Doing a house up on a budget..........

arkonite_babe · 25 August 2005 at 11:31PM

Any advice / tips for doing up your home on a tight budget??

We've moved into our home a few weeks ago and due to having to replace the central heating and some radiators, amongst other things, we are now on a tight budget for redecorating etc.

My nearest Ikea is in Scotland, so that's out for cheap items or accessories for finising a room.

Any ideas??

Edinburghlass_2 · 25 August 2005 at 11:34PM

It was only £15 for me to post a pc to Pink, so start that Ikea shopping list and I'll go shopping

elona · 25 August 2005 at 11:35PM

Charity shops and car boot sales or else antique sales?

Pink. · 26 August 2005 at 12:04AM

Ark,

When you're next in Belfast pop into Wyse Byes (Newtownards Rd) I got some really lovely furniture for dd's room there a couple of weeks ago.........good quality and not flat-pack :j Wardrobe, desk/dressing table, bedside cabinet all came to £160, delivered.

It's not somewhere I'd usually think of shopping.........I was out looking for furniture and spotted just what I wanted in the window as I drove past. It's an interesting shop :rolleyes: , some really nice things mixed up with some really tacky stuff! But it all seemed like good value.

Pink

arkonite_babe · 26 August 2005 at 12:10AM

Thanks! So far I'm going to start on the kitchen first. It's a disgusting shade of coffee (really has to go!) I'm not too bad in that we have all our bits and bobs, it's more ideas on how to re-decorate on a budget

Right, who know the winning lottery numbers for Saturday night

dooj · 26 August 2005 at 3:11PM

You could make up your own paint by buying lots of cheap white then adding smaller tins of colour paint to create different shades of paint but make sure you make enough cos it may be difficult to match any you mix twice. Ask friend and relatives if they have half tins of paint for wood tiles etc, in my experience people have half tins or open tins of allsorts lying about which they are only too happy for you to use up, me and my mam do this all the time we dont buy any paint untill we check what the other has.
Also check out the £ shops they sometimes get paint, varnish and floor paint in stock. I did my whole sitting room floor floorboards in pound shop floor dye and varnish it cost me about £7.00 how chuffed was I.
Thats another tip sand and varnish floor boards instead of having carpets.

kroome · 26 August 2005 at 6:24PM

also on tight budget, but managed to scrounge my kitchen units from friend of a friend who was having new kitchen fitted carcasses are excellent and have replaced doors, hinges, handles and fitted worktops ouselves.

weekendwarrior · 27 August 2005 at 1:45PM

Hi,

There is some useful advice on this website for DIY, which can save you lots of money. I have checked out most of the DIY websites and this seems to be one of the better ones as it is not full of advertisements and it is all explained in plain english!

check out this page first which shows how much a plumber would charge to fix certain problems (according to united utilities)
http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/PLUMB_COST.htm

Here is the link to the home page, should save you a small fortune!

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/

christmas_fairy_3 · 29 August 2005 at 10:14PM

I know its a bit sad but try your local tip! they always keep back the really good items, and some still are allowed to sell the items on.
when we were doing uo our bathroom on a budget we bought a perfectly good sink for £4, and some taps for £2.50 that just needed a bit of elbow grease. I have also liberated a few bits of furniture before my local tip was stopped from selling items to the public.
Worth a try anyway? Also try Ebay, many good items to be found, I just bought a leather recliner for £50!

elfmay · 14 September 2005 at 6:56PM

Regards accessories? I couldn't find reasonable priced pictures for a room when i decorated. If they were cheap I hated them, if I loved them the price was scandalous! :rolleyes: I ended up buying 3 blank canvas's from a local art shop, a few tester pots of paint and made my own!!! Cost less than £20!!!! And everyone asks where I got them from!

Doing a house up on a budget..........

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