Ireland AM presenter Muireann O’Connell was delighted with herself after giving her sitting room the sugar soap treatment.
Muireann took fans with her on the journey through her Instagram story as she encouraged any renters to find quirky ways to redecorate.
Joking that she ‘can’t be as bad at painting’ as she is ‘at cooking’, Muireann relflected on a funny family memory of the last time she painted.
Spot the newbie. Haven’t painted since I was about 20 and that was with my dad shouting instructions at me. Huge shoutout to Kieran in @woodies ireland on the Naas Road in Dublin.
‘Kieran was so sound, helped me with everything and it was just great customer service. Not an ad. I paid for this. Also got to use the shakey paint machine. The thrill. Feel like someone out of Room to Improve,’ she said.
Sugar soap is a mixture of formulas used to clean walls for the purpose of decorating them. The initial coating had Muireann feeling like the walls had been the victims of a ‘dirty protest’.
A later snap showed Muireann’s ‘chill out zone’ covered in various equipment she was using on her redecorating mission. Overcoming ‘a freak attack’, she was delighted to see it was ‘actually working’.
After telling him earlier in the day to take his time arriving home from work, Muireann’s fiancé helped her with the sugar soaping.
Explaining her reasoning for the makeover, Muireann said: ‘This is how bad the walls were after the sugar soap wash. We have no vents, black mould and the place hasn’t been painted since we moved in.
‘Landlord seems lovely but we don’t wanna rock the boat by asking for stuff. Renters know what’s up… Lighting is crap but it’s like a different room. I feel so powerful… c’mere Putin and I beat the head off ya.’
Muireann concluded her mission by giving an insight into the perks of sugar soap and advising renters to be creative with their homes.
‘It’s just cleaning the wall which a lot of people do before painting anyway. This dislodges the grime, if you have it. Also apparently great for just cleaning the wall, even if you’re not painting.
‘There are a million posts and websites about it. It took no time at all. Half an hour to make the paint go on better. Again, where we live has no ventilation. Don’t let it put you off. Pure quick… We have dehumidifiers on the go 24/7. We have windows and salt in bowls. We prefer not to say things to our landlord. That’s our decision.
‘We’d like them not to know we exist so we’re not kicked out. Landlord is lovely: We’ve been here so long we’re basically squatters. I’m 39 and a renter. There are loads of us! I should have redecorated years ago. Power to the redecorating renters,’ she said.
