Bedroom Makeover OS

Mrsbojangles_2

Ok, our bedroom hasn't been decorated for 9 years!! I have been out and bought paint and some new wardrobes from Ikea, (bargain) but I could do with some tips on a couple of things, I have some curtains, that were very expensive when I bought them, they are now just going to be the wrong colour, was considering dying them, how do I go about it? Also wanting to replace bedding, could this be dyed?, is it cheaper to make your own cushions etc etc.

Any help appreciated, might even post some before & after piccies, will keep a cost of the total spent too xx

Sharra

I redyed some velvety cutains using the Dylon Machine Dyes - I did one at a time in the machine and they are fine for the bedroom now. Things to bear in mind are
1) what the curtains are made of - if there's a % of man made fibre in it, that part wont take up the dye.
2) The colour of the curtains and the colour you want them - if they are very light and you want them darker its not an issue, else there will be some interaction between the two. MY curtains were a tan colour and I put a deep purple dye over the top - they have come out quite a nice murky purple but it wasn't the colour on the pack.
3) The size of the curtains - if they are big and heavy and up to your washing machines maximum size, you may not get an even colour distribution. Mine have slightly lighter patches but it works ok on my velvet curtains.

Bedding - quite hard to dye with dylon as they are usually 50% polyester - the colours will come out much much lighter than you want - if they are 100% cotton then you will be fine.
However dylon is about £6 a packet, you might find it cheaper to buy new - especially if you check out this site (from the Grabbit board) Here
Hope that helps

Skintmama

It isn't too difficult to find cheap cushions but I'd say if you want really nice ones then it is definitely cheaper to source the fabric at discount shops and make them.
My only experiences with dyeing fabric have not been too successful :eek: . Getting large amounts evenly coloured must be a special skill that I just don't have. I look forward to someone giving advice on this.

sophistica

Hi I have reently refurnished a rental property for next to no money using a mixture of sources:
Ebay: Iron beds from the Iron Bed Company £200 incl mattress bed and side table saved £800
Wardrobe £100 saved £900
Ebay curtain fabric £1 per metre - got lining and curtain tape there too.
Tesco canvas art - half price £6 per large picture - also try Matalan
Charity shops - colour co-oridnated accessories - take curtain fabric swatches
Ebay - duvet covers nearly new under £6

I also find PoundStretcher and Homebase good for reductions - really I recommend always going to search with your swatches. You can probably get new stuff cheaper than doing anything troublesome like dying...

frosty

Hi everyone,we have just decorated our bedroom,we have chosen a nice relaxing lilac colour,I was thinking about buying new bedding and curtains but they are so expensive,on mse the other day I think it was on the grabbit board a very kind person had put a studio website on, I think it was https://www.studio-outlet.co.uk ,I have ordered a double quilt set for £2.99 and then I ordered matching curtains.So you might find it cheaper than dyeing them.

loopy_lass

can i suggest when dyin fabric, make sure the fabric is EVENLY damp, this gives a more even colour, also dont over load the machine, but obviously if you want a matched pair of curtains its a gamble if they come out the same if done separately (they should, but ya never know)

if they do come out patchy you can always over dye them darker, so perhaps start of a little lighter. also sometimes if there is a pattern it may not be the same material as the main fabric so you may get a different result. I dyed a dressing gown & couldnt beleieve the flowers didnt colour!!! looked ok tho, just different material.


otherwise ive always had good results with dyeing fabric.

also re cushion covers, strange as it may seem, i have bought two covers one of each colour, cut them in half and re sewn opposite colours back together just to make it more interesting... worked ok

hth loops x

Dora_the_Explorer_5

I recently refurbished a bedroom and bought all the bedding from ebay. I chose M&S because it's good quality and it was all like new and beautifully laundered. I chose patterns I'd already seen in M&S so I knew what the colours would be like and it all looks terrific. It was incredibly cheap and I didn't feel uncomfortable about 'second hand' bedding as I'm used to it - I stay in hotels for work quite often and heaven only knows how many people have used the bedding before me! I find the problem with cheap bedding, Asda etc is that it's usually a very coarse weave which makes it flimsy, scratchy and thin.
I made cushion covers, picking up on colours in the bedding and paint because I could choose the size, style and shape. Hopethis helps, have fun.

arkonite_babe

For advice on fabric dying, have a look at the Dylon website.

Curry_Queen

frosty wrote:

Hi everyone,we have just decorated our bedroom,we have chosen a nice relaxing lilac colour,I was thinking about buying new bedding and curtains but they are so expensive,on mse the other day I think it was on the grabbit board a very kind person had put a studio website on, I think it was www.studio-outlet.co.uk ,I have ordered a double quilt set for £2.99 and then I ordered matching curtains.So you might find it cheaper than dyeing them.

Wish you hadn't shown me that site ... but it does have some great bargains on it! :whistle:

Cheers hun

Mrsbojangles_2

Wow, great tips and advice and what a great website the studio is, thanks so much guys xxx