To ask how much I need to save... (with shitty diagram!)

[jamoncrumpet]

... to do up my living room?

Room is approx 5m x 4m.

I want to get a carpenter in to make Alcove 1 into a cabinet for DVDs. In Alcove 2 I want low cabinets, tv on top, and two shelves above for books.

I want one wall wallpapered and the rest of the room painted.

I was thinking of saving about £1500 but DH says I'm being very optimistic!

Forgot my rubbish diagram!

What about flooring? How is the wall surface?

Cost us nearer £4k to do our lounge but all the walls had to be replastered (and that's not including the new floor we needed...!)

Don’t build in cabinets it isn’t 1995.

Flooring will stay the same for now.

Unfortunately we need cabinets as we have a lot of DVDs and books that DH is very attached to. At the moment we have open shelving and it just looks messy and like a students' front room.

Can you not just spend out on great fitting cabinets and shelves?
Built in cabinets are so dated and dont age well (in my opinion)
You can buy really nice furniture for that budget and plenty left for decorating

Walls are in good nick, don't think they would need to be plastered

I'm not thinking Lynda Barker MDF cabinets. I was thinking along these lines aesthetically

I think you can do attractive fitted cupboards/storage whatever the age of your house. When was your house built Op?

As a starting point I’d suggest going to have a look at the built in storage solutions on the Neptune Home Official website.

Can you do the painting yourself? That would save some money. Depends on the dimensions of the alcove and the standard of work you actually want but sounds manageable to me

It's the carpenter that will cost money, you could probably wall paper and paint it all yourself

I've seen the built in cupboard/shelving in a lot renovation photos recently on Instagram/Pinterest. But you are right it won't be cheap! Start gathering quotes locally? So you have a rough idea? The north will have different prides to London....etc.

Have a look at Jali bespoke but self-assembly furniture: www.jali.co.uk/. The book shelves etc. are produced according to your exact measurements. I've used them for various projects and found the furniture easy to paint, simple to assemble and sturdy.

Upwards of £1500 for the built in cupboards alone. I think they’re cool! And way more substantial than a shop bought bookshelf.

You're on about spending 1000s to build cabinets to house DVDs?

How often does he watch them?

See if an Ikea billie would fit the alcoves. Much cheaper.
The paint would be about £50 with brushes/roller. Don’t do feature walls, adds to the cost (and I really don’t like them).
Anyway, don’t let DH dampen your spirit. Go for it! Get a quote.

@BarbaraofSeville Don't, I know! He's ridiculous. They're all old sci fi DVD's. He cannot countenance them being stored anywhere else. We have always had open shelving (in rented properties, that's why!) so he can't understand why I want all his million or so Doctor Who DVD's hidden away out of sight.

Also if you look up ikea hacks, there are DIY ways (if you’re handy and up for it) you can combine floor to ceiling ikea bookshelves with skirting edging or casing to make them look built in, but the shelves may bow under heavy books.

jamon I feel your pain, as another widow to the piles of Dvds/SciFi books etc. I gave him the option of the loft or the tip once Dc2 was born and there was no spare bedroom anymore. He spends a lot of time going up and down the loft ladder. . He is 50 this year and still has Dr Who/Star Trek etc VHS tapes in his old bedroom at his parents house. He no longer has a VCR to watch them with but they still havn't been dumped. .

I am happy for him to have them, but we are nearly forty now with small children and I really feel like our days of proudly displaying our (rubbish) DVDs are over. And now we finally own a house (thanks a bunch, baby boomers) we can finally have a grown up living room with cabinets and plants!

Built in shelves for books etc are not dated at all. Done right they are elegant! Though I do think they have to be painted white...

The units alone will probably cost nearly 2k!!

YOu are definitely being optimistic.will dh be doing the wallpapering/painting ? Or will you need to hire someone? Where are you planning on getting the paper? Cole and son “£££” or something cheaper?

I think about 3k/3.5k should do it.

That's actually a simple job, and it's the labour that will cost money, not the materials. Having said that, my DH is a joiner and has made the majority of the furniture and units in our house himself. Are either of you fairly handy?

Moxarella Yes to Ikea hacks! A Billy bookcase, some decorative mouldings and doors and splash out on the handles and the job's a good 'un!

We had cupboards almost exactly the same as your pic built in. They cost over £1500 alone I'm afraid. Not a cheap option but really really nice to have.

DVDs I'd suggest nice storage boxes on shelves so at least it looks less cluttered. Not a perfect solution but cheaper and effective.

I agree wholeheartedly @Oly4

Neither of us are handy. DH even less so than me! Ok I am going to save £2k and hope there may be change enough to buy fancy wallpaper and somehow put it up myself!