Debbie Travis' Facelift - Episodes

After

This is one of the most amazing transformations we've done. Literally everything, including the broken linoleum under the carpet, was cleaned out. While the girls sorted through the boxes of books, photos, and school projects with much giggling and breaks for baking fudge, the Facelift Team laid a new floor, painted everything and shopped for just the right furnishings to produce an inviting and tranquil indoor garden room. The walls are now a sunny soft yellow with a white stenciled pattern that gives the impression of wrought iron rails trailing up the walls. Shades of pink are just right for adding joy to your surroundings and we applied it liberally to the floor, slipcovered couches and striped pillows. A work center with a special plaster finish on the desk, white bookshelves for displaying all their special memories, lamps with an attitude and this secret garden is ready for our loving family to enjoy.

Click on the small photographs on the right to view each of the different angles of the room.

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Carpet

The painted plywood floor looks great and is a super budget saver, and for a touch of luxury there's nothing like a soft plush carpet. The Red Rug from Benchmark Carpet adds that luscious feeling to the sitting area.

Desk

How do you make a plain desk a funky, one-of-a-kind piece? We went for a faux leather look using Venetian plaster. The surface was primed with oil-based primer, then a layer of plaster was troweled on using a metal spatula. Go over the plaster so that it is almost smooth. Once dry, we painted and rubbed back a gray/green glaze over the top to highlight the texture in the plaster. On the desk edges, red lines were drawn with an indelible marker to look like saddle stitching. Finally, two coats of matte acrylic varnish were applied to protect the finish and give the appropriate leather sheen.

Floor

After removing the old linoleum, the basement floor had to be leveled with strips of wood before laying down a new plywood floor. This was primed and then punched up with a fabulous deep pink, Para Paints Best of Berry. A painted plywood floor is a good budget saver and it can be decorated in any design you choose. Perfect for this female retreat.

Furniture

A mix of wicker and wrought iron furniture along side casual pink couches and large cushions produces a light-hearted spirit in this comfortable and practical family space. There's lots of room for a computer work center, as well as a place to spread out to watch television and chat with your sisters, mom and friends.

Lamps

Old lamps were given garden whimsy with a simple verdigris-like finish. White paint was brushed over the bases, and then rubbed back with a soft cloth leaving most of the white in the grooves and patterns of the metal. The girls glued a pompom border to the scalloped edges of the lampshades.

Shelving Units

Make your storage space part of your overall living style. The shelving units and armoire were built with Rona materials and painted Para Paints Marble White, eggshell sheen. They are not only practical, but were designed and painted to enhance the room's fresh and feminine garden decor. Assorted baskets keep clutter to a minimum and there's lots of space for photos and other objets d'art.

Slipcovers

Rather than replacing a shabby but structurally good sofa, we rejuvinated it with pretty pink slipcovers made by Colin Hynes. Slipcovers are less costly than reupholstering a sofa or chair, and can be easily removed for cleaning.

Walls

The walls were given a coat of BIN primer to cover up the old paneling and prepare the surface for paint. Pale yellow, Para Paints Candlestick, was applied to the ceiling and walls and once dry we ran strips of tape vertically about every two feet on the walls. We rollered a darker yellow, Para's Ming Gold over the walls and when the tape was removed the base coat was revealed in strips to produce painted panels. A stenciled pattern that replicates the look of wrought iron runs up the walls to add garden detail. This was applied with a small roller and the pale yellow.

Before