Old-Style Interior Design

moanymoany

Jess, one way to deal with stuff you are not sure if you can bear to part with is to put it in a box and then put it somewhere like the loft.

You then have a nice clutter free room and you know your stuff is still there. In time the distance will loosen the ties to it and when you go through it again in a few months it will be much easier to deal with.

sillyvixen

when i bought my house there was no room in the budget for the dinning room. i got given a 1970's wood effect formica table an six chairs - all in a orangy yellow plastic upholstery.. after some looking around fabric shops with a cushion cover from my suite in my bag i was able to source the exact match of colour and almost the same weave as my sofa fabric. my mum and myself spent 6 hours reupholstering the chairst for £10 - it looks great and as my home is quite open plan matches the frount room and brings everything together.

sandy2_2

I've got some black material of various types that i want to make into decrative cushions for our bed. Making the covers doesn't present a problem but I want to do some sort of fancy decorative beadwork on them. Each one being different. I also want to do a geometric pattern on one using sequins you buy on a roll, but not sure how to get them to lay flat on the material. Any ideas re beading, patterns etc welcome

dirtyepic

Hi all!

I need some new cushions, I am dead keen to make my own cushion covers, patterned front plain reverse.

Can anyone please recommend where I can get good quality cushions to use with them?

Kind regards

Dirty Epic

ps, loving the tips and advice!!

ragz_2

Just re-read this thread and found so much inspiration...

Just wondering if anyone can recommend any good books on interior design/diy/shabby chic style stuff. A lot of 'coffee table' books on the subject woudn't be what I really want, though I do want something with pics for inspiration as well as practical advice like how to sand and paint things...
I;m looking for old style ways to do up/decorate my home when we move soon so that it all comes together rather than being the mismatch of all the bits we've been given in the last 5 years (have only bought a few pieces of furniture, rest was gifts or freecycle. Am liking the idea of painting things white/cream so they all match. I'm still finding 'my' style though, so don't want to make dramatic changes until I have looked at a lot of different things IYSWIM

Daographics

Hello, i was doing some research seeing what customers latest demands are when i came across this post, i couldnt help but sign up and make a comment, i work for a company that is extremely cheap and easy, you speak about transforming your room in season, feel of a room etc, i tried to upload some pictures for you to see but i was told im not allowed to due to being a new user visit our website if it interests you Daographics.com

Have fun lovelies

miasnanny

I love the challenge of making something old, into something beautiful to grace my living space. Most of our furniture are castoffs from trendy friends with more money than sense, or from our local recycling point (not such a good source of rich pickings, since a new company won the tender:()

We aquired a lovely sofa and 2 armchairs which were a bit faded and not at all smart, our local upholsterer had a sale at the beginning of the year where I bought a 20m roll of quality upholstery fabric for £3/m instead of £24/m:T So in the next couple of weeks I shall be doing that. In the same sale the chappie was selling pattern books of upholstery fabrics for £2 a book, I bought loads which I have made into patchwork cushions and bolsters for the sofa and chairs. I have enough fabric left in these books to make some Kindle covers, specs cases, needle cases, jewelry rolls for my craft seller stuff. The old cushion covers I have dyed and turned into nice zip up tote bags also for my craft seller stuff. Most of my curtains are dust sheets or matress ticking which I have dyed and madeup.

My top tip is in childrens rooms one of the catalogue shops very often does a 'buy one get one the same free' if you buy 2 sets, which we probably would have anyway (one to wash, one to use) You end up with two 'spare' freebies. So there are your curtains, a pillowcase can be made into a draw string tidy bag or cushion covers, the only limit with this is your imagination.

Nothing gets thrown out of here without a good long hard look, even an old wooden toilet seat was rubbed down, steamed and bleached then varnished it is now used to 'frame' the quirky 'Rules of This Bathroom', OK that might be going a little bit too far for a lot of people but it's a great conversation piece:rotfl: you could even get some mirror and put behind your novelty 'frame:rotfl::rotfl:

I like to think that the house is cosy, comfortable albeit a little bit quirky and not like Albert Steptoe's:rotfl:

Ok p'raps I'm just loopy:rotfl:

JessicaStripe

​I love that you managed to do all that for free! I am a huge fan of antique pieces that can make the world of difference