Decorating advice on a very tight budget

ally18

Hi,

My house is def 80's style and has not been decorated for years as I just could not afford it.
Over the last 6 years, I have managed to put in new kitchen cupboards and worktops, a brand new gas boiler and a new bathroom but now I need to start on my dining room, hall, stairs and lounge. Money is tight though and I need some advice please.

I'm starting with the dining room and having a gas fire and fireplace removed next week, basically because with the new boiler, it won't be needed. So, would it be possible to do the following:

1. The room is already papered and I wondered if I could just paint over it? It is not woodchip but a pale brown with textured vertical stripes in it. If I attempt to remove this paper, I know I will bring the plaster off behind it because it was happening when I initially put it up and this would be an added cost I don't want. If I can paint the paper, should it be matt or silk? I was thinking of cream. This room is dark and only has a small window with a decorative window pane alongside which does not provide much light.

2. I want to put a feature wallpaper over the exisiting paper on the wall where the fireplace was. It would take only 2 rolls to do this but again is it a good idea to paper over existing?

3. I cannot afford to change the carpet, this is a terracotta colour (sorry) as it is in the hall, stairs, landing, 3rd floor stairs and landing.

4. Ceiling has to be repainted. Matt or silk?

5. New ceiling lights. Would love a bling chandelier but would it look silly if the ceiling height is not high?

6. Furniture is solid wood, a large dining table with 6 chairs and a large sideboard which would go on the feature wall where the fireplace was. Also two x two seater sofas in the corner which are a mixture of cream, gold & pale green chenille. I don't want to get rid of these as I have 3 teenagers who argue over the tv, hence two rooms to accommodate them!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I have no colour style whatsoever .

RAS

I would use cream given you have cream in the existing furnishings. You could just use matt emulsion over the wall paper but there is a new reflective paint that may be worth it in a dark room.

With a large wood table, think about a large cream or gold runner to lighten the colour a bit.

Ceiling white and add an uplighter (IKEA do some very cheap ones) in one corner to bounce light off the ceiling.

If you want feature wall paper, then you do need to remove the existing paper with a textured stripe.

Think about mirrors near the window to bounce light into the room.

What curtains/blinds do you have?

ally18

Hi RAS, thank you very much for your reply.

I have a beige/brown roman blind on the window with a gold curtain pulled back to one side, this curtain is never closed. On the patterned window I have a smaller matching curtain again pulled to the opposite side. I do already have some newer curtains in beige and white satin which I plan to move into this room.

On the opposite wall to the window, I have a huge wooden framed mirror for the light reflection. The table runner is dark brown laced with gold but slightly tatty now.

I have a plain black ikea uplighter in the darkest corner with fairy lights around the pole to help with the light.

So I will need to remove the wallpaper over the fireplace then? I have to hope the plaster is older underneath that, I think it is from what I remember.

happydays89

If you use a very strong wallpaper paste you might be able to paper over it,when we stripped our walls we had about six layers of paper.It might be worth looking around car boot sales,on Sunday we managed to buy an up lighter for £4 and a large mirror for £2,very good for making a dark appear lighter.

Bronnie

Why don't you just paint the feature wall a different shade, save buying paper and any problems when you strip the wall?

ally18

Bronnie wrote: »

Why don't you just paint the feature wall a different shade, save buying paper and any problems when you strip the wall?

Hi,
I did consider that but thought a bright patterned paper would make the room look more open and as it would only need under 2 rolls to do, would not cost too much. It would be the same as paying for another pot of paint really.

Thanks for your reply.:)

ally18

happydays89 wrote: »

If you use a very strong wallpaper paste you might be able to paper over it,when we stripped our walls we had about six layers of paper.It might be worth looking around car boot sales,on Sunday we managed to buy an up lighter for £4 and a large mirror for £2,very good for making a dark appear lighter.

Thanks for that, the paper I was thinking of, is itself textured and quite thick. So it may be possible.

My budget is only around £150 and that includes the removal of the fire and surround. I will see if these sell to recoup some costs.

carefullycautious

could you post some pictures so that we could look at what might work.
You don't have to post identifying pictures just enough to get an idea.
There are many people who do amazing things on a budget.

esmy

Just a few ideas that might be helpful......

Could be worth seeing if there's a Community RePaint near you:

http://www.communityrepaint.org.uk/need-paint/

I love our local one - every shade under the sun and very very cheap.

Our local B&M has cheap paint, often discontinued colours, but I got two 2.5 ltr tins of Crown paint in a pale neutral colour recently for £13.50.

I hate silk paint finishes but I've got wonky walls throughout and the sheen of silk just makes them more obvious. I now buy the washable matt paint (most brands do a version) for walls, don't bother for ceilings. If you like the green colour in your sofas, could you match this for the paint? Creams and golds always look classy IMO.

If you're repainting a lighter colour over a dark shade, get some cheap white paint for the first coats saving the more expensive paint for the top coat. Undercoat will block any stains - you don't need expensive stain blocker products.

I wouldn't paper over a textured paper but painting is fine. Beware stripping part of a room with a steamer as it can loosen all the wallpaper - guess how I know this!

You can usually make the chain on chandelier type fittings shorter to suit your ceilng height. Our ceilings are 10 ft high so not a problem (but a Bug*er to paint)

£ shops sometimes have some decent bits and pieces such as rollers etc if you need those.
HTH

Pipkin

Definitely paint the ceiling in Matt white, looks much better.

ally18

Hi everyone and thank you for your replies. Sorry but I cant upload pictures.

I think my initial problem is the colour of the carpet and trying not to overdo it because the terracotta is a strong colour.

I plan to go and buy the paint this weekend to start on the ceiling so will get matt. The ceiling is artexed by the way and not very well but I can't do anything about this as I just don't have the funds.

I will try some paint behind where the sofas will be to see how it covers the paper initially and go from there.

The fire is coming out next week, can't wait.