Gold has such warmth on a grey winter day because there are so many colours in it - gold, yellow, pink, red. That little blush brings out the rosiness in your cheeks when you come in from the cold. It’s not a sharp colour. That’s what makes it cosy and inviting. So it welcomes you and makes you look beautiful at the same time.
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images: massucco warner miller
S0560-Y90R
S2030-G90Y
S1005-G90Y
ď ś BELOW: Red is not always an easy colour to work with, but when you move around the colour wheel towards orange, it becomes a warm, orange hue that contrasts perfectly with earthy colours such as brown and green. In this room the walls have been painted in a light stone colour with green undertones that lighten up the space without making it feel cold. Splashes of orange and green accessories add just the right amount of bright colour for a space that is fresh and cosy at the same time.
S0560-Y90R
S5020-Y30R
S1010-G40Y
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images: jonathon adler
S7020-Y30R
S1080-Y70R
S2040-B
ABOVE: For the colour enthusiast, dark chocolate walls are splashed with orange to warm up the space, while a teal blue adds brightness and cool down the room.
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dog feeder Here’s a great way to recycle materials into a convenient dog feeder. An old wine crate - easy to make if you don’t have one - has a new top that is cut out to accept food bowls. Take it to the next level and install a flap hinge on the lid for storing food inside the crate. 20
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ABOVE: For the more advanced DIY-er, this dog or cat feeder has a pullout drawer section for storing food. You can use 12mm supawood for this project and ďŹ nish off with Rust-Oleum 2X in your choice of colour.
BELOW: For pets who have an eco-friendly outlook on life, this bamboo pet feeder is perfect and you can have all the sections cut to the exact size, which means that all you have to do is cut out the holes for bowls and glue together.
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ď ś Make this gorgeous outdoor entertainer for many uses. If you love to party, then this combination bench is just the thing. Use it to serve up snacks, keep drinks cold, or even grow the greens for your summer salads! Add as many containers as you wish, or allow plenty of space to lie down and relax in the shade.
entertainment bench
You will need:
A. 8 x Legs 90 x 38 x 400mm B. 4 x End rails 90 x 38 x 810mm C. 4 x Long rails 90 x 38 x 1800mm D. 4 x Divider cleats 20 x 17 x 90mm E. 1 x Central divider 90 x 38 x 1724mm F. 24 x Decking slats 65 x 17 x 900mm G. 2 x Long decking cleats 65 x 17 x 740mm H. 2 x Short decking cleats 65 x 17 x 440mm Tape measure and Pencil Pack of decking screws Drill/driver plus asstd drill and screw bits Robertsons bit (square) Orbital sander - 120- & 220-grit sanding pads Woodoc 50 or 55 exterior sealer Woodoc steel wool Paint brush 22
meredith publishing
For this project you can use pine or meranti. Meranti, while the more expensive option, will be more suitable for outdoors.
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f
e
g
D
a C B
Have all your timber cut to size at your local Builders Warehouse. By doing this you save yourself a lot of time and it cuts down on the amount of tools you need to own if you are only an occasional DIY-er. Take the You Will Need list with you and they can supply everything that you need to make this entertainment bench. 23
Here’s how: 1. On all 4 legs, mark the centre vertical line with a pencil. Measure and mark 50mm from each end of the line and at the middle. Use a 2mm wood bit to drill the three clearance holes in each leg and countersink. 2. To glue legs together, apply wood glue to one surface, then rub the components together to spread the glue evenly and expel air (this is a rubbed joint), then screw together. The beauty of the square drive screws is that it’s harder to damage the screw heads. Only drive them in far enough to just be flush with the surface. 3. Once glue is dry, clean up the edges with an orbital sander so the timber appears as one solid piece. 4. Draw short horizontal lines 15 & 75mm down from the top edge at each end of an end rail (B). Mark 62mm from the ends along the 15mm lines and 15mm in from ends along the 75mm lines. Drill pilot holes at these marks. Use this rail as a pattern to mark out and drill the other top end rail. Flip the rail over to mark the 2 lower end rails (see diagram left). 5. Align 1 top end rail with the top of 2 legs. Screw to the joined 76mm-wide edge of the legs so the screws in the leg will face inwards. Add the lower end rail, using a pair of pencils or plastic spacers to give a 6-8mm gap between the rails. Repeat for the other end rail and leg assembly. 6. Sand rounded edges on the end rails and also the edge of the long rails (C) that will form the butt joint with the end rails. Because timber is always moving and joints tend to open a little in outdoor furniture, this accents and makes a feature of the joint. Be careful not to accidentally sand across the grain of the face side as the scratches are very difficult to sand out. 24
7. In a similar way to preparing the end rails, mark pilot holes 20 & 70mm from the top edge of a long rail (C) and 105 & 65mm in from the ends. Drill the holes. Use this rail to mark and drill the other 3 as for the end rails. With the table upside down, screw the long rails in place, checking that the corners will be square and using spacers between rails. 8. Centre divider (E) between legs at each end and glue and screw (D) in place. 9. Stand bench on its legs and check that the diagonals are equal, to ensure the table is square. Before glue dries completely there is limited scope to adjust if it is not square. 10. Cut the decking slats (F) to 900mm lengths and predrill the screw holes. These are set at alternate 15 and 35mm spacings from the ends and 15mm from each edge of each slat. Screw 1 slat in place at each end, with a 5mm overhang at the ends and equal overhangs at the front and back. Then clamp a straightedge across one end of the slats (the long bench side). If you do not have large clamps and a straightedge, use a stringline. The gap between the slats should be a fraction under 11mm. If you work in from the ends you can expand or contract the gaps slightly as you go so they all appear even. If you don’t have spacers, make your own from pine or meranti offcuts. 11. Once complete, turn back over and sand the entire unit along the grain removing all splinters. Then give it 2 coats of Woodoc 50 (inland) or Woodoc 55 (coastal) exterior sealer.
Finishing
To add trays and inserts cut out with a jigsaw. The cut outs should be square and not more than 2 slats wide. Place trays or inserts equally between the sides (C) and centre divider (E). Use quarter-round moulding at edges of slats to reinforce and keep in position.
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Girl Talk When it comes to hanging heavy objects onto the wall, the last thing you want to worry about is the possibility that it might fall off.
If you have taken the time to use the right drill bit, drilled a perfect hole and you’re ready to insert the wall plug... wait a minute!
Did you know that not all wall plugs (or wall anchors) are the same?
Fischer wall plugs are made of nylon whereas most other wall plugs are off plastic. Nylon is a much stronger material than plastic and is less likely to fail.
Lying comfortably in bed at night, the last thing you expect is a wall-mounted headboard or your favourite painting falling on top of you - it can happen!
So before you hang that headboard, or bathroom cabinet, or work of art, make sure you have a box of Fisher wall plugs on hand.
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Using Wall Plugs Wall plugs are essential when hanging or mounting heavy items. The DIY Divas always use Fischer when mounting into masonry or concrete. • The unique design enables use in almost all building materials. • Low turning and high tightening torque - the first universal fixing that really “holds” and doesn’t spin as you tighten!
• New saw-tooth anti-rotation lock prevents the fixing rotating in the drill hole. • The collar of the UX R prevents it slipping into the drill hole. • Can also be used with wood and chipboard screws from 4 mm to 12 mm.
To cope with the growing demands in DIY, fischer Germany created a polybag assortment of nylon fixings with the known fischer quality and appearance to cater for the needs of all consumers.
In recent years, with the economic down-turn, some customers felt that the fischer blister packs with the card backing and plastic front were too expensive and chose fixings from competitors that were cheaper and of inferior quality as a result. 26
The benefits of the new fischer polybags are that store owners are able to fit more product on their shelves than previously and customers are able to purchase the same quality fixings at a less expensive price.