Colour your world

• Save leftover paint

Whenever you get the urge to redecorate, you’ll be very glad that you didn’t throw away all your half-empty paint cans. Keep them so you can create small ‘patch’ tests when you are redecorating. Better still, use them for:

1. Patching nicks and scratches in existing painted walls
2. As a primer for new paint
3. Redoing or touching up old furniture and accessories
4. Painting a cupboard or pantry
5. Painting the inside of a small cupboard
6. Tinting other paints to create customized colour washes
7. Creating multicolour faux finishes
8. Decorative stencilling
9. Painting trim and beading on everything from furniture to picture frames

Transfer small amounts of leftover paint to wide-mouthed plastic storage containers, such as clean mayonnaise or jam jars. Label by colour, type of paint and manufacturer. Air and moisture are the enemies of stored paint, so be sure that the tops and lids seal tightly. Oil-based paints will form their own protective skins in the containers. For emulsion (water-based) paint, lay a layer of plastic wrap on top of the paint before putting the lid on. And always store leftover paint in a cool dry place, away from direct sunlight.

• Create depth with colour

One of the simplest ways to add depth to a room is to paint or wallpaper the inside backs of built-in bookcases and display shelving — great for using leftover decorating materials. If you paint, keep in mind that darker colours appear to recede, fooling the eye into seeing a deeper recess, and a larger room. Solid or discreetly patterned wallpaper will achieve the same effect.

• Spruce up mouldings and woodwork with colour

Before starting a large-scale redecoration, look at the woodwork and mouldings and check your supply of leftover paints. In general, a single colour is used throughout the home to unify the spaces from room to room. But you could add colour to a child’s room or playroom by painting the woodwork in an accent colour. (To maintain the visual flow with the rest of the house, keep doors and window frames the same colour as elsewhere.)

• Don’t strip old wallpaper; colourwash it!

If your wallpaper is out of style but you dread the tedious job of stripping it, applying a colourwash (highly diluted glaze) can soften colours and tone down patterns. It will create less mess, take less time — and with a bit of luck, you’ll already have the key ingredients: white acrylic interior paint, acrylic glazing liquid, water and a small amount of coloured acrylic for tinting the wash. This is a great two-person project as the application requires coordination but goes very quickly.

1. Mix 1 part white acrylic to 1 part glaze. Add water to thin. As you add the water, test the mix on a paper remnant or a small, out-of-the-way patch of wall. If the wash is too strong, add more water and test again. (Water can account for up to half of the finished product.)
2. Once you’re happy with the look, wash the mix over the paper with a lint-free cloth using a swirling motion, as if you were cleaning the wall.
3. Use a brush to apply the wash at corners and edges, tamping with a cloth to remove brush strokes.

Note: wallpaper needs to be thoroughly adhered to avoid possible paper curling.

• Take an old ladder and…

Give it a new lease of life. It may be too wobbly to stand on safely anymore, but an aged wooden ladder — with its many nicks, paint splatters and worn-down rungs — has lots of character and plenty of potential uses. The old ladder may not be ready for retirement yet — just a change of career.

1. Prop it against an outside wall and use the rungs to display plants.
2. Add some heavy-duty hooks and hang the ladder horizontally on a laundry or hall wall to make a handy place to put coats, hats, gloves, wet swimming costumes and towels, and whatever other items family members tend to dump on the floor.
3. Suspend an old, but still-sturdy, ladder from the kitchen ceiling and equip it with metal S-hooks for a unique, cost-free saucepan rack.

• Add a rainbow of colour to dreary outdoor furniture

Garden chairs that are permanently stored outdoors have often seen better days. However, if you have just five cans of leftover paint you have the chance to both make good use of the paint you have been saving and to go a little crazy with colour. There’s no rule that all outdoor furniture has to look the same, so be adventurous and go for the bold approach. As long as you prepare surfaces properly by sanding and cleaning, and follow manufacturer’s instructions, you can use leftover interior paint on outdoor pieces and protect them with a coat of polyurethane varnish. Rusty metal furniture should be scraped as needed then primed with a rust-resistant undercoat. Thanks to modern technology, you can even spray-paint faded plastic garden furniture.