Want to redecorate front room, about to start DMP

BlushingRose

Hi all,

Please be kind to me, it's the first time I've posted in this section.

Before I knew how deep in the mire we were, I;d been planning to get the front room redecorated. It needs updating and generally looking after.
However, now I know were we are, money-wise and we've both had our light-bulb moment and are starting out on a DMP.
We're not going to be debt free for at least 8 years and I can't cope with the room (house) as it is for that long!
So, I guess what I'm asking is this this - has anyone painted their homes, alone, and how easy is it? Any tips on decent but cheap paint?
We won't be changing furniture/carpets (unless we spot very nice, cheap stuff 2nd hand) and so we'll be working with what we've got from that point of view, any advice folks please?

rdr

Decent paint £20-30 per room - really cheap paint often contains too little pigment to be useful.
You could look on freecycle or ebay for other people's spare paint.

WestonDave

Its certainly do-able by yourself, but hard work. Better if you have someone to at least help move furniture etc.

For an average sized lounge you'll probably need about £60/£70 worth of paint (2 tins of colour for the walls, 1 tin of white for the ceiling and some gloss or eggshell for the wood work). If you want something flash like a second colour feature wall then that will be more money again. You'll need some brushes (Tesco own brand were good a while back) and probably a roller and tray for the larger areas. (Wickes or Wilkinsons probably cheapest for half decent quality). In terms of paint cheap usually means needing more so a false economy. Crown have an "Ultimate" range which has a limited number of colours (3 blue, light mid dark, 3 green etc) which I've used and found covers well. You'll need some old sheets etc to cover the carpet whilst you paint and will need to take it slowly and carefully until you practice things like painting up to the edges (cutting in). I suspect if you look around on the internet or Youtube there will be video guides around to show you how best to do it.

What concerns me slightly is that you are entering into a DMP presumably due to overspending, and rather than accepting that you can only spend on things you absolutely need you are looking at painting a lounge which doesn't "need" painting and already letting the "unless we spot very nice cheap 2nd hand stuff" creep in as well. I would suggest that before you set off buying paint etc, if you have a little spare in the budget to start thinking about this, wait a while until you have a contingency fund built up out of the "decorating" money so that if the fridge goes etc you aren't having to borrow again to fix it. Once you have something saved up you can then start thinking about decorating. I appreciate this isn't the question you asked but looking back through your posting history you had a debt panic in 2008, again in 2010, and then finally in 2011. Its a bit like being an alcoholic - you can't just have a bit more debt, you have to go cold turkey and put balancing the budget first - certainly before a slightly scruffy lounge. Sorry if that wasn't the answer you wanted.

BlushingRose

Thanks Dave,
No, you're right of course and I guess what I wanted to do is something that will make us feel better, almost like we're still in control, even though we're not really.
It's not exactly scruffy, it's more that it's stuck in a time warp and depresses me every time I'm in there. The walls just need modernising and I'm sure that would make all the difference in the world.
I was planning, in the first instance, just to take some sandpaper to the old, darkly stained woodwork (not original or anything, put in by the previous owner over 20 years ago I think).

But no, nothing's likely to happen any time soon, I was just wondering how cheaply one might be able to do it, and the answer is, even if you're doing it yourself, not very

ormus

try freecycle for some free paint.
you may not get enough to emulsion a whole room, but you should get enough white paint for the woodwork.

own brand emulsion is cheap enough, but it may require two or three coats.
try BQ wickes or wilkys. asda and tesco sell it now.

Ilona

WestonDave wrote: »

What concerns me slightly is that you are entering into a DMP presumably due to overspending, and rather than accepting that you can only spend on things you absolutely need you are looking at painting a lounge which doesn't "need" painting and already letting the "unless we spot very nice cheap 2nd hand stuff" creep in as well. I would suggest that before you set off buying paint etc, if you have a little spare in the budget to start thinking about this, wait a while until you have a contingency fund built up out of the "decorating" money so that if the fridge goes etc you aren't having to borrow again to fix it. Once you have something saved up you can then start thinking about decorating. I appreciate this isn't the question you asked but looking back through your posting history you had a debt panic in 2008, again in 2010, and then finally in 2011. Its a bit like being an alcoholic - you can't just have a bit more debt, you have to go cold turkey and put balancing the budget first - certainly before a slightly scruffy lounge. Sorry if that wasn't the answer you wanted.

Excellent post :T
Ilona

t_obermory

It depends what needs doing if it just needs a lick of paint it shouldn't cost too much. Buy the store brand stuff it does the same job, having used both crown and b&q own in my house I can't tell the difference.

Big tub of paint (10L) from Wickes in a neutral colour is £20 which should be more than enough for any room.
Tub of white (5L) for the ceiling £12
Tin of gloss about £10
So that's £42, plus brushes and rollers but I just buy them from the pound shop so you're probably looking £50 all in.

If you can ask around friends and family though you might find that people have half a tub here and there that you can use and if they're similar colours you can just mix them together (provided they're the same type of paint).

Hth's.

McKneff

B & Q own brand paint is absolute crap, took 3 coats and three tins of paint to do our room

Johnsons one coat, did exactly what is said on the tin when we did our bedroom.

3 tins of B & 3 plus 3 coats of labour

Johnsons 1 tin of paint plus 1 coat of labour.

My OH was a decorator for over 40 years, he also thinks Wickes own brand emulsion is pretty good too.

WestonDave

Freecycled white paint is a sensible option - at least with white it all matches and whilst minimalist white might not be your first choice its about the only option right now. You probably won't get enough in one go but if you collect it together for a while you can mix emulsion up to get enough (even if its matt and silk it won't really matter - you'll just get a slightly less shiney silk and a less than matt, matt!). Slightly more tricky with the wood paint as its harder to mix - some will be water based quick dry which can't be mixed with oil based stuff. You'll need two coats to cover that stained wood - sanding it out will leave you depressed as the stain will have soaked in not just covered the surface. If you consider it a term project to do it all for free off freecycle then you'll have something to be proud of without having a nagging worry about spending money you might need for something else.

BlushingRose

Oh yes, it's a long term option I have in mind.
Even just getting some different curtains would make a difference I reckon!
There's a 2nd hand market nearby which has curtains sometimes, I've never bothered looking but I might now although not for a while as I need to get everything settled and on an even keep with the DMP before I go spending on 'extras'.

nickj_2

if you know any painters ask them if they have any left over paint they don't want or ask friends , relis etc if they have any , especially those who diy , from what i see on the houses i paint , people think about painting a room ,go to homebase get the paint do the job , then when they paint the next room they go to homebase again without checking to see what was left over , so after a few years they have about 20 tins of white emulsion , gloss etc
the worst culprit i've come across had 14 tins of white gloss in the garage , most of them were unopened