Need to redecorate our sitting room - how do you decide?

[UniBallEye]

We live in an old house - about 170years old. When we moved in we were given some pieces of furniture from relatives etc & that's served us very well for many years
Now things are beginning to need replacing & we really need to redecorate.

And I'm curious about how other's do this - do you go to 1 shop & pick a 'look' or do you spend ages trawling around researching? There's just SO much choice

Ideally I'd like a country cottage look ad that's the type of house we have but I don't want it to look twee either..

If you know of any websites or shops I should be looking at please point me in thr right direction

Thanks!!

I get a feel for a room and a colour i think will work.
I decide if i want paper or paint in a certain room and what will work- if paper the type of pattern qnd size if very jmportant yo the final feel of a room and how open or closed it will feel.
Browse wallpaper dlsites online and request samples or look at paint companies and narrrow it fown to samples- a paint sample will always look three shades darker at keast once its in the walls bear in mind (paint a big bit of each colour).
Decide on the stuyle of furniture you wNt, jew vs antique/ vintage. Check out magazines and websites gor ideasn geta good range of examples. Try some in real life. Its important yo get a dood idea of the sizes. Often modern sofas etc are e tremely big which can dwarf a room qnd mske it look messy and smaller than it is. Buying undivudual different but complimentary pieces is a good choice .
With no idea what you reall have in mind ots hard yo give any suggestions. Room size, natural light, window size and direction all make a difference qs does exacyly what country means yo you.
Sorry for mistakes in typing.

Thanks so much for the reply! It's really helpful.
It's a small cosy room with a sash window either side & a small open fireplace.

I know I don't want wallpaper (lime render walls) & I absolutely don't want leather furniture.

I love 'the hamptons 'look if you know what I mean - pale coloured furniture & a mix of comfy sofas & antique tables/artifacts. I just don't know how or where people get this look.

Try auctions and eBay, sounds like an eclectic look would suit your house rather than a trip to DFS. Why don’t you start with replacing one thing at a time and seeing how it look

Some things need to be chosen first because they’re either hard or expensive to change - it might be the flooring, or the curtains that are made to measure for non standard windows, or the suite of furniture. But any of those things could also be an easy fix in your circumstances.

Some people like to take a throw cushion or a lamp they love and work the whole colour scheme out of it, or others might have a neutral room and update it with throws and lampshades from time to time or even seasonally.

There’s no hard and fast rule but if you can figure out the order of importance for your circumstances, it’s easier to proceed.

Try Pinterest and search for Hamptons, New England Coastal decor.

I am about to embark on a major re decorating project in my home.

I would start with something big like the sofa. Find a style and colour that you like and take it from there. I think you really need to sit on furniture to see if you find it comfortable and feel the material.

Think about the placement of your furniture too. Do you have a TV in the room. Does that have to be in a certain place. Two sofas or one sofa and two chairs?

Once you have the sofa you can pick a paint colour. Then I would look at flooring and window treatments. Do you like the shutter look?

Lastly I would buy smaller furniture like side tables. I can live without these until I find something I like

I avoid patterns on big items and add colour, texture and pattern with smaller items like cushions, throws, lampshades.

In the sitting room I think I am going for a Gentleman’s Club type look. Dark walls, tweed, leather etc but I have another room that has a much lighter country cottage type vibe.

I went wallpaper shopping and ripped a decent sized sample from a few rolls. I left them in the living room over a week or so. Gradually I took a sample away because I went off it until I was left with my favourite. I look at more expensive brands and find more affordable copy cat choices.

I think a lot of that look comes from pieces of furniture acquired over the years.

Following with interest as following the loss of both my parents I'm going to be taking some of their furniture I like to replace what I have and redoing mine. Add in a top to bottom renovation of our house in the next 2 years hopefully and I'm finding it all a bit overwhelming!

I think magazines are quite useful for deciding on the look you want. Say cosy or minimal modern. Period style amd so on. I used to like 25 beautiful homes and Ideal home for ideas.

Thank you all!
I do love the shutters on windows look & don't like curtains so much.
I'm thinking 2 stone / putty coloured sofas rather than 1 sofa & 2 chairs as it would fit the room better I think.

It is the room with the TV so that needs to be factored in too.

I think you are all right & the sort of eclectic look I love takes years to accumulate - but i suppose what I'm wrestling with is what to do in the meantime while 'finding' the right things?
And it sort of means you're basically decorating forever in a way .

I like the thoughts of getting the big stuff right first & keeping it neutral & adding colour & interest through cushions/ throws etc

Does anyone have any good websites for stuff like that? We have a pretty standard selection of actual shops here - Harvey Norman's, DFS, next etc & none of them are grabbing my interest- I mean for soft furnishings allowing we go for the off white/ stone sofas?

The floors are dark hardwood & we will keep them. The windows are off white wooden sash windows. The ceiling is white wooden planks

Have a look at Houzz for some ideas.

www.next.co.uk/laura-ashley/homeware/laura-ashley-sofas?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_7KXBhCoARIsAPdPTfhVgEtcaUqcJ0YKKClyKvwzlL5eX-yrPrESu56-4PqEt7LLEJybXqwaAn71EALw_wcB

Any of these styles of sofas? They come in didderent colours

Next qlso have some

Tty furniture village if youcare selective theere are some good choices. Make sure thexsofas arent huge or the room will be domiated and decorating os pointless. Maybe consider chesterfields? Dont go for a sofa that has loads of matching cuschions heaped up as part of its design. It wont work here. Selected random cushions are different

Sofa.com They have various showrooms - would recommend visiting to sit in the sofas and see what feels right.

I get quite a bit of our vintage furniture and accessories from Ebay and Etsy - you have to be committed to the browse though! You'll start to get a feel for how people might describe things. Searching broader categories or terms takes longer but more likely to find a bargain than looking for something very specific that might be in demand

If you have lime plaster, Earthborn have some lovely clay paint colours. Although expensive, the coverage is incredible, so you don't need as much.

My whole house is New England/Hamptons in style. I think you have to take a whole house approach rather than just one room in order to make it work since it’s a “feeling” that you’re going for. Clearly your house isn’t in the Hamptons.

We have dark hardwood floors throughout and off white walls. Then you’re lucky if you have second hand furniture since that is part of the look. You need to take out each piece and think about how you can tie it in (generally with paint). It’s amazing how a dated chest of drawers can suddenly look so different with the top sanded back and the rest painted white.

Pale sofas and then think linens, blues, beiges, soft greys (careful here since you only want a little and you need to avoid cold greys), stripes feature heavily but keep the contrast muted otherwise you can slip into “nautical” which isn’t what you’re trying to do. Mixing fabrics and patterns is important because.the Hamptons look is an upmarket but relaxed look. Cushions and curtains make a massive difference and tie everything together.

You also need to get as much light into the rooms as possible. Use mirrors if your natural light is poor. Use lots of glass.

Thank you everyone for all the ideas & suggestions. It's really helpful.

While I love the New England / Hamptons look I'm not sure it would work as an entire look in our house as we have an old farmhouse. The proportions of the rooms might not be right for it

I like contemporary country cottage but am far less keen on ye olde worlde country decor

I think I need to do lots of looking at magazines / websites for inspiration.

Thanks everyone

I start with a farrow and ball paint card. X