cheapest way to decorate a council house

justpeyton4now

Not sure if you qualify or not, but you may also want to check outa Budgeting Loan from the Social Fund.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018905

sillyvixen

paint the walls a neutral colour then it wont clash with any cheap or free furniture you are offered. if you get cheap or free 2nd hand dining furniture it may be easy to cover the chair upholstery with cheap fabric to match the rest of the decor when time and funds alowe (i got a free dining set - 1970's - that had nice bright orange plastic upholstery on the seats it stayed like that several months untill i found a cheap fabric to match the colour of the sofas (open plan layout to the house) my mum and i spent hours covering the seat pads with about £7 worth of fabric - well worth the time and effort! also check out the local papers- if you dont get what you are looking for on ebay you can get good bargins for little outlay - we got 5 pieces of IKEA furniture (6 months old for £25 - as the owner was moving in with his GF and had no room for it) also got a 3 month washing machine that had only been used to clear the house - as a family had bought it for their gran who had broken her hip using her twintub and unfortunatly had to go into a nursing home as a result. the only problem is you can end up with more free furniture/bargins than you know what to do with.

all the best in your new home.

vickyjayne

if you get in touch with the council they may give you free paint as when i had a council house 3 years ago they gave me 10l magnolia, 10l white, 10l undercoat and 2 tins of white gloss plus £50. They also told me to give them a ring if i needed more
Dont know if they still do this but it is worth a try

Amber_Sunshine

It won't be much help to you, but here in Spain people put out their unwanted goods on the street for someone else who wants it to pick up. I've seen some furniture in good shape and will be looking out for a desk. I picked up a picture that just needed cleaning, and a pair of suede boots in my size!

It's a great way of recycling (we don't really have charity shops), can't see the UK adopting it though, unless Gordon could slap a tax on it!

Savvy_Sue

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I would second the suggestion about checking with your Housing Officer whether you can get any help with decorating costs: it's not automatic, but sometimes if they know the property was particularlydire they will help. Also they might know local charities which will help with furniture.

cave_2

Amber_Sunshine wrote: »

It won't be much help to you, but here in Spain people put out their unwanted goods on the street for someone else who wants it to pick up. I've seen some furniture in good shape and will be looking out for a desk. I picked up a picture that just needed cleaning, and a pair of suede boots in my size!

In Glasgow people put out their unwanted goods on the street for the council to pick up... but usually the grubby students get in there first :rotfl:

Freecycle is your best bet - tell them what you've told us, and list the things you need so it's easy for people to offer specifics. You might even get a few offers to help decorate

Savvy_Sue

But do read the guidelines for your local freecycle group first: ours limits the number of 'Wanteds' you can post each week. Also remember with Freecycle that you generally have to collect things yourself: fine if you have ready access to a friend with a van or large estate car, not so fine if you don't.

AliceBanned

A lot of areas have a "furniture link" project which recycles donated goods. I have bought sofas, wardrobe and fridge from them very cheaply just to get by for two or three years. I also bought a new washing machine which was fitted cheaply by the project, which trains young apprentices - I think they are usually run as charities - it is worth checking in with them once a week or more; they usually get a huge turnover of donated goods, some better than others. You might find one by googling "furniture project" or something similar, or checking with your local authority who may be aware of one.

misgrace

Have you tried, netmums .co I dont know what area you live in, but they have them all over, and people give stuff away, or sell them very cheap, but you have to register, which is free, to be able to access the boards.