Indy Total Construction

Most people think the presence of children in the home means you have to furnish it in early orange crate to withstand the wear and tear of little feet and the disarray caused by grubby little hands. This is not really the case. When children are considered, your decorating skills need only a few minor adjustments and your home can still be worthy of a spread in Better Homes and Gardens. Many people are not familiar with the techniques of child proofing as you decorate.

Most often their knowledge of decorating begins and ends with the pages in the magazines found in the doctor’s waiting room. You just know those interior decorators aren’t even acquainted with those little energetic beings we call children. Child -proof decorating is a term I coined when I found myself the mother of mobile, drooling, destructive little beings that none the less I loved dearly and had no intention of replacing just to improve the décor in my home. I gave my alternatives some serious thought and decided there had to be a way to make my home attractive without the furnishings providing a constant hazard to my children and my peace of mind.

I think my efforts are successful and are worth sharing with you. Grab a cup of coffee and while your children are napping let’s talk child-proofing for the decorator 101. First you need to look at the furnishings you already have. Just how safe are they for someone who might stand all of two foot six inches tall and has a curiosity factor as large as all outdoors. Do they have sharp corners that can make a fall a seriously dangerous thing, do they feature glass panels or high gloss wood surfaces that will break or show every ding and scratch?

Remember your goal is to up the safety factor while you increase your peace of mind. Materials that are more durable and need minimal care like iron or stone rate more than a second glance when replacement furnishings are considered. Remember it is easier to herd cats than to stay ahead of the destructive factor of a healthy child and you do not want to spend every waking hour supervising their play. Child-proofing doesn’t have to be an orientation into early ugly. It only needs to be clean and safe.

A quick coat of paint, non-toxic of course, does wonders to brighten up your place and will let you scrub the cookie drool from a teething child off the woodwork without worrying about lead toxicity. Articles can be found in a number of interior decorating magazines describing the many non-toxic choices for paint on the market today. A little research is called for here. You can quickly add more color and comfort by choosing bright accent pillows and patterned rugs. Anything sporting small beads, threads, buttons or other parts that a curious child can break off and put in their mouth should of course be avoided. Look at it all from a child’s point of view when deciding what could provide a choking hazard.

Children are natural explorers and it is up to the parent to police the room ahead of time eliminating anything that can fall into the category of a dangerous temptation. As soon as they get control of their legs, children want to climb. That means entertainment centers, shelves, and statues need to be secured so they cannot tip over if they attract the curiosity of a climber. Try to keep table surfaces free of objects that can be pulled onto the floor. Replace bulky table lamps with track lighting or swags anchored to the ceiling. You will still get all the light you need and you will eliminate the possibility of a head injury caused by a falling lamp. The cord from a table lamp is too great a temptation to expect any child to resist.

Another economical and safe lighting choice would be installation of a lighted ceiling fan. This will increase air circulation in the home, helping to eliminate a cold layer of air at the floor level in the winter, and provide plenty of illumination without adding to the hazard level. Reduce the visibility of stains on the furniture from spilled food and drinks by choosing patterned slipcovers for your furnishings. When an accident happens it will take only moments to strip the cover off and replace it with a clean one while you wash the soiled item.

Rips or snags in the material on the couch or that favorite chair cease to be a visible problem and you will have less stress in your life. For the time being, when the children are little, valuables or breakable knickknacks need to be stored out of sight and out of mind. As they get older children will become more careful and more trustworthy. Then you can reintroduce these items for display. In the meantime, you will save a lot of yelling and tears by elimination of the temptation in the first place.

A quick trip to your neighborhood hardware store will provide your choice of chain covers or cable covers to prevent children from playing with the wires connected to lamps, computers or entertainment centers. These covers make your room seem neat and tidy while preventing your child from pulling on them or chewing on them. Remember safety is your mantra here and the average toddler has no concept of what is safe to touch or chew and what is not. Finally finish up your decorating redo by selecting either one large area rug or several small ones to place in the areas of highest foot traffic.

Area rugs prevent the inevitable spills and wear and tear from permanently harming the hardwood flooring or the more expensive carpeting underneath. Little feet can produce a lot of damage but an area rug can be easily cleaned or replaced at a minimum expense and preserve the beauty of the floors in your home. This will provide you with minimum stress and a happier home in the end.

One of the cheapest ways to redecorate a bedroom is to change the pillowcases or bedcover, which can revive a room quite surprisingly. The choice of bedcovers and pillowcases in bedding departments often makes one forget the opportunities for making them at home. Some pillowcases are made with a different pattern on each side so you can ring the changes by mixing and matching them. This is another idea that would be easy and cheap to do yourself.

Two Indian bedspreads can become an unusual duvet cover and there are many other interesting fabrics to use, perhaps to get away from the idea that bedrooms should be flowery and feminine. The important thing is to choose cotton which is fine and soft; you don’t want anything scratchy in bed.

Quilted comforters, which are not as bulky as duvets or eiderdowns, add extra warmth in winter without adding much weight. They fold away into next to nothing for storage and if the fabric is chosen carefully, will provide a different winter color for the room.

Traditional patchwork quilts were made of old pieces of fabric and clothes so that nothing was ever wasted. Modern quilts may be in traditional designs or very carefully chosen fabrics in modern designs. They are often works of art which are better hung on the wall than spread over a bed.

A canopy over the bed can be in almost any fabric because it will not suffer from wear and tear. Lace, voile, muslin, sprigged cotton or Indonesian batik will create a summery effect and brocade, velvet or woven fabrics will make you feel warm in winter.

Some floor coverings have an uneven wear pattern which means that some areas will become worn or damaged before others. The area in front of the main door, the spot in front of television viewing seats, the walkway to the dining table, and the triangle between sink, cooker and worktop are all examples of areas that will come in for a lot of wear and tear. Meanwhile, other parts of the floor covering will remain in perfectly good condition.

You’ll find that it can be dangerous to leave torn carpet, broken tiles, crumbling cork or worn vinyl on the floor — a heel caught and the result could be a nasty accident. But you needn’t worry about having to replace the entire floor covering at the first sign of trouble.

It’s possible to carry out some first aid on damaged floors before they get too bad, and that way you’ll save yourself expense and prevent accidents, in some cases, however, you won’t even have to bother with first aid: you could simply change the furniture round to alter the pattern of wear and relieve areas of the floor covering. Alternatively, you could place a rug over the most used area to take the strain. In the event of having some new floor covering laid, remember always to save some remnants just in case you have to make repairs in the future.

The edges of both rugs and carpets often become frayed over the years and should be repaired at once. But if you have a valuable oriental rug or carpet it’s advisable to have it professionally repaired and maintained.

Sealing a frayed edge on a latex-backed rug or carpet is straightforward. Start by working a 25mm (1in) wide strip of latex carpet adhesive along the back of the fraying edge. You’ll probably find it easiest to use a piece of cloth to do this. Leave the adhesive to dry and then trim the carpet — preferably along the second row of carpet weave from the frayed edge — to leave a neat, straight edge.

Then work more adhesive into the edge of the backing and rub it in, taking great care not to get any on to the tufts. Cut your carpet binding tape so that it’s slightly longer than the rug edge and apply adhesive to it. You can then either lay the tape on the back of the rug or carpet or, if you find it easier, lay the carpet on to the tape. Either way you must make sure that the tape overlaps the cut edge by about 3mm (1/sin); that way you’ll be able to fold it upwards to secure the backing. Finally, trim of any surplus tape.

In order to bind the edge of a jute-backed carpet you’ll need a proper carpet needle, some waxed thread and more hessian carpet tape. First you’ll have to trim the frayed edges to make them straight. Cut the tape so that it overlaps the ends of the carpet by about 25mm (1in), and apply adhesive to the first 50mm (2in) at each end.

Once the adhesive has become tacky, fold over and stick down the excess 25mm (1in) to give neat side hems. You can then line up the tape and carpet edge and fold the tape over so that it’s level at the front and back. Then stitch along the edge, using the special needle and waxed thread, making sure the thread passes through both the tape and carpet. Each end should then be secured with tight overstitching.

Small holes in rugs can be repaired with 4- ply rug wool or synthetic fiber of a suitable color. First you’ll have to trim any damaged tufts from the rug surface, and for this you’ll probably find nail scissors best. Make new tufts by winding enough wool for the repair round the fingers of one hand. Cut through both ends and bunch- the thread tightly together so you can cut off enough pieces to fill the hole. Each piece of wool should be slightly longer than the original pile length.

Use a match stick or cotton bud to dab adhesive into the hole, and then put a bunch of strands upright in the hole, using a toothpick to work them into position on the bed of adhesive. Continue putting in more until the hole is filled. You should then leave the adhesive to set before trimming off any excess wool and using a pin to tease up the new tufts so they blend in with the color of the surrounding material.

When carpets develop holes they, too, should be patched. It’s best to use a remnant from the same carpet, if possible, but otherwise try and get some from a local stockiest. Failing this, you may have to cut a piece out of the existing carpet — from an area that is covered by an article of furniture.

If you’re dealing with a hessian or jute- backed carpet. You should start by marking a square round the damaged area. Paint the back of the entire square with latex adhesive. Overlapping the edge by about 25mm (1 in), and rub it in with a rag. Then

Patch will blend in better. If there is a pattern, match it on your remnant, mark it and cut it out. In all cases, it’s important to ensure that the pile runs in the same direction as the original piece of carpet and that the color is as good a match as possible.

Cut two strips of hessian tape that is each about 50mm (2in) longer than the hole and coats them with adhesive. Then slide the tapes over the hole at the back of the carpet, overlapping the edges by 25mm (1 in) at each end.

These strips will serve as a base on which to graft the carpet patch. Spread adhesive on the back of the patch and round the edges, taking care not to saturate the tufts. Then place the patch in position and lightly hammer down the edges. Leave the adhesive to dry, and, if necessary, tease the edge of the carpet so that the join becomes invisible.

Foam or latex-backed carpet shouldn’t fray when cut and patching. However, you should cut the patch from the upper side of the carpet rather than from the underside. Make sure the patch is slightly larger than the hole and lay this over the damaged section, using a couple of carpet tacks to hold it in position. You can then cut through the carpet beneath using the edges of the patch as a template. Lift off the patch and remove the damaged section: then test that the patch fits accurately.

Cut strips of carpet adhesive tape that are 50mm (2in) longer than the hole and stick them across the back of the carpet in a crises-cross fashion so each one overlaps the hole by half its width and by 25mm (1 in) at each end. Turn the carpet the right way up, place the patch in position and press down on the tape. Lightly hammer along the join and tease if necessary.

All types of floor tiles can get damaged and will therefore need replacing. You can remove individual ceramic or quarry tiles using a hammer and chisel but, for safety’s sake, you must wear goggles or safety glasses. Break up the damaged tile and then, working from the centre towards the edges, chip out the fragments and smooth the surface underneath.

Put the new tile in place and check not only that it fits, but also that it sits level with the rest of the tiles. Remove the tile, spread a layer of ceramic floor tiling adhesive on the floor beneath and press the new tile into position. Scrape off any surplus adhesive with the trowel and leave this area of the floor unwilled on for at least 24 hours.

You can then grout the tile using either a flooring grout or a mix of one part cement to four parts sand, making sure that you wipe away the surplus with a clean sponge while it’s still wet.

At one time most furniture was made of wood. Today many furniture items are made of other materials such as various kinds of plastic. In any case, it is usually less expensive to repair or refinish a piece of furniture than it is to replace it. Outdoor furniture probably gets more wear and tear than indoor furnitur’e, but it is often easy to repair. Sometimes a few minutes of your time will extend the life of a chair or table.

Besides normal wear and tear, hot, dry air can cause wooden furniture to shrink and come apart. The four most common furniture problems are:

• Wood shrinkage

• Warping

• Worn seating

• Scrapes and scratches

If table or chair legs begin to come unglued, finish knocking them apart with a soft wooden block and a mallet. Remove old glue with a dull knife or hook scraper and sandpaper. Scrape glue out of the holes, too. Remove only the old glue. If you sand off any wood, the joints will be too loose.

Use white vinyl glue and reassemble the chair or table. Wipe up any spills or runs before they dry. Then, with rope or a webbed clamp, clamp the legs in place until the glue dries.

A warped table top can be straightened. Warping is caused by uneven drying. First strip off the paint and varnish. Paint remover is dangerous. Wear rubber gloves and follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully.

Next soak the wood by piling wet newspaper, wet sawdust, or wet towels on top for four or five days. When the wood is soaked through, remove the newspaper, sawdust, or towels and place weights or clamps on the warped boards. When everything is clamped or weighted down, leave it in a warm dry room for a few days. Move the clamps each day to help the wood dry evenly and prevent cracking.

As soon as the boards have dried straight, refinish BOTH SIDES to keep more moisture from entering or leaving the wood.

This method will not straighten laminated wood. Wait until the weather changes and the laminated piece will straighten by itself. When it does, glue another piece of scrap laminate on the underside. It will remain straight.

A kitchen chair seat or back is held on with only two or four screws. The cushion is usually made of foam or cotton batting covered with cloth or plastic folded over a piece of plywood. Replace old cotton batting with foam cut to size. Polyfoam is softer and lasts longer than cotton batting without getting lumpy or hard.

Cane bottom chairs can be modernized and made more comfortable by removing the cane part of the seat. Cover the seat with a cushion of plywood, polyfoam and a cover of plastic or cloth.

To fix a small scratch on furniture use a crayon-like touchup stick. They come in various shades to match different finishes. Sometimes iodine or shoe dye will work too. If the crack is deep, fill with wood putty. When it dries, rub stick shellac over the area. Stick shellac is applied with a spatula knife heated over an alcohol lamp. Finally, rub with felt or fine steel wool. Sometimes toothpaste will rub out fine scratches

Fill deeper scratches and gouges with wood putty. Cover with stick shellac. Finally rub it down with a felt pad or extra fine steel wool.