To ask for quick, cheap ways to make house more cosy and attractive?

[JonesyAndTheSalad]

We've lived here for about 3 months and don't have any a massive budget.

It's an old house which is very nice as I love character houses but it's a bit bleak now Autumn's arriving...I'm in Oz and it's getting quite chillly!

There are wooden floorboards throughout and I did splash out on a few rugs when we moved in but I see we need more....it's quite a big house.

So those are on the horizon. But there's a definite lack of cosiness going on.

I have a fireplace that works and it's probably time to light it so that will improve things...and a fireplace that's empty and non functioning in another room and needs something to make it look pretty.

Two sitting rooms both have BIG fireplaces and mantles.

Kitchen is very vintage with original fittings...any ideas overall to make things less bleak?

WHat attracted me in the first place is now feeling a little bit Dickensian!

I want to generally warm the place up. This is probably made worse by a visit to friend's last night in their modern, centrally heated and stylish home.

Cushions, wall hangings, general soft furnishings. It's probably having an impact on the acoustics which will make it feel more bleak. Soft, soft, soft. Blankets etc...?

Lamps, lamps and more lamps.

Fuck those big lights.

Candles. Basket of logs. Cosy throws.
Warmer colours in general?

Fairy lights!

Throws and blankets and cosy lighting

Non-functioning fireplace- use candles. A few really big/fat ones in warm
Colours.

Cushions, blankets, lamps not overhead lights, curtains not blinds.

Could you collect fir cones to fill the decorative fireplace with? Do you have logs etc inside?

Could you put more pictures up? My parents have wall hangings. Post cards or dried hops in the kitchen? Is bunting a step too far? Or plants that don't need too much watering?

Houseplants make a huge difference for not much money.

I'd go and spend a couple hundred bucks in Kmart. And do up one room super warm. They've got nice rugs, blankets, cushions and even a few bits nice furniture.
Heating large drafty houses in OZ is crazy expensive.

Lots of plants. Large ones on the floor and smaller ones on window sills.

Lamps, table and floor.

Picture frames on the walls.

Rugs, throws and cushions.

Have a look at pinterest for ideas!

A cat or two

Pretty bunting, fairy lights, floor / table lamps, cushions throws big green leafy houseplants,

I'm in a similar situation in the UK and have bare floorboards and gaping spaces due to lack of furniture.....
I improved some occasional tables from packing boxes and covered them with spare sheets/blankets/tablecloths with lamps on.
I bought some tea light candles and put them in an old glass serving dish with water in the fireplace (non functional but no gas/elec fire yet) and floated them.
Also unused vase with Christmas fairy lights in, spare pillows and duvet on floor and arranged as a floor seat......
Hope you settle in

*Improvised occasional tables, not improved!

Thanks guys. I wanted big fat candles but Oz is so bloody expensive! Twenty dollars each and when you need about 7 it's not doable!

I think I do need to visit Kmart....at least the blankets are cheap there! Pictures aren't cheap here...nothing is!

Light the rooms with standard and table lamps, not the overhead central light fittings, as others have said. More rugs, floor cushions in warm colours, big houseplants, bookshelves. What have you got on the walls?

I painted my whole sitting room off white, I wanted it to be all scandinavian. It should have looked brilliant but it didn't look so sleek, it looked just bland.... so I painted one wall orange. It's not a feature wall. It's just one wall painted orange and I think it has really livened the place up.

Lamps and a big throw over the sofa. Curtains in autumn/winter colours. The empty fireplace just needs a few logs placed in to make it look as if its going to be lit any day now!

I am in Oz too, Kmart is your best bet on a budget. join some of the Kmart Hack sites on facebook. Also see if there are any freecycle facebook pages in your area, I got a free gas fire off of our one.

warm and cosy slippers!
If you can get them at reasonable price you could even buy extras for guest, but really nice ones for you are fantastic.

Sunny thanks for that tip...just found one of the hack pages on FB and it's very good!

Dry garden flowers to use as features. I dried hydrangea blooms and hung them in groups of 3 / 5 from ceiling corners and ends of curtain poles using rafia, rope, ribbon as appropriate

Picked up items from boot sales and painted them up using emulsion paint and a coat of beeswax put on with a paintbrush.

Try the Reject Shop. They seem to be all over Australia now. They have a real mix of things that are very ordinary (and you wouldn't look at twice) and extremely nice and appealing at good prices.

Lady my house and area is very dusty and I have always had issue with dried flwoers for that reason! I do the same with regards to furniture....(can't afford new!) I suppose it's really all down to money! I have to spend something to make a real change now. :( I can sew so think I'll get some fabric for new cushion covers and some more blankets for sofas....I have a lot of lamps but there are definitely a few bald areas where another lamp or little table with a lamp could be placed.

Paintings I have some lovely ones...at the moment they're propped up as DH hasn't got around to hanging them! I'll make him do it this week!

Tbh - learn to sew if you can't already.

Making cushions, curtains and other soft furnishings isn't hard.

Most fabric stores have bins of off cuts of fabric you can get at bargain prices.

I furnished my first home like this on shoe string.

Buy cheap pine bookcases and paint them - fill them with wicker baskets you buy cheaply online - looks nice and is great storage.

Colour is great, but don't forget texture. A really chunky wool throw against a bright cotton cushion can look great.

Paint is your friend. Warming a single wall with a bold colour can transform a room - or coordinate mismatched furniture.

Posh wallpaper offcuts in a frame can look fantastic - as can fresh flowers, dried and pressed.

Jam jars, decorated with ribbon add colour and make great candle holders.....