Need help Decorating!

jazzyjustlaw · 13 August 2005 at 11:36AM

I have lived in my flat for ten years. I have decorated it a few times but the last time I decorated my front room was 7 years ago. The main reason is it is 21 ft long and the walls are not great underneath the wall covering. My other half is in debt and I have been studying for the last 10 years to progress my career (have only been working the last 3 years full-time). I have also been learning to drive to decorating has taken a back seat. Some parts of the flat have been really hard to decorate as we do not own it we have been limited in what we can do. The kitchen, hall, bedrooms, toilet and bathrooms are okay - not great but okay.

I need to decorate my front room because desperately needs doing but I also desperately need furniture. We have bought some new things but still need to do a lot. I feel it is really bad not doing it for 7 years but I thought I would have bought somewhere of our own by now, we hope to in the next few years. If we do decorate it will have to be on an extremely thrifty budget as we are not on the best of incomes and as I mentioned my OH has £16,000 worth of debts.

Please forgive me for the next bit - all my friends have posh houses and they are big - I know its wrong but I often feel inadequate.

Any ideas?

squeaky · 13 August 2005 at 12:45PM

I've seen loads of decorating and style ideas posted on "In my house" including sites where you can "see" what your final effects will look like.

There are some real enthusiasts over there who will be able to help you out a great deal

Personally I'd use a ten quid bucket of white paint and have done with it - but I'll move this across from Old Style and see what the pro's can come up with

crossleydd42 · 13 August 2005 at 12:46PM

With the sort of debts you/OH have, you must cut your coat according to the cloth, so new furniture is out! Decorating the front room, will, of its own accord, spruce EVERTHING up, including the furniture. Could you revarnish/paint some of the furniture, or put a cheap throwover on the couch?

Hints on decor - use matt emulsion - it hides imperfections in walls. White is probably cheapest: you could put a colour band around the room to make a good contrast. Or use a light pastel shade. Buying cheap emulsion is a false economy (not a principle I usually believe in!), but own-brand Homebase ones are resonable and good - wait until one of their 10% discount days comes - probably the August Bank Holiday is next.

I'm sorry for how you feel and wish I could lift the cloud you obviously labour under. I hope that cheering up a very sad-looking room will help a little.

Count your blessings - hopefully you've both got good health, if not wealth. Maybe you'll get some luck others around you have had. Could one/both of you get a little evening job to bring a touch more money in to get the debts down (top priority) so that you can buy some more furniture.

All the best

jazzyjustlaw · 13 August 2005 at 1:12PM

Wow thanks. I must admit I do have a little trouble with imagining what a room could look like. I am always so impressed with what other people do. i could not for example walk into a run down house and see its potential.

I must also mention that my OH wont let me get a job to pay for his debts and I wont push it because he wont face reality and often gets charged late fees!

Plus I have a hand that had to be sewn up after an accident so I cannot use it for prolonged periods and he is a sloppy decorated against my hopes for being a prefectionist.

Oh and sorry Squeaky, I always put things in the wrong place. Please forgive me.

squeaky · 13 August 2005 at 1:40PM

jazzyjustlaw wrote:

Oh and sorry Squeaky, I always put things in the wrong place. Please forgive me.

That's OK

Not a problem.

cattie · 13 August 2005 at 1:57PM

My local & excellent diy store do a huge 10 litre tub of Dulux matt or vinyl paint for £25. Available in a range of the "Hints" colours, which they mix for you, or the standard white or magnolia. It's lovely paint to work with, not messy like the cheaper rubbish & unless you are going over a dark wall will only need one coat. It's definitely worth checking out the independent stores before going to any of the big superstores as they call themselves. Their prices are rarely super, especially B&Q.

se999 · 13 August 2005 at 2:21PM

Are you signed up for freecycle yet, http://www.freecycle.org/ , normally you have to list something first, but things you want may come up.

Also if there are things you can't do have you thought of the LETS schemes, where people trade skills http://www.lets-linkup.com/411-UnitedKingdom.htm where you do work for someone and earn units to exchange for someone to work for you.

Work out what sort of look you want, and try to think of a basic colour scheme, then try to find things that fit?

To coordinate colours, IKEA do very cheap bedspreads which would hide tatty or awful coloured seats you don't like. We also used them as tablecloths.

Do check with family and friends, it's amazing how many people have bags of expensive curtains and rolled up rugs in their attics which you could use, also sheds/garages can be treasure troves!!

If you're renting how long is it for? Try to spend minimal amounts on things you'll have to leave, you want to take as much as possible with you. Also try to get things likely to fit in a new place. So you buy a standalone bookcase, rather than fitting shelves. Buy/borrow rugs you can roll up and take with you.

Try carboots for the bits and pieces that make the place work, e.g. mirrors, pictures etc.. Also look for house clearances advertised e.g. people selling up to emigrate.

But don't buy anything new or secondhand even bargains unless you really like them, wait until you find the right thing at the right price. I know it's nice to get things finished quickly, but for me it always means the end result isn't quite right, and you want it right when you've put the time & effort in.

I'd go along with the idea for white emulsion too. You just need to fix back any bits of peeling wallpaper first. It always makes places feel clean and light and airy, and it's easy to touch up on the high useage bits that get grubby, like around light switches.

Hope it works out well

boogiemaster · 13 August 2005 at 3:06PM

Your cut your cloth according to your needs? You don’t cut off more cloth than you need!
Anyway, you feel embarrassed because your friend’s houses are really posh and fancy??
Buy going to auctions you can pick up some nice decent furniture and save your self a fortune on new!
Antique furniture can make a room look stunning for a few quid, and by decorating your room and adding little touches? can make it look posh as well.

Give a designer £100 grand and the room will look amazing! Give her a couple of grand and she will still achieve great results.
Its what you do with the little money you have and the things you buy that will make your house look as good as theirs.

I think there was a program on a few years ago, and a woman had spent £20 grand on her front room and her friend next door spent a couple of grand.
The one that spent two grand got voted the best room because she didn’t go over board like some people do.

Just make your room tasteful, don’t put too much in the room and over power it, just little items of furniture here and their.
Color coordinate little items but don’t over do it, less is more and looks better than a room full of junk.

A room needs space to breath and people need space, so as long as you don’t over do it? You can have a wonderful home just like your friends.

DIY stores are great for paints and wall papers, papering just one wall gives interest and a focal point, painting the other walls add depth and warmth.
On a budget its easy to get bargains, but you need a good eye and have to be cheeky sometimes and ask for a reduction in price.

Anyway good luck and happy decorating

LittleJo · 13 August 2005 at 4:00PM

Hi,
First, when I was younger i spent a lot of time at a friends home. He had a home, me, I lived in a house. Maybe people have better houses but you have a good home.
Jo

crossleydd42 · 13 August 2005 at 7:57PM

I never ceased to be amazed at the varied, useful views of half a dozen random folk. I think you've had some good advice here, jazzyjustlaw. Good luck to you. (Oh, and if you get a part-time job, do it for you, not your OH).

I got stung £20 for a late C/C payment last month - doh! First and last time, I guarantee! See if you can get your OH to pay the 'minimum amount' by D/D, if you can, although I suspect it will be difficult to persuade him to do it.

newfunk · 14 August 2005 at 9:54AM

What Ive done in the past, is hunt around reclamation yards, or council recycling yards and picked out some bits of furniture that are pretty sound in construction, taken them home, washed them off, given them a coat of acrylic primer, and bought test pots or paint thats often in the sale in the big DIY superstores, bought cheap new handles, and hey presto a nice piece of furniture for the cost of some paint!!

The other idea, is to buy cheap melamine furniture from Argos etc..Focus is usually pretty good for price, and painted it and accesorize it, not oly is it cheap, ist great fun.

As for painting the walls, B&Q have a value range of Silk and Matt paint in white or Magnolia which is ideal for freshening up the place...if im right, magnolia is £11 for 5 or 10 litres and white is about £6 for 5 litres!!

Also there are so many sales on at present, matalan etc, bargains to be had all the time...the budget stores like Primark and Peacokcs have some good stuff if you hunt for it.. we got 6 cushions yesterday in peacocks for a total of £8...should have been £40 in total, but they reduced them down to clear....2 of them look like they came from Next or John lewis.....

Need help Decorating!

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