February 1, 2025 • 39 mins
In this episode of the RepcoLite Home Improvement Show, sponsored by Benjamin Moore, host Dan Hansen delves into combating the winter doldrums through various home improvement projects. Dan discusses the impact of February's long, dark, snowy days and shares insights on how natural light, color psychology, and quick paint projects can boost your mood. From painting the inside of closets and entry doors to painting furniture and stair risers, Dan provides practical, low-cost suggestions to rejuvenate your living space. He also highlights small projects like color-blocking walls and painting the backs of shelves to brighten up any room. The episode wraps up with a call to action to make the most of the winter by planning future projects or starting on spring cleaning.CHAPTERS00:00 Introduction and February Blues03:06 Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)04:14 History and Prevalence of SAD08:30 Natural Light: A Remedy for SAD13:08 The Power of Paint to Lift Moods18:37 Small Projects to Brighten Your Home19:13 Embracing Winter Activities20:06 Combating Seasonal Affective Disorder with Creative Projects20:59 Painting the Inside of Your Closet23:23 Adding Color to Your Entry Door25:16 Painting the Edge of a Door28:14 Color Blocking a Wall30:07 Painting Stair Risers31:23 Transforming Furniture with Paint33:23 Brightening Up Shelving and Cabinets34:38 Painting a Headboard on the Wall35:51 Planning for Future Projects38:12 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Good morning, everybody. You're listening to the Repco Light Home
Improvement Show, the Repco lighte Home Improvement Show. I slurred
that I'm off to a bad start already. You're listening
to the Repco Light Home Improvement Show, sponsored by Benjamin Moore,
And yeah, I'm off to a bad start because it's February, right.
It's the shortest month of the whole stinking year in days,
(00:23):
but it is the longest month to have to endure.
You know, for me, I thoroughly detest February. I can't
think of anything good about it. And every time I
say that, my daughter Tessa objects because it's her birthday month. Tessa,
It's not not you, you know, it's not because of
you that I hate February. I hate February because it's
(00:43):
dark and cold and snowy, you know, all those things.
They're like crazy cozy and cool when Christmas is coming.
I didn't mind it then, or even when January was here,
you know, the snow's kind of new at that point.
I don't think I didn't hate it yet at that point.
But now now we've had it for a while and
I'm done, pretty much done with it, you know, Taking
(01:05):
the dogs out in the cold weather stinks. There are
fun things to do. I get that, plenty of fun
things to do, But taking the dogs out that stinks
because it's on their timetable. They tell us when we're
taking them out. We don't get to choose. They announce,
and if we don't take them out, well we all
know how that goes. The cars always frozen solid. The
(01:25):
windshield wipers, they've always got ice on them, ice clumps.
Can't get them off because I can't reach them. You know,
most people probably can just reach up and snap those off.
For me, No, I need a reach and stick and
a ladder and I still can't reach them. It's a truck.
I'm short, so I've got all of that to deal with, thankfully.
You know. One thing in my favor, I'm lactose intolerant.
(01:47):
If that wasn't the case, I'd spend all of my
February evenings sitting on the couch with an ice cream
container in a spoon. That's how I'd spend my nights.
Managed to avoid ice cream because of the lactose intolerance.
But Tessa, you know, the February birthday girl. She loves
to bake and she's been cranking out one thing after another.
(02:08):
You know, sometimes I wander into the kitchen. Maybe this
happens to you too. I wander into the kitchen with
good intentions and then I find, you know, baked goods,
and before I know it, you know, a half hour's
gone by. I'm sitting on the floor with a bread
pan half full of banana bread. Now I've got a
butter knife and a vat of butter next to me.
There's usually a pile of cookies nearby, and I'm surrounded
(02:30):
by dogs who are looking at me like hungry wolves
as I try to protect my snacks, you know, from
their greedy eyes. Now, some nights, if the house is silent,
I am one hundred percent convinced that I can hear,
you know, if I really listen, I can hear the
fat growing, you know, around my stomach. Kids say, I'm
nuts about that, but I don't know anyway. There you go.
(02:52):
That's just a little bit of insight into the insanity
that occurs in my brain when I've been shutting the
house for a lengthy peer of time. And I'm sure
you probably don't feel exactly the same way, but maybe
parts of that are familiar. What we're dealing with is
seasonal effective disorder, or SAD as i'll call it the
rest of the show. Most likely this is going to
(03:14):
be the saddest episode of the year, So just buckle
up for that. But bump bump jing anyway, SAD. I'm
sure you've heard about it ad nauseum over the last
week or two, but I'm going to just pile on.
You know, it's what everybody's talking about right now. It's
a mood disorder. If you're completely living under a rock
and you have no idea what SAD is, it's a
mood disorder that kind of leaves you feeling blah and
(03:36):
down during certain times of the year, most often during
the fall or winter when daylight hours are shorter. You know, basically,
it's the good old winter blues, just relabeled. I'm dealing
with it. I'm betting a number of you are as well.
Maybe you don't have full blown SAD where you're seriously down,
but I'm betting most of us are feeling a little
bit of a pinch around this time of year. And so,
(03:58):
like I said, that's going to be the focus of
the show this week, and we're going to talk about
some of the ways out of these February doldrums, you know,
the winter blues, Ways to stop being sad. That's the
whole point today. So all of that's coming up, but
let's start with a deeper look at SAD seasonal effective
disorder SAD. And honestly, I was kind of surprised to
(04:19):
find that the concept goes back to ancient times. Hippocrates
an ancient Greek physician who's often referred to as the
father of medicine, you know, the Hippocratic oath, right, Hippocrates
noticed how the seasons affected mental health. He was probably
sitting around, you know, eating ice cream on the couch
one February, and he thought, Man, wait a minute, this
(04:42):
isn't normal. This isn't me. I'm grumpy, you know, Normally
I'm the life of the party. I'm Hippocrates. Everybody wants
to hang around with me. Why am I down in
the dumps? But it's got something to do with the seasons.
And I'm pretty sure something like that happened. He came
up with the idea fourth century BC. In the second
century BC, Greco Roman physicians treated depression and lethargy by
(05:07):
directing sunlight toward the eyes, you know, and that was
an early form of light therapy. Additionally, the Greek philosopher Possidonius,
I have no idea if that's right. Who cares, he's
been dead for a long time. It's close enough. Possidonius
observed that there's melancholy occurring in autumn and there's mania
(05:27):
in the summer. You know. That explains my entire life.
Melancholy in the autumn and winter, many of the rest
of the time. But still, even with all of those
early observations, it wasn't until nineteen eighty four that the
term seasonal effective disorder SAD was formally introduced by psychiatrist
Norman E. Rosenthal and his colleagues at the National Institute
(05:49):
of Mental Health. They described SAD as a syndrome characterized
by recurrent depressions occurring annually at the same time each year.
All right, so that's SAD. SAD affects a significant portion
of the population, and of course it gets worse and
more widespread depending on your location. Makes perfect sense. In
the United States, the national average of people affected by SAD.
(06:11):
What do you think that is? National average of people
affected by SAD in the US. What percentage give you
a second to think about it, it's six percent. Six
percent of the people nationally on average are affected by SAD,
So that's not really that bad, right. Ninety four percent
of us are unaffected or only mildly affected, so that's
pretty good. Our chances are good. But hold on, that's
(06:34):
the US average. We live in Michigan, and while Michigan
is absolutely a splendid place to live most of the time,
it turns out that, according to research from Michigan State University,
between twenty and forty percent of Michigan residents experienced SAD
symptoms during the winter months. So it's a huge bump
over the national average. But really, you know, it shouldn't
(06:56):
surprise us. Our geographical location results in shorter daylight hours
and prolonged, prolonged periods of overcast guys during the winter,
so obviously we're going to see an uptick in SAD
cases in Michigan. On top of all of that info,
one last thing to throw at you. Women are more
likely to be affected than men, So Michigan women, look out.
(07:18):
And by saying that, Michigan men, you be on your
guard as well, because things could get dicey, just be
careful out there, all right. So that's sad and a
tiny portion of the history behind it. The common symptoms,
they're no surprise to us. In fact, this list pretty
much reads like a journal entry. For me. Symptoms are
persistent low mood, loss of interest in activities once enjoyed,
(07:40):
low energy and fatigue. Changes in sleep patterns such as oversleeping,
changes in appetite, you know, normally changes in the positive direction,
meaning I want more food, I want more carbs, difficulty concentrating.
I have no idea what I was even talking about.
You know, see it's happening right now. Feelings of hopelessness
or worthlessness. We should just pull the plug on the show.
(08:03):
There's no point anymore. I don't have it anymore, you know.
That's sad. That's all of what's going on now. When
it comes to treating sad, there's a lot of different options,
including light therapy. There's cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, you know,
all kinds of different things. But today what I want
to focus on and talk about are some things that
you can try without medicating. I mean, really some simple
(08:25):
things that you can do today that might help you
a lot. If you're feeling bummed out by winter at
this point, and the first thing that I want to
highlight is the importance of maximizing the natural light that
you're getting. You know, natural light helps alleviate sad because
it directly influences several biological and psychological processes that regulate mood, sleep,
and energy levels. And really, to me, that all sounds
(08:47):
like mush, you know, so let's break it down. It's
really pretty fascinating when you dig into it and you
see how our bodies are designed to work. Anyway, First,
natural light helps regulate circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms sounds like
an Enyu song, But here's the scoop. Our bodies have
an internal clock or circadian rhythm, and that regulates our
(09:08):
sleep cycles, It regulates hormone release, it regulates other other
bodily functions. You're picking up what I'm putting down, you know, Grandma,
Grandma always reverted to coleslaw as the solution for that.
Maybe she just needed more natural light, who knows. Who knows? Anyway,
circadian rhythms regulate a lot of things in natural light
(09:29):
is the primary queue that keeps this rhythm synchronized. You know,
in winter, shorter days and reduced sunlight disrupt circadian rhythms,
and that leads to fatigue and mood swings, difficulty concentrating,
on and on and on. Exposure to natural light, especially
in the morning, helps reset that circadian clock and then
it realigns us, you know, with the day night cycle,
(09:49):
and it improves our overall mood and energy. So all
good stuff, All right, that's just one thing natural light does.
There are tons more. For example, it also stimulates the
brain's production of serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that plays
a key role in regulating our moods. Low serotonin levels
are linked to depression, anxiety, lethargy. All of that sunlighting exposure,
(10:12):
particularly through the eyes, activates areas of the brain that
control serotonin production, and then we feel a little bit happier,
so that's all good. Third, it reduces overproduction of melatonin. Now,
melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate sleep. It's naturally
produced when it's dark, signaling the body to prepare for rest.
In winter, Longer nights and reduce daylight cause an overproduction
(10:34):
of melatonin, and all we want to do is rest
and sleep. Exposure to natural light during the day suppresses
this melatonin production and it helps us feel more wake
you know, more energized. Fourth, and finally, sunlight triggers the
skin to produce vitamin D, which is essential for all
kinds of things. We know how good that is, So
sunlight helps, but how often do we get that in Michigan. Well,
(10:57):
there's good news that I kind of found surprising. It
turns out out that while sunlight, of course, really is
absolutely the ideal here when dealing with sad, even being
outside on a gray, cloudy day can be profoundly helpful.
So you don't have to wait for that one sunny
day every other week, you know, to get out there
and get some benefit from this. Get outside today even
(11:19):
if it's gray. And last thing I'll say in this segment,
if the outdoor exposure isn't feasible for you, you just can't
get outside. Not gonna happen. Try to increase your natural
light indoors by opening blinds, sitting your windows, stuff like that.
You know that alone, even those things can help improve
your mood a little bit. So try those things. All right,
(11:40):
that's the beginning of our super Sad episode. We're going
to take a break. When we come back, we're going
to look at the power of paint to help influence
your mood and cheer up your home. That's all next
stick around and we're back. You're listening to the Repco
Light Home Improvement Show sponsored by Benjamin Moore, and we're
(12:03):
working our way through the saddest episode of the year.
It's our deep dive into sad seasonal effective disorder. And yeah,
pretty much every week on the show. You know, the
way I roll is, I tend to try to want
to solve my problems, you know, the problems that I'm
encountering at home and in life, and I want to
do them on work time. It just really really works
(12:25):
well for me to do that. This week's no different.
You know, I generally love Winner, but this part of
it right now, February especially, it starts to hit me,
you know a little bit. I get a little grumpy,
a little bit sad, a little slumpy, you know, and
all I want to do is eat stuff. I know
that's a common experience, and as we saw last segment,
(12:46):
up to forty percent of Michiganders suffer to some degree
or another from the winter blues. Now last segment we
talked about what it is, you know, what's sad is
the history behind it. We also talked about how natural
lighting is incredibly effective at how helping us feel better
in the long dark month of February that's now looming
in front of us. All right, that's what we talked
(13:07):
about last segment. Now let's look at another tool at
our disposal when it comes to fighting sad paint. And
of course it sounds self serving, but it's actually just
good community service. You know that I'm dishing out here.
You know, I'm endlessly selfless and giving. Those are truly
my biggest character flaws. You know, I just care and
I love too much. It's how I am. And I
(13:30):
want everybody out there to just realize that paint is
the answer to pretty much most of life's dilemmas. So
just remember that paint heals all wounds. In fact, you
probably you know, I'm not bossing you, but it probably
wouldn't hurt if you would repeat that phrase to yourself,
you know, forty fifty times an hour, you know, throughout
(13:52):
the day, paint from Repcoalite heels all wounds. Just kind
of chant it to yourself. It's not weird. You know,
you don't even need to question it. It's not a cult,
nothing to worry about. It's just good mental health. So
think about it, you know, you do you anyway, it's
mostly a joke, mostly a joke, but paint and color
really do play a vital role in influencing our emotions.
(14:12):
You know. Colors, for example, hold remarkable power over our emotions,
and the right hues can really counteract the downer moods
that we feel, you know, around this time of year.
And we talk about it all the time on the show,
and I know for a fact that some of you
are nodding your heads and you're completely you know, in agreement,
agreement with what I'm talking about here. Others are thinking
(14:33):
that this whole thing's a little silly, you know, it's
color psychology, and you think it's a little nuts, And
I get it. You know, that's usually usually my knee
jerk response to stuff like that as well, you know,
normally that's how I roll. It feels fo fou, it
feels weird. But in this case, it's you know, really true. Businesses,
marketing experts, designers, all of them, you know, and more
take advantage of color psychology. All the time, in products,
(14:57):
in packaging, in color schemes and advertise. Colors have an
impact on us, a huge impact on our behaviors and
our moods, even though we don't always clue in to
what's happening. It's a thing. So take advantage of it
and use it in your home and in your space
to help create the mood and atmosphere that you want.
You know, for example, warm colors like yellow, orange and
(15:18):
light red, they radiate energy and happiness. You know, you
just feel pumped, You're in a good mood when you're
surrounded by those colors. It just works for you. It's
like when you eat potatoes. You know, at least at
my house, we can all sit down at the table
in a grumpy mood. But if we have potatoes of
any kind, you know, boil a mash them, stick them
in a stew, any kind of potato. Whenever we eat that,
(15:38):
there's just something magical, you know, that happens in me
and in the children, and everybody becomes pleasant and strangely jovial. Afterwards,
allow me to clear the dishes for you, father, whilst
you draw your bath. You know, it happens. I don't
know why, they should serve potatoes every time world leaders
gather to discuss peace. Potatoes, healing root. I don't know
(16:03):
what exactly they're a root anyway. Anyway, Warmer hues are
like potatoes, let's get back to that. They bring the
happy and the energy. You know, picture of soft buttery
yellow on your walls. It doesn't have to be a bright,
crazy yellow, just a warm, soft yellow. It gives the
vibe of sunshine. You know, the room feels happy no
matter what's going on outside. It's like you painted, you know,
(16:23):
some sunshine on your walls, and even the most extreme
Michigan weather can't take that away, right, it can't steal
that from you. It's yours, You've got it. These warmer
tones are particularly effective in shared spaces like kitchens, living rooms,
you know, maybe dining rooms even, you know, places where
vibrancy and cheer and energy are usually what you're going
for a right. On the other hand, cool colors, such
(16:46):
as light blues, soft greens, and lavenders, they provide a
sense of calm and relaxation that helps ease anxiety and stress.
You know, blues, for example, they're considered almost universally calming
because we associate them with the sky and with water.
Blue bedroom can help promote tranquility and restless sleep, you know,
an escape from the ironically named winter. Blues. Soft greens, lavenders,
(17:08):
they do the same kind of thing. They bring calm
and peace, and one of the reasons they do it
is because they're linked, you know, permanently in our minds
to spring, you know, plants and trees coming to life,
flowers blooming. You know. Try it. Picture a muted lavender
color and green in your mind, and chances are you
feel kind of a spring vibe happening right up there
in your noggin right now. And there's just no way
(17:31):
that a spring vibe in your brain is going to
play out in a negative manner this time of year.
You know. It's an infusion of hope. That's color psychology,
and there's way more to it, but we've only got
so much time. Just remember how it works and how
it plays out when it comes to choosing your paint colors.
But also one other thing to remember here is that
a specific color on a wall can literally help you
(17:53):
brighten up a space. You know, not just impact you psychologically,
but literally help you brighten up a space. Lighter tones
off whites, pastels, light neutrals. All of those can reflect
natural light, making rooms feel you know, more open, more expansive,
more inviting. Pairing a warm white on the walls with
light colored furniture, all of that works really well to
create an airy, fresh environment that kind of feels spacious
(18:16):
and full of possibility, even when the days are short
and gray. All right, sounds like me, short and gray.
I'm getting older after all. Anyway. The power of paint
to help lift moods, I told you it was a
real thing, you know, whether it's through color and atmosphere
or whether it's just helping you brighten up a dim space,
paint can help you lift the mood a little bit.
(18:36):
So keep that in mind. But what if you don't
want to paint an entire room or large sections of
your home. What if that's just not in the budget
right now? What if you don't have time to do that. Well,
let's take a break. When we come back, we're going
to talk about some small projects that will help you
infuse a little happy and warmth into your home without
breaking the bank or taking days to accomplish. That's all next,
and stick around. Well, winter can be a lot of fun.
(19:03):
You know, I feel a little bit bad I've been
kind of trashing winter in the last little bit here.
But winter can be fun. I want to try to
redeem it a little bit and maybe redeem myself. You're
listening to the Repco Lighte Home improvement show sponsored by
Benjamin Moore, And yeah, winter can be fun, you know, hiking, sledding, skiing,
all of that's fun. Just resting with a book, you know,
(19:25):
maybe a cup of coffee, a mug of coffee, some tea,
you know, maybe just resting with an entire plate of
cookies while you stream the Lord of the Rings movies
back to back to back and then start them over again.
You know, winter can be great, but it can also
be a little bit rough, right, a little bit rough.
That's not news to anybody. I'm not going too far there.
(19:46):
The days are shorter, the skies are often gray, and
for tons of us, you know, it kind of just
feels like the energy has been sucked out of our soul.
But what if there was a way to brighten things up,
you know, literally and figuratively, to suck that energy back
into our soul somehow. That's what we're talking about in
(20:08):
the next couple segments, small creative projects that can help
you combat you know, seasonal effective disorder or sad and
kind of suck some of that energy back into your soul.
These projects are meant to be quick, inexpensive, and perfect
ways to bring vibrant, uplifting colors into your home. I
know right off the bat that they're not going to
be for everybody out there. You know, not every single
(20:28):
one of these is going to be, you know, a
winner in your book. But I am thinking that everybody's
going to find one or two that might spark your
interest and use these projects as jumping off points, right,
don't just consider them complete solutions. And you know what
I just said, what Dan just said is no good.
I don't. I don't care about that. Take the concepts
or the ideas in each project and see if you
(20:50):
can apply it to a space or situation in your
home where it could work. You know, get creative. And
that's truly half of the medicine here is getting creative.
All right. My first first recommendation is to paint the
inside of your closet. And there's just something cool about
this project that makes it worth considering. Even though I
know it probably sounds dumb, right, paint the inside of
(21:12):
your closet. Why in the world would you do that?
The color's mostly hidden, you know, it's completely counterintuitive. I mean,
most of the time the door is shut, you never
see it. What's the point. Well, the point is that
because the color's hidden most of the time, you're free
to experiment with colors that you might normally not want
to try, you know, throughout the rest of your home.
So you can go bold and you can pick something
(21:33):
that makes you happy regardless of how it plays out
in the rest of the room. You know, something that
might give you energy in the morning, and then every
time you open that closet door, you get this quick
burst of that color setting the tone for your day.
You know, it's like the color therapy thing every morning,
and then you just close the door and then your
room goes back to its usual look. It's a great
(21:54):
way to try something new without worrying about how it's
going to blend with everything else in your space. I
like it for that reason. And the second reason I
like it and think it's such a great project is
because it's personal. You know, it's yours. It's really personal.
It's your closet. It's not something that your guests or
even most of your family members probably see. It's just
for you. And why is that a big deal? You know, again,
(22:16):
maybe that sounds kind of dumb, but you can think
of it as kind of something, you know, extravagant, that
you did just for yourself. And I know how ridiculous
maybe that sounds. But we had a designer on the
show last year or the year before, I can't remember.
You know, I'm getting older and everything bleeds together. We
had this designer on the show who went all out
(22:37):
and wallpapered the inside of her closet, and she loved
how every single time she opened the door she'd see
this little, unexpected touch of design. She said it was
like adding a layer of thoughtfulness to a space that's
usually just practical and boring and playing. She said it
made her feel good about the whole room because even
these overlooked little spaces were getting some love. So think
(22:57):
about that. I don't know if that's right for you,
but it is an interesting concept, especially when we talked
about how the early part of your day, you know,
getting that energy right off the bat, right at the
beginning in the morning is helpful. What's better than the sun,
you know, the face of the sun in your closets
when you open the door, you know, it just beams
out on you and gives you third degree burns. Now,
(23:20):
we don't want that. That's extreme and exaggerated. But you
get the idea, all right. Painting the interior side of
your entry door. That's another fun way to add a
pop of color and boost the visual interest of your space.
And I know, like the other one, this isn't something
that works for every home. You know, some spaces are
just already busy, they got a lot going on. Adding
(23:40):
another color to the door might seem like overkill. It
might drive you nuts. So maybe this one isn't for you.
But if your entryway could use a little personality, this
is a really quick, high impact project to try. And
one of the nice things about painting an interior door
is that you can have some fun with it. Right,
You're not committing to a whole room, so you can
go bold. You can experiment with colors that energize the space.
(24:03):
You know, maybe a soft green for a sense of calm,
and a pale yellow, you know, touch of warmth, something
like that. Something unexpected. You know, an aqua, a bold
coral color. Who knows, I don't know. You know your space.
Color psychology can guide you here. Just pick a tone
that'll help set the mood for your space, and you
can brighten things up every time you walk through the door.
That's pretty cool. Another great thing about the project is
(24:25):
that it's low commitment. You know, you only need a
quart of paint to do this and an afternoon, you know,
an afternoon's worth of time to get it done. And
if you decide a few months down the road that
this is not quite the vibe you were going for,
it's a relatively easy fix. You know, it's just a
few more hours, a little more paint, Just grab a
different color and change it up. It's a simple way
to keep your space feeling fresh and inviting without a
(24:47):
lot of hassle. Not a lot of work there. And
while you're considering paint colors, don't forget to dig into
the different finishes orchines that are also available. Sometimes we
forget about those as we're looking at colors, but sheen,
you know how shiny a finishes can really make a
big difference with how a color is perceived. Shining your
finish on the door, then you typically might use can
(25:08):
really have a huge impact, you know, from a design
point of view, So keep that in mind. Don't forget
it's not just about color. The finish can also play in.
All right, here's a third idea, and this one's really weird.
I mean, if you thought the other two were weird,
buckle up, this one's really nuts. If painting an entire
door just isn't your thing, you don't want to do that.
You know you don't have a door. You know that's
(25:29):
possible too, where a bold new color might make sense.
What if you just paint the edge of a door.
It's an odd male idea, I get that, but it
can add a surprising little detail, you know, to your
space without completely changing the look of the room. You know,
here's what I'm getting at. You just paint the inside
or outside edge of your door. So when the door
is closed, it looks like any other door. I know
(25:51):
it's weird, but just picture it. When you open it,
you get this unexpected hint of color. You know, it's
a subtle accent. It's way out of the ordinary, and
it's in an incredibly unusual spot. So it's got a
lot going for it. It'll make a big impact, even
though there's not much of it there. I know it's
not for everybody. I don't have a door. I don't
think where I could use this effectively. I'm thinking very
(26:14):
quickly here. It's not my strong suit. Nothing's coming to mind.
I can't picture a door in my home where I
could do this and have you know, good results. But
maybe you do and could give it a try. When
it's done right, it can be really cool, and it's
a creative way to add a little personality, a little
extra personality to your home. Now, the best part, it's
super quick, it's inexpensive, crazy, low commitment. If you don't
(26:36):
love it, you can always repaint it, you know, and
return it to normal or go another direction, very very easily,
very very quickly. But when it does work, it's a
great way to add, you know, just a little extra
happy to your home without spending hardly any time or
money on it. And this is one of those projects
that I talked about earlier. I alluded to earlier where
I said, grab the idea of it and be creative
(26:58):
and make it your own. This idea here is using
an unexpected color in tiny proportions in an unexpected place.
That's the core concept here. If this particular project putting
it on the edge of the door, like I talked about,
if that's not cool with you at all, I mean
you're ready to throw the radio out the window. Just
put the radio down. Just take that concept and apply
(27:19):
it to something else in your home, some other place
where you could apply that exact same concept. All right,
let's take a break, and when we come back, I've
got a few more simple projects to tackle before we
wrap things up to the week. Stick around, and we're back.
You're listening to the Repcolite Home Improvement Show sponsored by
Benjamin Moore, and we're working our way through an episode
(27:43):
devoted entirely to the winter blues, to seasonal effective disorder,
to sad. It's been a sad episode, the saddest episode
of all time. I could go on forever. You get it.
Last segment, I started talking about some projects that you
can tackle that might help you bring some color into
your space, kind of bump your mood up a little bit,
(28:05):
make you feel a little better. And I got through
I think three of them. Something like that. I've got
a lot more so let's just keep going right where
I left off. How about this one color block a wall.
What I'm talking about is you basically take two or
three complementary colors and you use them to create a
geometric or abstract design on your wall. You know, it's
(28:25):
a bold choice, but it can instantly energize the space
and make it visually stimulating, which is perfect for areas
where you want to add a little creativity and fun.
And the beauty of this project, like a lot of
these other ones, is its versatility. You can go as
simple or as intricate as you really want. In this instance,
maybe it's a series of triangles or rectangles in complementary colors,
(28:47):
or maybe you lean into some abstract, free flowing pattern
And the best part of all of this is it's
really personal. It's really creative. You get to design something
unique to your space that reflects your own style. On
top of that, it doesn't need to take over an
entire room. You know, a single accent wall or even
just a small section of a wall can make a
(29:09):
huge impact without you know, feeling overwhelming. And like a
lot of the other projects that we talked about, it's
low commitment for the most part. If you tire of
the design, or you decide to try something new down
the road. It's really pretty simple to do a quick
sanding and paint over the whole thing. But for now,
it can be a great way to infuse your space
with energy, creativity, and a little extra you know, a
(29:32):
little extra happy, which I think we all want that
little extra happy, especially since we're heading into February, the
unhappiest month on the calendar. If you're going to go
this route, inch and a half frog tape is on
sale all month long at Repcolite and frog Tape if
you haven't used it before. It's chemically formulated to give
(29:54):
you a razor sharp edge when you make your designs
and paint up to it. It's over four dollars off
per role, so check that out all right. If you've
got stairs in your home, here's a fun and unique
project to consider. What about painting the risers. It's a
simple way to turn a functional part of your home
something you don't even really pay attention to, to turn that
(30:14):
into this you know, kind of cheerful focal point that
adds personality and energy and pizzazz just a wonderful word.
It's very fun to say, I recommend it. Everybody say
it pizzazz, adding pizzazz to your space. The idea is,
you know, ridiculously straightforward. You choose, you know, a series
of colors that either flow, you know, seamlessly from one
(30:37):
to the next, kind of like a gradient. You could
do that. A lot of different colors work in their
way up. It takes a little more, a little more
thought there to pull that one off, but it can
look really cool. Or you can just go with a
single color on each one, you know, the same color
on each stair you know, that's still really cool. What's
great about this project is that it works in all
kinds of staircases. You know, if you've got an enclosed
(30:58):
staircase in need of a refrah, it works. If you've
got a more open design where the risers are already
on display, it can work in that space. And because
you're only painting the risers, you know, not the treads,
not the walls or anything, it's manageable, it's low cost,
hardly takes you anytime at all the complete and yet
it's got this really cool payoff at the end. All right,
(31:18):
So there's another idea, another fantastic way to add a
pop a color to your home. One of my favorites
is by painting, you know, just a small piece of furniture.
You know, think of that old desk or table or
whatever it is collecting dust in your attic. You know,
maybe it's something you picked up at a thrift store
with a little bit of potential. You know, it's a
fun project that can completely transform a piece into a
(31:40):
statement piece while adding personality to the space, you know,
to your home. The great thing about this, one of
the great things about this is that you don't need,
you know, to paint the whole piece to make an impact.
You know, sometimes painting just the drawer fronts or the
top in bold or cheerful colors while leaving the rest
of it wood stained or natural. By just painting the pieces,
(32:01):
you can create this really striking contrast that can feel
really fresh and modern in the space. Even if the
piece you know, is quite old or antique or whatever,
it's got a really cool vibe. You know, you're bridging
multiple periods by bringing in modern colors with an older piece.
A lot's going on, you know, a sunny yellow desktop
paired with rich wood tones or teal drawer fronts on
(32:24):
a walnut dresser. All of those things can add just
the right amount of vibrancy without overpowering the room. And
the project is perfect for experimenting with color because it's
on such a small scale, you know, and it's low commitment. Again,
if you love the result, great, If you don't, you
can always repaint it or try something different down the road.
It's also budget friendly. It's going to require just a
(32:44):
small amount of paint and a little bit of time.
It's ideal for a weekend project. And yet again, the
payoff is so huge. You know, you're going to be
posting pictures of this thing all over social media because
it's just got that cool of a look going. So
think about that, look into that And if you don't
have that piece of furniture to paint right now, just
sitting waiting, ready to go, well, you can add to
(33:06):
the fun of the whole process, the journey of it,
the adventure of it by heading out to various thrift stores,
antique stores, whatever, you know, go on the search to
find the piece that you can bring in and who
knows what you can do with it. Get creative, all right.
So that's another idea, another simple project with A huge
impact is to brighten up shelving or open cabinets by
(33:28):
painting the back panels. Right. We talk about this a lot.
I'm sure you've seen it everywhere. It's a quick way
to add vibrancy to your space while also making your
decor stand out. You know, there's a lot of cool
stuff going on. Even though this is an older idea,
you know, I love it because you don't need to
commit to painting an entire room or even a full
piece of furniture. You're just focusing on the back panels
(33:48):
of your shelves or your cabinets, you know, those often
overlooked spots, and then you're transforming them. It's super straightforward.
The project works really well in kitchens, living rooms, you know,
home office can be really cool pretty much anywhere you've
got shelving or open storage that could use you know,
a little bit of personality. And because you're only painting
this small area, it's an easy, easy, easy afternoon project
(34:12):
that requires minimal paint again, you know, in fact, most
of these are probably a quart of paint. I would
think it the most. I don't think maybe the color
blocking on the wall depends on how big you make
your patterns. But most of these are really just a
quart of paint and then a few hours worth of work,
so very minimal buy in, but a huge impact and
payoff down the road if you do it right, and
(34:34):
do it well, bring in the right colors. It's a
good way to go, all right. One last paint idea.
It's been around for ages. I still think it's kind
of cool. I think it really could be especially cool
in a kid's room. But paint the headboard directly under
the wall in the bedroom. You know, it's quick, it's
low cost, you don't need hardly any paint or time. Again,
it's just a quart of paint, but the impact can
(34:56):
be huge, and you've got this opportunity to be really
creative and to stretch boundaries. You know, you can go
in any direction here, you know, any color. It's a
small area. A lot of fun you can have with this,
and it's easy to change down the road if you
do decide to update the core or you know, go
with a different look entirely. You know you've got no
commitment there quick standing and you're ready to go and
(35:18):
repaint over it. So there are a bunch I don't know,
eight maybe paint projects for you to think about. And
if you're looking to refresh your space and brighten your mood,
stop by your closest Repcolite paints will gladly help you
choose colors that are tailored to exactly what you need
for your home and your situation, but which will also
help you achieve the atmosphere and the vibe that you're
(35:40):
trying to achieve in your projects. So definitely stop by,
talk to us, Bring pictures, you know, whatever you've got
that will help us envision your vision and then will
help you bring it to life. Now, maybe none of
these little projects really speak to you, Maybe none of
them have an appeal, you know, maybe you've got something
bigger down the road that you really need to budget for. Well,
(36:00):
if that's you, you can still use this time. Here's
something you can do. I use this time to plan
for that upcoming project. Now, I keep saying it, but
it's not just about putting paint on a wall. That's
not what's gonna you know, that alone isn't what's going
to help you break out of this winter blues thing.
You know, part of it is just being mentally stimulated
and challenged and doing something. You know, being active mentally
(36:23):
and physically helps get us feeling better. It just naturally
does it. So do the research that you need to do,
and do it right now for that upcoming project. Make
you notes, you know, make your supply lists. If you've
got something to build, you can get a handle on
what you need. You know what cuts you'll need to make.
That's kind of fun to plan out. You know how
you're going to get that done. You can price out
your lumber, your supplies. Hopefully that will hold steady or
(36:45):
maybe go down, we don't know yet, but you can
price it out, kind of get an idea. You can
work on a schedule, you know, for when the project
should start. All of those things you know they need
to be done at some point when you're tackling a project,
and it's never much fun to do them, at least
you know, personally speaking, it's never fun for me to
do them when I'm literally ready to start the work.
(37:05):
So now's a perfect time. If you can't jump into
the project now, do that preliminary stuff. It's going to
help you out by giving you something to focus energy
on and brain power on. But it's also going to
help you out when you've actually got to start the
work and you've already accomplished it. You're not going to
feel inclined to speed through it and kind of short
change the planning because you just want to get to
the work. You can spend your time on the planning
(37:28):
now and do it right. And maybe that's not you,
maybe that's not how you roll, and you would have
done it right anyway. I am speaking to me there,
and I always shortchange the planning. I would be much
better off to do the planning now so that when
I'm ready to go, I've done it all right. There's
lots more. I mean, look around your house. There's all
kinds of projects. You could start your spring cleaning early.
(37:48):
You could start planning out your garden for the spring,
figure out what you need to do and when to
get those things moving. Lots of things you can tackle.
If painting isn't on your calendar now. Whatever you're going
to take though, I'd love to know what it is.
You know, let me know what you think you're going
to do to get through the winter blues and to
get through February. You can email me at radio at
(38:09):
repcoll Light dot com. Again, I'd love to hear what
you're working on. All right, that's going to do it.
If you want to catch this episode again, you can
find it online at repco light dot com. Just click
the on the radio tab on the homepage. And also,
if you love listening to YouTube podcasts, our show is
there as well. Just search at repco Lite Paints and
you can subscribe and you can ring the little bell
(38:30):
and every time a new episode drops, you'll be among
the first to know. You'll feel very elite, you'll feel
very informed, so check that out. Finally, we're on all
major podcast platforms as well, so Spotify, Apple Podcasts, you
name it. Check us out, and if you like the show,
please leave a five star review. That really helps us out. Okay,
(38:50):
whatever you do today makes your paints a part of it.
Have a great weekend everybody, and I'll see you next week.
I'm Dan Hansome. Thanks for listening.
Good morning, everybody. You're listening to the Repco Light Home
Improvement Show, the Repco lighte Home Improvement Show. I slurred
that I'm off to a bad start already. You're listening
to the Repco Light Home Improvement Show, sponsored by Benjamin Moore,
And yeah, I'm off to a bad start because it's February, right.
It's the shortest month of the whole stinking year in days,
(00:23):
but it is the longest month to have to endure.
You know, for me, I thoroughly detest February. I can't
think of anything good about it. And every time I
say that, my daughter Tessa objects because it's her birthday month. Tessa,
It's not not you, you know, it's not because of
you that I hate February. I hate February because it's
(00:43):
dark and cold and snowy, you know, all those things.
They're like crazy cozy and cool when Christmas is coming.
I didn't mind it then, or even when January was here,
you know, the snow's kind of new at that point.
I don't think I didn't hate it yet at that point.
But now now we've had it for a while and
I'm done, pretty much done with it, you know, Taking
(01:05):
the dogs out in the cold weather stinks. There are
fun things to do. I get that, plenty of fun
things to do, But taking the dogs out that stinks
because it's on their timetable. They tell us when we're
taking them out. We don't get to choose. They announce,
and if we don't take them out, well we all
know how that goes. The cars always frozen solid. The
(01:25):
windshield wipers, they've always got ice on them, ice clumps.
Can't get them off because I can't reach them. You know,
most people probably can just reach up and snap those off.
For me, No, I need a reach and stick and
a ladder and I still can't reach them. It's a truck.
I'm short, so I've got all of that to deal with, thankfully.
You know. One thing in my favor, I'm lactose intolerant.
(01:47):
If that wasn't the case, I'd spend all of my
February evenings sitting on the couch with an ice cream
container in a spoon. That's how I'd spend my nights.
Managed to avoid ice cream because of the lactose intolerance.
But Tessa, you know, the February birthday girl. She loves
to bake and she's been cranking out one thing after another.
(02:08):
You know, sometimes I wander into the kitchen. Maybe this
happens to you too. I wander into the kitchen with
good intentions and then I find, you know, baked goods,
and before I know it, you know, a half hour's
gone by. I'm sitting on the floor with a bread
pan half full of banana bread. Now I've got a
butter knife and a vat of butter next to me.
There's usually a pile of cookies nearby, and I'm surrounded
(02:30):
by dogs who are looking at me like hungry wolves
as I try to protect my snacks, you know, from
their greedy eyes. Now, some nights, if the house is silent,
I am one hundred percent convinced that I can hear,
you know, if I really listen, I can hear the
fat growing, you know, around my stomach. Kids say, I'm
nuts about that, but I don't know anyway. There you go.
(02:52):
That's just a little bit of insight into the insanity
that occurs in my brain when I've been shutting the
house for a lengthy peer of time. And I'm sure
you probably don't feel exactly the same way, but maybe
parts of that are familiar. What we're dealing with is
seasonal effective disorder, or SAD as i'll call it the
rest of the show. Most likely this is going to
(03:14):
be the saddest episode of the year, So just buckle
up for that. But bump bump jing anyway, SAD. I'm
sure you've heard about it ad nauseum over the last
week or two, but I'm going to just pile on.
You know, it's what everybody's talking about right now. It's
a mood disorder. If you're completely living under a rock
and you have no idea what SAD is, it's a
mood disorder that kind of leaves you feeling blah and
(03:36):
down during certain times of the year, most often during
the fall or winter when daylight hours are shorter. You know, basically,
it's the good old winter blues, just relabeled. I'm dealing
with it. I'm betting a number of you are as well.
Maybe you don't have full blown SAD where you're seriously down,
but I'm betting most of us are feeling a little
bit of a pinch around this time of year. And so,
(03:58):
like I said, that's going to be the focus of
the show this week, and we're going to talk about
some of the ways out of these February doldrums, you know,
the winter blues, Ways to stop being sad. That's the
whole point today. So all of that's coming up, but
let's start with a deeper look at SAD seasonal effective
disorder SAD. And honestly, I was kind of surprised to
(04:19):
find that the concept goes back to ancient times. Hippocrates
an ancient Greek physician who's often referred to as the
father of medicine, you know, the Hippocratic oath, right, Hippocrates
noticed how the seasons affected mental health. He was probably
sitting around, you know, eating ice cream on the couch
one February, and he thought, Man, wait a minute, this
(04:42):
isn't normal. This isn't me. I'm grumpy, you know, Normally
I'm the life of the party. I'm Hippocrates. Everybody wants
to hang around with me. Why am I down in
the dumps? But it's got something to do with the seasons.
And I'm pretty sure something like that happened. He came
up with the idea fourth century BC. In the second
century BC, Greco Roman physicians treated depression and lethargy by
(05:07):
directing sunlight toward the eyes, you know, and that was
an early form of light therapy. Additionally, the Greek philosopher Possidonius,
I have no idea if that's right. Who cares, he's
been dead for a long time. It's close enough. Possidonius
observed that there's melancholy occurring in autumn and there's mania
(05:27):
in the summer. You know. That explains my entire life.
Melancholy in the autumn and winter, many of the rest
of the time. But still, even with all of those
early observations, it wasn't until nineteen eighty four that the
term seasonal effective disorder SAD was formally introduced by psychiatrist
Norman E. Rosenthal and his colleagues at the National Institute
(05:49):
of Mental Health. They described SAD as a syndrome characterized
by recurrent depressions occurring annually at the same time each year.
All right, so that's SAD. SAD affects a significant portion
of the population, and of course it gets worse and
more widespread depending on your location. Makes perfect sense. In
the United States, the national average of people affected by SAD.
(06:11):
What do you think that is? National average of people
affected by SAD in the US. What percentage give you
a second to think about it, it's six percent. Six
percent of the people nationally on average are affected by SAD,
So that's not really that bad, right. Ninety four percent
of us are unaffected or only mildly affected, so that's
pretty good. Our chances are good. But hold on, that's
(06:34):
the US average. We live in Michigan, and while Michigan
is absolutely a splendid place to live most of the time,
it turns out that, according to research from Michigan State University,
between twenty and forty percent of Michigan residents experienced SAD
symptoms during the winter months. So it's a huge bump
over the national average. But really, you know, it shouldn't
(06:56):
surprise us. Our geographical location results in shorter daylight hours
and prolonged, prolonged periods of overcast guys during the winter,
so obviously we're going to see an uptick in SAD
cases in Michigan. On top of all of that info,
one last thing to throw at you. Women are more
likely to be affected than men, So Michigan women, look out.
(07:18):
And by saying that, Michigan men, you be on your
guard as well, because things could get dicey, just be
careful out there, all right. So that's sad and a
tiny portion of the history behind it. The common symptoms,
they're no surprise to us. In fact, this list pretty
much reads like a journal entry. For me. Symptoms are
persistent low mood, loss of interest in activities once enjoyed,
(07:40):
low energy and fatigue. Changes in sleep patterns such as oversleeping,
changes in appetite, you know, normally changes in the positive direction,
meaning I want more food, I want more carbs, difficulty concentrating.
I have no idea what I was even talking about.
You know, see it's happening right now. Feelings of hopelessness
or worthlessness. We should just pull the plug on the show.
(08:03):
There's no point anymore. I don't have it anymore, you know.
That's sad. That's all of what's going on now. When
it comes to treating sad, there's a lot of different options,
including light therapy. There's cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, you know,
all kinds of different things. But today what I want
to focus on and talk about are some things that
you can try without medicating. I mean, really some simple
(08:25):
things that you can do today that might help you
a lot. If you're feeling bummed out by winter at
this point, and the first thing that I want to
highlight is the importance of maximizing the natural light that
you're getting. You know, natural light helps alleviate sad because
it directly influences several biological and psychological processes that regulate mood, sleep,
and energy levels. And really, to me, that all sounds
(08:47):
like mush, you know, so let's break it down. It's
really pretty fascinating when you dig into it and you
see how our bodies are designed to work. Anyway, First,
natural light helps regulate circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms sounds like
an Enyu song, But here's the scoop. Our bodies have
an internal clock or circadian rhythm, and that regulates our
(09:08):
sleep cycles, It regulates hormone release, it regulates other other
bodily functions. You're picking up what I'm putting down, you know, Grandma,
Grandma always reverted to coleslaw as the solution for that.
Maybe she just needed more natural light, who knows. Who knows? Anyway,
circadian rhythms regulate a lot of things in natural light
(09:29):
is the primary queue that keeps this rhythm synchronized. You know,
in winter, shorter days and reduced sunlight disrupt circadian rhythms,
and that leads to fatigue and mood swings, difficulty concentrating,
on and on and on. Exposure to natural light, especially
in the morning, helps reset that circadian clock and then
it realigns us, you know, with the day night cycle,
(09:49):
and it improves our overall mood and energy. So all
good stuff, All right, that's just one thing natural light does.
There are tons more. For example, it also stimulates the
brain's production of serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that plays
a key role in regulating our moods. Low serotonin levels
are linked to depression, anxiety, lethargy. All of that sunlighting exposure,
(10:12):
particularly through the eyes, activates areas of the brain that
control serotonin production, and then we feel a little bit happier,
so that's all good. Third, it reduces overproduction of melatonin. Now,
melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate sleep. It's naturally
produced when it's dark, signaling the body to prepare for rest.
In winter, Longer nights and reduce daylight cause an overproduction
(10:34):
of melatonin, and all we want to do is rest
and sleep. Exposure to natural light during the day suppresses
this melatonin production and it helps us feel more wake
you know, more energized. Fourth, and finally, sunlight triggers the
skin to produce vitamin D, which is essential for all
kinds of things. We know how good that is, So
sunlight helps, but how often do we get that in Michigan. Well,
(10:57):
there's good news that I kind of found surprising. It
turns out out that while sunlight, of course, really is
absolutely the ideal here when dealing with sad, even being
outside on a gray, cloudy day can be profoundly helpful.
So you don't have to wait for that one sunny
day every other week, you know, to get out there
and get some benefit from this. Get outside today even
(11:19):
if it's gray. And last thing I'll say in this segment,
if the outdoor exposure isn't feasible for you, you just can't
get outside. Not gonna happen. Try to increase your natural
light indoors by opening blinds, sitting your windows, stuff like that.
You know that alone, even those things can help improve
your mood a little bit. So try those things. All right,
(11:40):
that's the beginning of our super Sad episode. We're going
to take a break. When we come back, we're going
to look at the power of paint to help influence
your mood and cheer up your home. That's all next
stick around and we're back. You're listening to the Repco
Light Home Improvement Show sponsored by Benjamin Moore, and we're
(12:03):
working our way through the saddest episode of the year.
It's our deep dive into sad seasonal effective disorder. And yeah,
pretty much every week on the show. You know, the
way I roll is, I tend to try to want
to solve my problems, you know, the problems that I'm
encountering at home and in life, and I want to
do them on work time. It just really really works
(12:25):
well for me to do that. This week's no different.
You know, I generally love Winner, but this part of
it right now, February especially, it starts to hit me,
you know a little bit. I get a little grumpy,
a little bit sad, a little slumpy, you know, and
all I want to do is eat stuff. I know
that's a common experience, and as we saw last segment,
(12:46):
up to forty percent of Michiganders suffer to some degree
or another from the winter blues. Now last segment we
talked about what it is, you know, what's sad is
the history behind it. We also talked about how natural
lighting is incredibly effective at how helping us feel better
in the long dark month of February that's now looming
in front of us. All right, that's what we talked
(13:07):
about last segment. Now let's look at another tool at
our disposal when it comes to fighting sad paint. And
of course it sounds self serving, but it's actually just
good community service. You know that I'm dishing out here.
You know, I'm endlessly selfless and giving. Those are truly
my biggest character flaws. You know, I just care and
I love too much. It's how I am. And I
(13:30):
want everybody out there to just realize that paint is
the answer to pretty much most of life's dilemmas. So
just remember that paint heals all wounds. In fact, you
probably you know, I'm not bossing you, but it probably
wouldn't hurt if you would repeat that phrase to yourself,
you know, forty fifty times an hour, you know, throughout
(13:52):
the day, paint from Repcoalite heels all wounds. Just kind
of chant it to yourself. It's not weird. You know,
you don't even need to question it. It's not a cult,
nothing to worry about. It's just good mental health. So
think about it, you know, you do you anyway, it's
mostly a joke, mostly a joke, but paint and color
really do play a vital role in influencing our emotions.
(14:12):
You know. Colors, for example, hold remarkable power over our emotions,
and the right hues can really counteract the downer moods
that we feel, you know, around this time of year.
And we talk about it all the time on the show,
and I know for a fact that some of you
are nodding your heads and you're completely you know, in agreement,
agreement with what I'm talking about here. Others are thinking
(14:33):
that this whole thing's a little silly, you know, it's
color psychology, and you think it's a little nuts, And
I get it. You know, that's usually usually my knee
jerk response to stuff like that as well, you know,
normally that's how I roll. It feels fo fou, it
feels weird. But in this case, it's you know, really true. Businesses,
marketing experts, designers, all of them, you know, and more
take advantage of color psychology. All the time, in products,
(14:57):
in packaging, in color schemes and advertise. Colors have an
impact on us, a huge impact on our behaviors and
our moods, even though we don't always clue in to
what's happening. It's a thing. So take advantage of it
and use it in your home and in your space
to help create the mood and atmosphere that you want.
You know, for example, warm colors like yellow, orange and
(15:18):
light red, they radiate energy and happiness. You know, you
just feel pumped, You're in a good mood when you're
surrounded by those colors. It just works for you. It's
like when you eat potatoes. You know, at least at
my house, we can all sit down at the table
in a grumpy mood. But if we have potatoes of
any kind, you know, boil a mash them, stick them
in a stew, any kind of potato. Whenever we eat that,
(15:38):
there's just something magical, you know, that happens in me
and in the children, and everybody becomes pleasant and strangely jovial. Afterwards,
allow me to clear the dishes for you, father, whilst
you draw your bath. You know, it happens. I don't
know why, they should serve potatoes every time world leaders
gather to discuss peace. Potatoes, healing root. I don't know
(16:03):
what exactly they're a root anyway. Anyway, Warmer hues are
like potatoes, let's get back to that. They bring the
happy and the energy. You know, picture of soft buttery
yellow on your walls. It doesn't have to be a bright,
crazy yellow, just a warm, soft yellow. It gives the
vibe of sunshine. You know, the room feels happy no
matter what's going on outside. It's like you painted, you know,
(16:23):
some sunshine on your walls, and even the most extreme
Michigan weather can't take that away, right, it can't steal
that from you. It's yours, You've got it. These warmer
tones are particularly effective in shared spaces like kitchens, living rooms,
you know, maybe dining rooms even, you know, places where
vibrancy and cheer and energy are usually what you're going
for a right. On the other hand, cool colors, such
(16:46):
as light blues, soft greens, and lavenders, they provide a
sense of calm and relaxation that helps ease anxiety and stress.
You know, blues, for example, they're considered almost universally calming
because we associate them with the sky and with water.
Blue bedroom can help promote tranquility and restless sleep, you know,
an escape from the ironically named winter. Blues. Soft greens, lavenders,
(17:08):
they do the same kind of thing. They bring calm
and peace, and one of the reasons they do it
is because they're linked, you know, permanently in our minds
to spring, you know, plants and trees coming to life,
flowers blooming. You know. Try it. Picture a muted lavender
color and green in your mind, and chances are you
feel kind of a spring vibe happening right up there
in your noggin right now. And there's just no way
(17:31):
that a spring vibe in your brain is going to
play out in a negative manner this time of year.
You know. It's an infusion of hope. That's color psychology,
and there's way more to it, but we've only got
so much time. Just remember how it works and how
it plays out when it comes to choosing your paint colors.
But also one other thing to remember here is that
a specific color on a wall can literally help you
(17:53):
brighten up a space. You know, not just impact you psychologically,
but literally help you brighten up a space. Lighter tones
off whites, pastels, light neutrals. All of those can reflect
natural light, making rooms feel you know, more open, more expansive,
more inviting. Pairing a warm white on the walls with
light colored furniture, all of that works really well to
create an airy, fresh environment that kind of feels spacious
(18:16):
and full of possibility, even when the days are short
and gray. All right, sounds like me, short and gray.
I'm getting older after all. Anyway. The power of paint
to help lift moods, I told you it was a
real thing, you know, whether it's through color and atmosphere
or whether it's just helping you brighten up a dim space,
paint can help you lift the mood a little bit.
(18:36):
So keep that in mind. But what if you don't
want to paint an entire room or large sections of
your home. What if that's just not in the budget
right now? What if you don't have time to do that. Well,
let's take a break. When we come back, we're going
to talk about some small projects that will help you
infuse a little happy and warmth into your home without
breaking the bank or taking days to accomplish. That's all next,
and stick around. Well, winter can be a lot of fun.
(19:03):
You know, I feel a little bit bad I've been
kind of trashing winter in the last little bit here.
But winter can be fun. I want to try to
redeem it a little bit and maybe redeem myself. You're
listening to the Repco Lighte Home improvement show sponsored by
Benjamin Moore, And yeah, winter can be fun, you know, hiking, sledding, skiing,
all of that's fun. Just resting with a book, you know,
(19:25):
maybe a cup of coffee, a mug of coffee, some tea,
you know, maybe just resting with an entire plate of
cookies while you stream the Lord of the Rings movies
back to back to back and then start them over again.
You know, winter can be great, but it can also
be a little bit rough, right, a little bit rough.
That's not news to anybody. I'm not going too far there.
(19:46):
The days are shorter, the skies are often gray, and
for tons of us, you know, it kind of just
feels like the energy has been sucked out of our soul.
But what if there was a way to brighten things up,
you know, literally and figuratively, to suck that energy back
into our soul somehow. That's what we're talking about in
(20:08):
the next couple segments, small creative projects that can help
you combat you know, seasonal effective disorder or sad and
kind of suck some of that energy back into your soul.
These projects are meant to be quick, inexpensive, and perfect
ways to bring vibrant, uplifting colors into your home. I
know right off the bat that they're not going to
be for everybody out there. You know, not every single
(20:28):
one of these is going to be, you know, a
winner in your book. But I am thinking that everybody's
going to find one or two that might spark your
interest and use these projects as jumping off points, right,
don't just consider them complete solutions. And you know what
I just said, what Dan just said is no good.
I don't. I don't care about that. Take the concepts
or the ideas in each project and see if you
(20:50):
can apply it to a space or situation in your
home where it could work. You know, get creative. And
that's truly half of the medicine here is getting creative.
All right. My first first recommendation is to paint the
inside of your closet. And there's just something cool about
this project that makes it worth considering. Even though I
know it probably sounds dumb, right, paint the inside of
(21:12):
your closet. Why in the world would you do that?
The color's mostly hidden, you know, it's completely counterintuitive. I mean,
most of the time the door is shut, you never
see it. What's the point. Well, the point is that
because the color's hidden most of the time, you're free
to experiment with colors that you might normally not want
to try, you know, throughout the rest of your home.
So you can go bold and you can pick something
(21:33):
that makes you happy regardless of how it plays out
in the rest of the room. You know, something that
might give you energy in the morning, and then every
time you open that closet door, you get this quick
burst of that color setting the tone for your day.
You know, it's like the color therapy thing every morning,
and then you just close the door and then your
room goes back to its usual look. It's a great
(21:54):
way to try something new without worrying about how it's
going to blend with everything else in your space. I
like it for that reason. And the second reason I
like it and think it's such a great project is
because it's personal. You know, it's yours. It's really personal.
It's your closet. It's not something that your guests or
even most of your family members probably see. It's just
for you. And why is that a big deal? You know, again,
(22:16):
maybe that sounds kind of dumb, but you can think
of it as kind of something, you know, extravagant, that
you did just for yourself. And I know how ridiculous
maybe that sounds. But we had a designer on the
show last year or the year before, I can't remember.
You know, I'm getting older and everything bleeds together. We
had this designer on the show who went all out
(22:37):
and wallpapered the inside of her closet, and she loved
how every single time she opened the door she'd see
this little, unexpected touch of design. She said it was
like adding a layer of thoughtfulness to a space that's
usually just practical and boring and playing. She said it
made her feel good about the whole room because even
these overlooked little spaces were getting some love. So think
(22:57):
about that. I don't know if that's right for you,
but it is an interesting concept, especially when we talked
about how the early part of your day, you know,
getting that energy right off the bat, right at the
beginning in the morning is helpful. What's better than the sun,
you know, the face of the sun in your closets
when you open the door, you know, it just beams
out on you and gives you third degree burns. Now,
(23:20):
we don't want that. That's extreme and exaggerated. But you
get the idea, all right. Painting the interior side of
your entry door. That's another fun way to add a
pop of color and boost the visual interest of your space.
And I know, like the other one, this isn't something
that works for every home. You know, some spaces are
just already busy, they got a lot going on. Adding
(23:40):
another color to the door might seem like overkill. It
might drive you nuts. So maybe this one isn't for you.
But if your entryway could use a little personality, this
is a really quick, high impact project to try. And
one of the nice things about painting an interior door
is that you can have some fun with it. Right,
You're not committing to a whole room, so you can
go bold. You can experiment with colors that energize the space.
(24:03):
You know, maybe a soft green for a sense of calm,
and a pale yellow, you know, touch of warmth, something
like that. Something unexpected. You know, an aqua, a bold
coral color. Who knows, I don't know. You know your space.
Color psychology can guide you here. Just pick a tone
that'll help set the mood for your space, and you
can brighten things up every time you walk through the door.
That's pretty cool. Another great thing about the project is
(24:25):
that it's low commitment. You know, you only need a
quart of paint to do this and an afternoon, you know,
an afternoon's worth of time to get it done. And
if you decide a few months down the road that
this is not quite the vibe you were going for,
it's a relatively easy fix. You know, it's just a
few more hours, a little more paint, Just grab a
different color and change it up. It's a simple way
to keep your space feeling fresh and inviting without a
(24:47):
lot of hassle. Not a lot of work there. And
while you're considering paint colors, don't forget to dig into
the different finishes orchines that are also available. Sometimes we
forget about those as we're looking at colors, but sheen,
you know how shiny a finishes can really make a
big difference with how a color is perceived. Shining your
finish on the door, then you typically might use can
(25:08):
really have a huge impact, you know, from a design
point of view, So keep that in mind. Don't forget
it's not just about color. The finish can also play in.
All right, here's a third idea, and this one's really weird.
I mean, if you thought the other two were weird,
buckle up, this one's really nuts. If painting an entire
door just isn't your thing, you don't want to do that.
You know you don't have a door. You know that's
(25:29):
possible too, where a bold new color might make sense.
What if you just paint the edge of a door.
It's an odd male idea, I get that, but it
can add a surprising little detail, you know, to your
space without completely changing the look of the room. You know,
here's what I'm getting at. You just paint the inside
or outside edge of your door. So when the door
is closed, it looks like any other door. I know
(25:51):
it's weird, but just picture it. When you open it,
you get this unexpected hint of color. You know, it's
a subtle accent. It's way out of the ordinary, and
it's in an incredibly unusual spot. So it's got a
lot going for it. It'll make a big impact, even
though there's not much of it there. I know it's
not for everybody. I don't have a door. I don't
think where I could use this effectively. I'm thinking very
(26:14):
quickly here. It's not my strong suit. Nothing's coming to mind.
I can't picture a door in my home where I
could do this and have you know, good results. But
maybe you do and could give it a try. When
it's done right, it can be really cool, and it's
a creative way to add a little personality, a little
extra personality to your home. Now, the best part, it's
super quick, it's inexpensive, crazy, low commitment. If you don't
(26:36):
love it, you can always repaint it, you know, and
return it to normal or go another direction, very very easily,
very very quickly. But when it does work, it's a
great way to add, you know, just a little extra
happy to your home without spending hardly any time or
money on it. And this is one of those projects
that I talked about earlier. I alluded to earlier where
I said, grab the idea of it and be creative
(26:58):
and make it your own. This idea here is using
an unexpected color in tiny proportions in an unexpected place.
That's the core concept here. If this particular project putting
it on the edge of the door, like I talked about,
if that's not cool with you at all, I mean
you're ready to throw the radio out the window. Just
put the radio down. Just take that concept and apply
(27:19):
it to something else in your home, some other place
where you could apply that exact same concept. All right,
let's take a break, and when we come back, I've
got a few more simple projects to tackle before we
wrap things up to the week. Stick around, and we're back.
You're listening to the Repcolite Home Improvement Show sponsored by
Benjamin Moore, and we're working our way through an episode
(27:43):
devoted entirely to the winter blues, to seasonal effective disorder,
to sad. It's been a sad episode, the saddest episode
of all time. I could go on forever. You get it.
Last segment, I started talking about some projects that you
can tackle that might help you bring some color into
your space, kind of bump your mood up a little bit,
(28:05):
make you feel a little better. And I got through
I think three of them. Something like that. I've got
a lot more so let's just keep going right where
I left off. How about this one color block a wall.
What I'm talking about is you basically take two or
three complementary colors and you use them to create a
geometric or abstract design on your wall. You know, it's
(28:25):
a bold choice, but it can instantly energize the space
and make it visually stimulating, which is perfect for areas
where you want to add a little creativity and fun.
And the beauty of this project, like a lot of
these other ones, is its versatility. You can go as
simple or as intricate as you really want. In this instance,
maybe it's a series of triangles or rectangles in complementary colors,
(28:47):
or maybe you lean into some abstract, free flowing pattern
And the best part of all of this is it's
really personal. It's really creative. You get to design something
unique to your space that reflects your own style. On
top of that, it doesn't need to take over an
entire room. You know, a single accent wall or even
just a small section of a wall can make a
(29:09):
huge impact without you know, feeling overwhelming. And like a
lot of the other projects that we talked about, it's
low commitment for the most part. If you tire of
the design, or you decide to try something new down
the road. It's really pretty simple to do a quick
sanding and paint over the whole thing. But for now,
it can be a great way to infuse your space
with energy, creativity, and a little extra you know, a
(29:32):
little extra happy, which I think we all want that
little extra happy, especially since we're heading into February, the
unhappiest month on the calendar. If you're going to go
this route, inch and a half frog tape is on
sale all month long at Repcolite and frog Tape if
you haven't used it before. It's chemically formulated to give
(29:54):
you a razor sharp edge when you make your designs
and paint up to it. It's over four dollars off
per role, so check that out all right. If you've
got stairs in your home, here's a fun and unique
project to consider. What about painting the risers. It's a
simple way to turn a functional part of your home
something you don't even really pay attention to, to turn that
(30:14):
into this you know, kind of cheerful focal point that
adds personality and energy and pizzazz just a wonderful word.
It's very fun to say, I recommend it. Everybody say
it pizzazz, adding pizzazz to your space. The idea is,
you know, ridiculously straightforward. You choose, you know, a series
of colors that either flow, you know, seamlessly from one
(30:37):
to the next, kind of like a gradient. You could
do that. A lot of different colors work in their
way up. It takes a little more, a little more
thought there to pull that one off, but it can
look really cool. Or you can just go with a
single color on each one, you know, the same color
on each stair you know, that's still really cool. What's
great about this project is that it works in all
kinds of staircases. You know, if you've got an enclosed
(30:58):
staircase in need of a refrah, it works. If you've
got a more open design where the risers are already
on display, it can work in that space. And because
you're only painting the risers, you know, not the treads,
not the walls or anything, it's manageable, it's low cost,
hardly takes you anytime at all the complete and yet
it's got this really cool payoff at the end. All right,
(31:18):
So there's another idea, another fantastic way to add a
pop a color to your home. One of my favorites
is by painting, you know, just a small piece of furniture.
You know, think of that old desk or table or
whatever it is collecting dust in your attic. You know,
maybe it's something you picked up at a thrift store
with a little bit of potential. You know, it's a
fun project that can completely transform a piece into a
(31:40):
statement piece while adding personality to the space, you know,
to your home. The great thing about this, one of
the great things about this is that you don't need,
you know, to paint the whole piece to make an impact.
You know, sometimes painting just the drawer fronts or the
top in bold or cheerful colors while leaving the rest
of it wood stained or natural. By just painting the pieces,
(32:01):
you can create this really striking contrast that can feel
really fresh and modern in the space. Even if the
piece you know, is quite old or antique or whatever,
it's got a really cool vibe. You know, you're bridging
multiple periods by bringing in modern colors with an older piece.
A lot's going on, you know, a sunny yellow desktop
paired with rich wood tones or teal drawer fronts on
(32:24):
a walnut dresser. All of those things can add just
the right amount of vibrancy without overpowering the room. And
the project is perfect for experimenting with color because it's
on such a small scale, you know, and it's low commitment. Again,
if you love the result, great, If you don't, you
can always repaint it or try something different down the road.
It's also budget friendly. It's going to require just a
(32:44):
small amount of paint and a little bit of time.
It's ideal for a weekend project. And yet again, the
payoff is so huge. You know, you're going to be
posting pictures of this thing all over social media because
it's just got that cool of a look going. So
think about that, look into that And if you don't
have that piece of furniture to paint right now, just
sitting waiting, ready to go, well, you can add to
(33:06):
the fun of the whole process, the journey of it,
the adventure of it by heading out to various thrift stores,
antique stores, whatever, you know, go on the search to
find the piece that you can bring in and who
knows what you can do with it. Get creative, all right.
So that's another idea, another simple project with A huge
impact is to brighten up shelving or open cabinets by
(33:28):
painting the back panels. Right. We talk about this a lot.
I'm sure you've seen it everywhere. It's a quick way
to add vibrancy to your space while also making your
decor stand out. You know, there's a lot of cool
stuff going on. Even though this is an older idea,
you know, I love it because you don't need to
commit to painting an entire room or even a full
piece of furniture. You're just focusing on the back panels
(33:48):
of your shelves or your cabinets, you know, those often
overlooked spots, and then you're transforming them. It's super straightforward.
The project works really well in kitchens, living rooms, you know,
home office can be really cool pretty much anywhere you've
got shelving or open storage that could use you know,
a little bit of personality. And because you're only painting
this small area, it's an easy, easy, easy afternoon project
(34:12):
that requires minimal paint again, you know, in fact, most
of these are probably a quart of paint. I would
think it the most. I don't think maybe the color
blocking on the wall depends on how big you make
your patterns. But most of these are really just a
quart of paint and then a few hours worth of work,
so very minimal buy in, but a huge impact and
payoff down the road if you do it right, and
(34:34):
do it well, bring in the right colors. It's a
good way to go, all right. One last paint idea.
It's been around for ages. I still think it's kind
of cool. I think it really could be especially cool
in a kid's room. But paint the headboard directly under
the wall in the bedroom. You know, it's quick, it's
low cost, you don't need hardly any paint or time. Again,
it's just a quart of paint, but the impact can
(34:56):
be huge, and you've got this opportunity to be really
creative and to stretch boundaries. You know, you can go
in any direction here, you know, any color. It's a
small area. A lot of fun you can have with this,
and it's easy to change down the road if you
do decide to update the core or you know, go
with a different look entirely. You know you've got no
commitment there quick standing and you're ready to go and
(35:18):
repaint over it. So there are a bunch I don't know,
eight maybe paint projects for you to think about. And
if you're looking to refresh your space and brighten your mood,
stop by your closest Repcolite paints will gladly help you
choose colors that are tailored to exactly what you need
for your home and your situation, but which will also
help you achieve the atmosphere and the vibe that you're
(35:40):
trying to achieve in your projects. So definitely stop by,
talk to us, Bring pictures, you know, whatever you've got
that will help us envision your vision and then will
help you bring it to life. Now, maybe none of
these little projects really speak to you, Maybe none of
them have an appeal, you know, maybe you've got something
bigger down the road that you really need to budget for. Well,
(36:00):
if that's you, you can still use this time. Here's
something you can do. I use this time to plan
for that upcoming project. Now, I keep saying it, but
it's not just about putting paint on a wall. That's
not what's gonna you know, that alone isn't what's going
to help you break out of this winter blues thing.
You know, part of it is just being mentally stimulated
and challenged and doing something. You know, being active mentally
(36:23):
and physically helps get us feeling better. It just naturally
does it. So do the research that you need to do,
and do it right now for that upcoming project. Make
you notes, you know, make your supply lists. If you've
got something to build, you can get a handle on
what you need. You know what cuts you'll need to make.
That's kind of fun to plan out. You know how
you're going to get that done. You can price out
your lumber, your supplies. Hopefully that will hold steady or
(36:45):
maybe go down, we don't know yet, but you can
price it out, kind of get an idea. You can
work on a schedule, you know, for when the project
should start. All of those things you know they need
to be done at some point when you're tackling a project,
and it's never much fun to do them, at least
you know, personally speaking, it's never fun for me to
do them when I'm literally ready to start the work.
(37:05):
So now's a perfect time. If you can't jump into
the project now, do that preliminary stuff. It's going to
help you out by giving you something to focus energy
on and brain power on. But it's also going to
help you out when you've actually got to start the
work and you've already accomplished it. You're not going to
feel inclined to speed through it and kind of short
change the planning because you just want to get to
the work. You can spend your time on the planning
(37:28):
now and do it right. And maybe that's not you,
maybe that's not how you roll, and you would have
done it right anyway. I am speaking to me there,
and I always shortchange the planning. I would be much
better off to do the planning now so that when
I'm ready to go, I've done it all right. There's
lots more. I mean, look around your house. There's all
kinds of projects. You could start your spring cleaning early.
(37:48):
You could start planning out your garden for the spring,
figure out what you need to do and when to
get those things moving. Lots of things you can tackle.
If painting isn't on your calendar now. Whatever you're going
to take though, I'd love to know what it is.
You know, let me know what you think you're going
to do to get through the winter blues and to
get through February. You can email me at radio at
(38:09):
repcoll Light dot com. Again, I'd love to hear what
you're working on. All right, that's going to do it.
If you want to catch this episode again, you can
find it online at repco light dot com. Just click
the on the radio tab on the homepage. And also,
if you love listening to YouTube podcasts, our show is
there as well. Just search at repco Lite Paints and
you can subscribe and you can ring the little bell
(38:30):
and every time a new episode drops, you'll be among
the first to know. You'll feel very elite, you'll feel
very informed, so check that out. Finally, we're on all
major podcast platforms as well, so Spotify, Apple Podcasts, you
name it. Check us out, and if you like the show,
please leave a five star review. That really helps us out. Okay,
(38:50):
whatever you do today makes your paints a part of it.
Have a great weekend everybody, and I'll see you next week.
I'm Dan Hansome. Thanks for listening.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.