To not have a clue how to decorate period home

[Dublinlass]

Hi all, I have an opportunity to move into a period house. Its a beautiful but very old fashioned house. Its lay out is very awkard as well. It has large sitting room, dining room and then you go down steps into breakfast room(small room that was used as a tv room),and a small kitchen. Ideally I'd love to knock the breakfast room and kitchen into one big room but as its not mine I cant. I have four kids so half thinking of using the dining room as a den for them and use breakfast room as a small dining room(kitchen is almost too small for a table) or should I use dining room as it was originally intended but I can't imagine walking up and down carryjng plates to a dining room every day. Anyone any ideas? Thanks(my first ever post so please be gentle with me

[fiveacres]

Try Pinterest. I love it for stuff like this.

[measles64]

Houzz.com for ideas as well.

[cozietoesie]

I think my main recommendation would be not to rush into remodelling - you can make some big temporary mistakes doing that. I'd be moving in, doing enough to stay in it comfortably, and then seeing how it was to actually live in the place while looking at the sites other people have mentioned.

(It sounds great by the way. )

[WorraLiberty]

Paint it red and hang some mooncups from the ceiling

[Perihelion]

Tampon chandelier......sorry couldn't help myself.
Go with dining room as a den. Plates and steps are a pain in the arse.

[PlummyBrummy]

I second what cozietosie said. Live in it for a bit before deciding on any big remodelling jobs as small changes might well suggest themselves. Be aware of listed building consent that might be needed for such work as well. Some people see listing as constricting but if you really look at the reasons why something has been listed, you can appreciate why it's special and it can give you ideas about how to work around something. Good luck though - I'd love to live in a quirky old place!

[abigamarone]

Ideally I'd love to knock the breakfast room and kitchen into one big room but as its not mine I cant.
How much decorating can you do? Having the breakfast room as a dining room and the dining room as a den or second living room sounds ideal.

[flora717]

Do live in it. Get an idea of which room gets light at what times. Which room feels more instinctively cosy.
Don't stick to only one use for a room.
Temporarily you can remove doors it's not one room but it can make them feel more connected.

[cozietoesie]

I'm unclear how much you can or need to do to it - it's not your house, you say?

If funds were fixed - and you had a responsibility for such things - I'd be concentrating as always on wind and watertight and fabric basics. (Roof, guttering, electricity and other services (which are often antiquated in old houses) etc etc etc. I live in an old house myself and it's a darned sight more comfortable in the longer term knowing that the building fabric and utilities are up to scratch rather than having eg a dodgy roof and 100 year old supply heads/consumer boxes on your electricity - but a pretty bathroom.

That's just me though - I guess for you, it depends for instance on how long you intend to live there, how much money you have and what your responsibilities are for the building.

Good luck anyway.

[Dublinlass]

Thanks everyone. Its my friends house but she is going to live abroad for next five years so we are moving in. There is nothing structurally wrong with the house and its double glazed and in good condition. My friend didn't use half the rooms because she lived on her own. I'll have a look at those websites you recommended. Very exciting as we were living in a cramped two bedroomed terrace for years.

[cozietoesie]

Ah - I'd do the minimum you can get away with then - and that your friend would agree to. (I'm assuming you'd have to clear larger things with her beforehand.)

Old houses have certain disadvantages in terms of modern living - eg they were often built on the assumption of a 'maid servant or two' to do some of the hard graft - but people usually designed them for actually living in nonetheless. Your views may change once you've lived there for a month or two and have seen how it works in practice. (I'm not saying you should never change things but you may change your mind about precisely what needs changing - especially as your friend owns the house at the moment and will, presumably, be returning to live in it.)