Proud Oldstyler or feel like a rag bag?

bossymoo

For me, OS is about cutting back on things that aren't so vital (look after the pennies, and all that) to free up money for the things that are. And we all prioritise differently. I don't spend lots on clothes, holidays, kiddies toys, but do like to run a car, and keep a nice house. But then I like minimalist so don't have lots of furniture, nor do we have lots of "stuff" that needs a home. And, it takes a bit of time, but it's possible to find nice and coordinating housey things without breaking the bank.

j.e.j.

Caterina wrote: »

It is SO GOOD not to have to go into an office, ever again! :-)

Amen to that :rotfl:

OP I think there's a certain level of poverty where things can get a bit depressing, like for instance a few years ago (before I discovered charity shops and EBay :money:) I could hardly ever afford clothes and shoes and I wore what I had literally till it fell apart. I used to feel so slobby walking round in faded and sometimes even holey clothes.

I think maybe we need a certain level of grooming and decent clothing to keep our spirits up and to feel like we're part of the world, but that doesn't mean the clothes have to be the latest fashion, or brand new. If your 8-year-old dress looks ok, then who cares what the fashion police say

I've got a winter coat, - a quilty, long thing, looks a bit like a duvet wrapped round me. I've had it for about 6 or 7 years, maybe longer. But I like it, it's warm, and even now I sometimes get people coming up to me asking where i got it from. That's when it gets awkward.. "well.. it was from H&M... but it was years ago now.." :rotfl:

GreyQueen

dandy-candy wrote: »

A problem I have is that I have no vision in making things nice, I look at colours etc and can't figure how to put them together. If you buy stuff secondhand you are working from a limited palatte already! I know some people are really good at working with what they have to hand - I need to learn the secret!

I have a design degree from a prestigious university and would like to share a little secret..it really isn't that difficult to have a stylish home (or wardrobe or garden or whatever).

The trick is in limiting the choices regarding colours and styles. One or two colours for wall-coverings, furniture, curtains/ blinds and perhaps one bright accent colour. I favour neutrals, I feel comfortable around them, in my home and in my wardrobe. Other people like different things, and it's all good.

In Shirley Conran's Superwoman book (a bit dated but still a worthwhile browse) she had a chapter about interior design, based on her experience of working with a top New York design company. What she said (I paraphrase from memory) was that with the exception of lights and mirrors, the more you can remove from a room, the better it will look.

So, try subtraction to add style, rather than additions, and see how it comes out for you.

Because of an arty background, I'm pretty comfortable with choosing decor. Because I pursued an arty career, I'm pretty skint, so my selections are made from pre-loved items. The trick is that they are deliberately chosen, so that they work with my idea of how I want my very small flat to look.

I like seeing how different people have their homes but I feel a bit uneasy in the type of home which appears to have been copied from a room-set in the furniture showroom or a magazine spread...... almost as if the owner of that room wants to hide their personality. I want to meet your cat and dog, see your knitting on the couch and your shoes by the door because I want to socialise with human beings. And, if we get on well, you can come over to mine and drink tea from one of my eclectic mismatched mugs and sit on my c.s. leather sofa and have a good old natter.

valk_scot wrote: »

I think there's a middle ground between buying everything matching and new, and buying just anything because it's functional and cheap. You can buy to a theme or colour scheme for home furnishings, such as a neutrals/naturals theme for a room, or country kitchen, or retro 60's. Similarly you can buy very classic clothes in styles that won't date or go for a hippy look, or 50's era or whatever.

I actually think there's a bigger choice second hand, not a narrower one. If you're buying new you can only buy what's in the shops and they only stock whatever they've decided are the current styles, whether that's in home furnishings or clothing. Whereas once you know what you want style wise, you can almost always find it on Ebay or charity shops or car boots with a bit of persistance and willingness to alter/repaint/remodel something. Having said that I don't have a Homes & Garden house or a designer wardrobe either, but I have what I like, it all works together and I'm more proud of my unique home than I would be if I just copied it all out of a "New Homes!" magazine.

:T Here, here! Couldn't have put it better.

In the early 1980s, long before Fifties Retro became fashionable, I used to know a woman who had an entire flat (and wardrobe) of Fifties-stuff. It was fun and zany, picked up for pence, and she thoroughly-enjoyed it and we thoroughly-enjoyed her enjoyment of it. I've often thought of that flat fondly.......great parties!

Rainy-Days

For me it's looking after what I have got. Today I have cleaned the carpets (still got the hallway to do but I am doing that tonight before bed so it dries out overnight) and keeping things clean.

Things last longer when you look after them and keep them well maintained. Our garden furniture is put away at the end of September in the shed and brought out early summer - actually we only got it out this week because of the bad rain we had so we left it in the shed - but our neighbour is now on his third garden set because they don't look after their stuff. All our cushions and the parasol is put away and then placed in protective carriers which I bought from Aldi for £2.00 seven years ago. I wash my clothes carefully and mend them as well. I have jeans which are a few years old but I buy clothes dye and put them through the machine and they come out like new. All my boots and shoes are polished, reheeled (when needed) and waterproofed (suede) and placed on shoe racks or back in their boxes after use.

It's nice to have new things, of course it is, but there is also a great satisfaction in looking after what you have and by doing that you are not constantly shelling out money to replace items. Its also nice to pick up the odd gem from car boots, CS and Ebay as well especially when you get it for a bargain price.

gibson123

The quality of my furniture would be rubbish if I bought everything new. My lovely old fashioned comfy leather couches, would cost £3,000 each new, I got both for £500. I mix my Ikea with good quality second hand and home made. beds i buy new though.

cjez_2

Caterina wrote: »

Hi Gintot, yeh I have been "unemployed" (unemployable, more like!) since I was last made redundant in December 2010 and not found a job, had a few interview and then decided with DH that I would do what I do best, stay at home and "work" by saving the family loads of money by applying all the usual OS principles. It is great fun, I love it and the rest of the family do too!

It is SO GOOD not to have to go into an office, ever again! :-)

That's what I love about old style!

kitschkitty

For me OS is mostly about the fact I hate the idea of throwing good and useful stuff away, and I hate paying a penny more than I have to for the things I want. I will often wait for a long time to bag what I want at a bargain price, and rarely buy things full price unless I’m sure it’s a good bargain.

I'm also lucky that I'm a crafter & working at being an artist, so picking stuff isn't hard for me, but it's only been over the last few years, that I've stopped buying so much stuff! I just got to the point where I realised we had too much and instead of being pretty or interesting it was becoming cluttered and hard to appreciate the nice things.

At least half my stuff is 2nd hand, and while my living room is pretty much how I want it & well matched, my dining room/craft room is slightly mismatched & the other rooms aren't very co-ordinated at all.
But there are 2 main reasons for that, the 1st is that I rent and the decor of this house isn't that great - some really awful carpets and the walls are OK, but not really what I would choose.
2nd is that I really hate having to throw away functional furniture (even if it's cosmetically a bit crap) and so still have a lot of furniture I have bought along the way when I was so skint I only bought stuff that was the cheapest solid & functional stuff -hence it still being in action years later but looking rather shabby in some cases!

But I do agree that there is a lot you can do to bring mismatched items together, it depends how creative and how hands on you are. You can paint or cover furniture and fixtures to match. You can work to a theme or colour palette. You can keep everything neutral and just add splashes of colour. You can go minimalist (or just hide or your stuff)! You can even stick to lots of bright bold colours (for a bit of a cacophony)!

As for clothes I buy a lot of 2nd hand as well as new (but not expensive) stuff, and I really do believe that you should aim to be stylish (as in wear stuff that suits you personally) not fashionable.

Ben84

My house is frankly far from fashionable or modern, but I like it a lot. Nothing matches, all the furniture is different age, style and colour (I have oak 1950s stuff next to teak things from the 1970s), some things are honestly very well worn (I just can't part with the couch despite the worn out seats as it's far too comfy and squashy). I like painting, usually abstract things and have been hanging them on the walls all over the place, plus the postcard wall that is made from all the postcards people send me. There's lots of random house plants, including a cheese plant with leaves bigger than records that's turning a corner of the bedroom in to a jungle. I love retro and brightly coloured things too, so there's lots of 1960s/70s stuff here. I have fossils next to plastic ornaments from the 80s and giant origami frogs I made from old newspapers. None of the plates or mugs look like any other plate or mug in the house either. It's all a bit of a cathartic opposite to the neat, tidy everything had to match house I grew up in. We were never allowed to just like something, it had to match and fit in.

I don't expect my house to feature in a magazine any time soon :rotfl:. However, when it comes to your house, feel free to be a complete introvert and do whatever you like. It's one of the few times in life when looking out doesn't really do you any good. So, if you abandon convention and just please yourself, it's really very cheap and fun.

Molly41

I have a mixture of clothes of old and new. I most definitely wear what I like.

My house is very eclectic:eek:

[Deleted User]

in my sitting room my sofa was bought in 1973 and my t.v.was third hand,passed from one DD to the next then to me.I did get a new kitchen 9 years ago but it was the first I had ever had in 47 years.My dining room table is second hand and about the only thing that's new in my house are electrical appliances washing machine, coffee perculator etc.My clothes are comfortable and thats whats important to me that I feel comfy in them My shoes I buy for comfort as well
I really don't care too much about fashion or new things I would rather spend my spare cash on my family and tribe of grandchildren They are what I like to spend spare cash on not shiny 'fashionable stuff.A flash sofa can't give you a cuddle and say "I do love yo so much Granny" Thats what's important to me, not anything that is overpriced and out of fashion.My eldest DD is comfortably off, and her and her OH have exotic foreign holidays and go once a year to New York in the autumn to buy clothes and designer stuff.I don't envy them I am pleased that they can afford to enjoy themselves
My youngest DD is as poor as a church mouse and her house is 'battered ' to say the least as she has four lively lads indoors plus two dogs. Her and her OH work full time, and Granny (me) watches the children .Their house is full to bursting at times with kids (not always their own) and dogs ,oh and a couple of hamsters as well.But its great fun and full of love.My DD says when the boys grow up she will have 'things' like her sister but at the moment nothing very expensive get bought as it would soon get knocked about.In fact this week I will have to get her a new broom handle as the broom she had, the handle was used to make a 'camp' in the garden by the three younger boys.She would rather the boys had lots of happy memories when growing up than nag them for making a mess.Her wall paper in the dining room needs replacing and it will get done eventually, the paintwork is chipped ,but every chip has been made by a happy little boy playing in his house with his pals She wouldn't have it anyother way either.
I had to hunt for the extention pipes for their hoover yesterday ,apparently they had been used as swords in a game (I found them behind the washing machine )
Her house reminds me of the Shakin Stevens song 'This old house 'that would sum it up precisely,full of dents and scratches but also full of fun and love.That's whats important about home being a comfy place to be where a broken cup isn't a major disaster(Mikey dropped one the other night whilst 'helping to dry the dishes up)