Useless at Interior Design

Anoneemoose

Hi,

Not sure what I'm hoping for but some inspiration or tips might help.
We live in an ex local authority house (built just post war, I believe). We're lucky as we're a cul de sac on our own, and our houses are decent sizes.

My problem is I just feel like it's like a box, with no character. And no matter how I decorate, it just looks so boring.

My parents' home, by comparison has lovely features like picture rails, coving, even the old servant bells!! My mum and dad have given it a modern, yet classic makeover and I often think I would like similar. Obviously, in my box, with flat walls and no features, I find it difficult to recreate.

I have scoured the internet and looked on Pinterest, but I still don't seem to be able to bring everything together.

Can anyone suggest anything?

trailingspouse

Post war would be brilliant for a retro look - and that's very 'in' at the moment.

Look in antique shops and auctions for things that will fit the bill.

There's nothing to stop you adding coving, picture mouldings, dado rails and so on - but it would be better to develop your own style rather than copying you parents' or someone else's ideas on Pinterest.

Anoneemoose

trailingspouse wrote: »

Post war would be brilliant for a retro look - and that's very 'in' at the moment.

Look in antique shops and auctions for things that will fit the bill.

There's nothing to stop you adding coving, picture mouldings, dado rails and so on - but it would be better to develop your own style rather than copying you parents' or someone else's ideas on Pinterest.

Thank you!

I don't particularly want to copy my parents' as such, but I do always love their style. Maybe it's because it's 'home'.

I often see things I like that other people have, not necessarily the whole room, but certain accessories or colours. However, when I try and put something together it all just looks odd!:rotfl:

Funnily enough, we've just got rid of a lot of original retro stuff..the house was hubby's grandma's before we bought it and most of it hadn't been decorated since the 1960's/1970's. In fact, our hall, stairs and landing carpet is circa 1975! This will be the last area we do because we still have our bedroom to sort out and it will mean traipsing stuff up and down.

I will definitely have a look at what yoh said though. I never thought of auctions and antique places. I imagine there'll be some interesting stuff to be had.

lauraland

Have you had a look on the design dilemma forum on Houzz? https://www.houzz.co.uk/discussions/design-dilemma

The folk on there are very helpful, If you are able to post pictures of the space then they can provide some suggestions to get you started. It would be helpful if you had some starting point that you love such as main colour, a wallpaper design, curtains, artwork etc...

Even post pics on here and some of our forum users may be able to help out

PasturesNew

I'd have stuck up a picture rail throughout on day one.... I've a new build and am planning on having them put up. They're great as you can instantly hang anything, on a whim, without having to have fixings or use a hammer etc!

trailingspouse

We've bought loads at our local auction for our Edwardian house - a walnut dressing table for £50, a matching wardrobe for £30, two mahogany desks for under £50 each, a sideboard for £30, and odds and ends like coffee tables, ornaments, a clock etc etc

The important thing is to know what you're looking for, and not be tempted to spend more than you meant to!