When we were offered the chance of buying my Grandparents old house 2.5 years ago, we jumped at the chance. Okay, we thought. It needs some work. But it's liveable! Boy, did that mindset change.
As soon as you move in, you start noticing things. Stupidly we didn't get the house assessed before we moved in, and having been vacant for 6 months, it had really run itself down. Mould, dust, cobwebs, it was starting to look dreary. The only thing to do to wash away that feeling was to decorate.
1. Start with the most used rooms.
We gave ourself a month to decorate before moving in, living out of our flat, spending long days painting the new house. We started with the living room - the focal point, the main room. We stripped it (which was far easier than we anticipated as the paper was so old and stiff it just fell off in strips!) and painted the blank walls.
We did the living room then our room, then the bathroom and toilet. The rest followed.
2. Timing
We moved in August, the height of the U.K. summer, so we could paint with the windows open, take a break in the sun, then carry on. The motivation from the weather was brilliant and we got the living room done really quickly.
3. Pace yourself.
When you buy an old house, there's a LOT to do. Sure, I'd have loved to have been able to afford to do up the whole house within 12 months but it just wasn't going to happen. We hope to be here for a long time, so what's the rush! And on that note...
4. Decorate room by room
Finish one room before starting the next. This is one of those bits of advice where I say do as i say, not as I do. I'm impulsive, so there are things in all the rooms that need finishing, and it's not a good feeling.
Instead, choose a room and commit to finishing it before starting another.
5. Stick to themes
Whether your theme is white, minimalist, pastels, bright, feature wall, or something more specific like the popular Union Flag London theme, or the ever popular shabby chic look, make sure you pick a theme and commit to it.
Since moving in, we knew we eventually wanted a white minimal nautical hallway, farmhouse style kitchen, clean white and mint bathroom and toilet, minimal cream master bedroom with light nautical touches, and the two spare rooms; one a future nursery, white, grey, peach and mint, and the other to host memories of our wedding holiday in Arizona and Nevada.
Along the way we've experimented with the smaller spare room, and painted it twice with the intention to finally decorate it as an office in the coming months.
6. Buy as you go along
This makes personalising rooms so much cheaper.
We hope to start a family in the near future, so with the plan to decorate the larger spare room as a future nursery in mind, I often see things that match our vision for the room.
I have a storage box labelled for each room in the house and each box has things in it for that room. Our nursery box is full to the brim, as is the office box!
It's a great way to make sure everything matches, and to keep track of what you've got and what you still need.
7. Look for a bargain before you commit
Everything I see that I want for a room, I first try and source from cheaper means. There are some things I won't scrimp out on, that only handmade etsy stores or Instagram sellers can make, but for things like wall vinyls, prints and paint colours, I feel much better getting them cheaper and using the savings for something else.
For instance, I have two light boxes.
One is from the lovely little company, and the second I picked up for 1/5 of the price at The Range. Of course the quality of the first is higher but to an outside eye they look exactly the same.
You'll remember my previous post about bargain hunting - this wall in our spare room gets so many compliments. In total it cost around £20, with the items all being from Tiger (where nothing's more than £30), Primark and the Range.
8. Colour match!
I had never heard of F&B or Annie Sloane when we lived in our flat. But now, I'm addicted to browsing endless shades of cream, white and grey. But they're expensive. We used B&Q colour match to create a more affordable version of the colours we loved and in all honesty, who knows? It may not be the exact same finish, but I'm not bothered. Only I know that, after all! As for AS, a little goes a long way, so I bought one tin of old white and a sample pot of a teal shade and that's lasted me for months. It's great to have in the cupboard for random projects, but it's equally nice to know there are many more versions of chalk paint now that make it again more affordable.
9. Pay homage to the house as it was when you moved in
We framed a piece of the old kitchen wallpaper and carpet and it hangs in the hallway now. It's so funny when people ask how it looked before being renovated and we show them that!
We also have the old front door key on a piece of string, painted in holographic nail polish and we hang it on our Christmas tree every year!
10. Utilise social media
People have amazing ideas. There are some incredible home designers on instagram and Pinterest, so use them for their knowledge! Don't be afraid to ask them questions too, they love what they do and love helping you achieve the same look!
Do you have any tips that really helped for your move?
Speak soon!
XO
