old-style decorating?

Proxima_Centauri

The walls in my flat are a sort of cream/magnolia colour (they were painted like that when we moved in) and I was wondering whether there's a money-saving way of decorating them.


I've never attempted to put wallpaper up, and don't feel very confident at getting it all lined up properly. Also not sure how expensive it would be..

B&Q sell lots of different types of paint, but I have no idea which type I'd need or how much.. I don't know where to even start

A neighbour has suggested stencilling, which sounds good (I think I could manage that without too many disasters :rotfl: )


Has anyone done any decorating on a budget, or do you have any ideas as to how we could make the walls look a bit less boring? I'm really not that confident at DIY but am wiling to give it a go!

VfM4meplse

Good on you, OP. Do you plan to do this before or after Christmas (after might be more MSE)? If you don't have any strong ideas about what the room should look like, I would look at your heaviest pieces of furniture, windows, fireplace, soft furnishings etc and establish a colour scheme. If your walls are clean, you may get away without doing any painting at all if you find some striking curtains, cushions, thows etc at a good price in the sales. Magnolia may not be your first choice but it is flexible to furnish around. Start P'inning your ideas as you see them online.

Proxima_Centauri wrote: »

A neighbour has suggested stencilling, which sounds good (I think I could manage that without too many disasters :rotfl: )

Nooo...unless you want to head back to the 1990s. Same goes for wallpaper borders:D

Proxima_Centauri

It's probably more likely to be a New Year activity. Each year I look at these drab walls and think to myself I'd love to decorate them, but I've never got round to doing it.

spadoosh

Not sure how tight your budget is but paints around £7-£25 per 2.5l. Your 'average' sized room will rarely need more than 5 litres (mileage will vary!). You can normnally get slightly spilt tins dented etc quite a bit cheaper. Or wrong mixes a bit cheaper (bear in mind it might be difficult to get the same again).

For wall you want emulsion (comes in matt (not v shiny) silk (v shiny) or mid sheen (in between). For any woodwork you will want gloss (v shiny), satinwood (less shiny) or eggshell (not shiny).

I would avoid stencils they tend to look pretty awful but each to their own.

Rollers and brushes can be as cheap as a couple of quid.

On ebay they do things called wall art, generally big stickers that can liven up a wall. Can be quite tacky looking but some can look good.

Id avoid doing anything OS with paint as it was known to poison people and the environment (much more than it does now).

Wallpapering isnt that difficult but its something you rarely get too right the first time.

Always find doing the necessary prep work is well worth the effort.

fedupfreddie

I painted one wall in my living room with matt emulsion and bought framed prints/paintings from charity shops to make a feature wall.

Wilkinsons emulsion is good value and there are lots of photos on the net for inspiration.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I would buy Wickes or B&Q own brand paint; I used some fancy "light-enhancing" Dulux stuff for my hall and I really can't see how it was worth the extra. Wilko is good for cheap white spirit and brushes.

Painting walls is pretty easy. You may find that once you've freshened these up, it highlights how scuffed and tired the skirting boards are; these are much more fiddly and time-consuming to repaint.

JulieM

I wouldn't attempt to wallpaper until you've had some experience of painting. Just to give you a rough idea of the cost, you can usually get 3 or 4 drops of paper from one roll, but on top of that you'll need paste, a paste table, and a pasting brush.

Best to start of with paint and add colour with pictures and furnishings, maybe make a feature out of one wall by painting it a brighter colour.

culpepper

Paint generally has a coverage guide on the tin so that you can do the sums once you know the size of each wall. The magnolia is good because you haven't got to cover a dark colour.
You could always do the soft furnishings thing and then have one or two pictures to make things interesting .
A mirror can make a huge difference too.

prosaver

why dont you get some really big pictures and fancy big mirrors instead?saves getting your hands dirty:)

[Deleted User]

The whole of my house is decorated in white and I change the decor as and when I want with curtains ,throws ,cushions and pictures as and when I want I find it a lot cheaper than having papered walls that I may get fed up with

thriftwizard

Don't know about where you are, but paint is free to take away at our local Tip. And I've picked up full tins of Farrow & Ball & other vastly expensive paints there... I've been known to mix half-pots of similar types of paint to get the colour or effect I want, too, but that's easy when they're mostly shades of off-white!