to ask about things you did to your home that make you happy?

[BabsolutelyAnanas]

We are somewhere in the middle of purchasing a house (hurrah!)

Looking for ideas of how to nest and interior design our little home is the main thing that cheers me up at the moment, and I am always on the lookout for new ideas to make best use of space and to make it feel like our castle/small terraced house .

I'm interested in non-sickly children's room ideas, space saving kitchen ideas and cosy living room ideas but more than anything else I'd love to know what changes or purchases you've made to your homes to make it feel like yours and a place you're happy to retreat to at the end of the day. Big or small, expensive or completely free I would love to hear what parts of your home make you happy.

Premium carpets with good underlay.
Super-king bed with good mattress.
Alexa enabled light switches so you can turn bedroom light on/off when you are in bed. because I'm lazy
Ddog has really made our house a home, we rescued her 4 weeks after we moved in!
Don't be afraid to rip out old wardrobes/fitted furniture. We completely gutted our master bedroom, stripped wallpaper, replastered, paint, new carpets etc. It is totally different now and I'm so pleased we made the effort to change it.

My bed and bedding. We'd had years of old but really good quality stuff given to us when we married and when it finally fell apart (the bedding not the marriage!), I replaced it with a gorgeous new set.

I love going to bed and hate getting out of it

Re: hanging pot rack/anything from the ceiling, you'll need to locate the studs (the wooden beams that the ceiling plaster board is attached to - use a handheld machine called a stud finder - this will also show up any electrical wires) and attach to that. YouTube is great for any DIY tutorials. Following on from this, boring but necessary, do make sure you have house insurance to cover any DIY accidents - I add the extra accident cover if I know we're going to be doing lots of DIY for that particular year.

Not too matchy matchy but neutral with pops of colour. To many clashing colours & patterns makes me feel on edge. Influencer 'everything white' is too clinical. Decent sofa & furry throws for snuggling up & movie watching. A cat whose always pleased to see me . Table lamps for that soft glow that makes me automatically relax .

How lucky and exciting to have a blank canvas.
We moved into our new home just over 2 years ago.
What really makes it feel like home now, was hanging our own artwork on the walls, we paint & photograph lots but it all stayed in our art cave, deciding it wasn't as good as the artwork we could buy.
but we started painting for the house, matching colours, having fun and now it properly feels like our home, very personal.

For me, a home needs a piano, a real fire and a cat. Everything else is negotiable!

@BabsolutelyAnanas

Those of you with hanging pot/drying ceiling racks - how tricky is that to install? I have basic DIY skills, DP is pretty handy but it's been a while since he's done any major DIY projects. Could a pair of idiots put one up together?

Not hard, but you are screwing it into the ceiling and then hanging heavy things on it, so you need ot find out where the joists are, and screw with long screws through into the joist. Then it will stay up forever.

Mine is just a long curtain pole. I have 5 million hangers, and everything that can go on a hanger goes on the rack. It is at the height that I can comfortably reach, (I am quite tall) so the clothes hang down quite a way. That was easier than one on a pulley. Our utility room also has a clothes horse underneath for undies and socks, and ther eis an extractor fan and a radiator, so all the damp air is ciculated out of the room, and the rets of the house stays dry (and it dries quickly too)

Such a lovely idea for a thread. Especially at the moment with us all mostly being stuck at home.

as to colours - I find one thing to start. Mine wa sour sofs, donated form my brother who moved house and decide they didn't fit. They are red. I redyed them red and mended them, so they had a new lease of life, Then the room had to work round red sofas!

I didn't want red to dominate, so got curtains (ebay, veyr good, cheap, but new and thermal lilned) with pattern I love, with red and charcoal and beige (lokk nicer than they sound) so other things in the room are red, black, charcoal and beige.

log burner, some fairy lights on the mantlepiece, nice lamps. My favourite room is our lounge, after the kids are in bed and I've chucked any random toys back into the playroom!

Painted a different colour in every room. White/magnolia walls are my enemy and make any room look cold and unloved.

Have replaced all flooring. Best bit was taking up laminate in the bedroom and carpeting. Have just replaced cheap horrid laminate with new high quality vinyl in lounge which is still not as good as carpet but far more practical with small DC. But laminate in bedrooms is hideous.

Pinterest is great to browse for this sort of stuff... I personally also like to use the property character to sort of inform my choices for colour schemes and decoration.

I never would have started with chrome accents, crystals, and pastel shades but I'm in a 1930s house and it just fits. I could make drastically different choices if I really wanted to - but I don't like dark spaces anyway so it just started to mould itself.

And yes - living in the space for a bit before buying furniture (or expensive furniture at any rate) and noting down where it could be more practical (do you have somewhere to put your shoes where you tend to take them off?) sort of thing.

Style of woodwork for furniture can make a huge difference, painted furniture (or wood stain colour), light fixtures and low-level lamps, window dressings (blinds, curtains, shutters, etc.), and then rugs/carpet/flooring, artwork, and plants. :)

I didn’t follow what was “ in “ but just out likes.
Our hall way areas are movie themed.
Our living room is music themed.
Kitchen is Disney themed attached to a novel
Themed dining room
Garden is fairy themed.
Daughters bedroom is a music den

Like PP cosy throws and cushions you love. I'm a big fan of velvet cushions- they feel luxurious. Fairy lights and your favourite candles great at all times of the year (St Eval Bay and Rosemary are my secret). Corner sofa in our sitting room is brilliant (newish purchase) for kids/ day time and very comfy. Large sofa in front room with essential large footstool that stretches half the width.

Kids' rooms- I've redone 2 of them in the past 18 months, last one will be done after lock down.

I went with navy walls for youngest - I love them- put white star stickers and accessories in white/ navy stars Inc a little wigwam. Can be easily changed if he gets bored of stars! Similarly teen DS2 has gone monochrome with a huge stripe of colour which goes up one wall and across the ceiling. Easy to do with masking tape and cheap as it's just paint. He also has one white wall which he doodles on with a black Sharpie pen (he's very into art and cartooning). He can easily paint over it whenever.

DS3(16) is presently planning his- I'm again, steering him to mono with colour accessories. He's got a load of black and white prints and photos so that'll look good. We're planning perhaps a stripe of colour all the way around as it's a big loft room. Again, can easily be painted over.

I avoid anything too themed as they get bored!

I've gone quite industrial in the bathroom- exposed pipework- but also vintage. The house is very me!

Oh forgot, like pp coloured woodwork can look great. Did front room last year in same colour as the walls and it feels very cosy and together. I'm also a fan of coloured ceilings - seems strange but I have 2 downstairs and they work great.

I made my daughter's old room into my reading room/craft room.
It's now shelved with all my books, I have a new sofa and there's space to do loads of hobbies. I have fairy lights up and scented candles.
It's mine

There are some fabulous ideas on here, but some are contradictory, because everyone has their own likes and dislikes.,

For example, I hate throws on sofas. But for others on here, they are the luxury that makes it feel cosy.
I like colour, others like neutral with just colour accents.
I would hate themed rooms, but the poster who wrote that speaks with love about their special place.

This just shows that one thing that matters is to work out what YOU and your bf like and want. Good time to think about - are you the sort of people who like big bookcases full or books and treasures? Or are the the sort who like all those things behind doors to create a plain clean line? And do you both have the same style?
neither is right or wrong, but finding your own style is great fun.

Biggest tip I can give is this - paint is cheap (well, compared to new sofas and curtains!) You can always try out a colour and repaint if you hate it. If you are worried about going bold, try one wall? Or keep the same tone buty go lighter. or paint it all white and then add in colour!

Plants and flowers
Carefully chosen artwork
Comfy reclining chairs and sofas
Good quality bed linen
Plenty of storage
I have a lot of possessions and collections but it feels quite calm and peaceful as everything has a place and the colours flow and blend
Being tidy is a big thing for me - I’m not a born cleaner but tidiness makes it look clean

The best advice I read about interior design was treating the whole house together, like one space rather than separate rooms. When I recently redecorated, I made sure all the colours and accessories blended.

I agree with whoever spoke about a large sofa.

As well as get rid off all your clutter. I am constantly decluttering and have barely any tat which is brilliant.

Another thing is bookcases with glass doors so you don't have to dust.

Not to everyone's taste but we covered one wall of our playroom in two thirds cork and one third blackboard paint and now use it as a gallery/pinboard/notice board. I love how it looks, and that it allows us to change the pictures frequently and easily.

@shittingthreeeyedraven

Pulled up the carpets, sanded the floorboards and painted the floors in each room a different, bright colour. Not for everyone but I love it

I'd definitely love that! I had carpet put down quite expensively when I moved here (small cottage) because there weren't existing floorboards, and I constantly regret it. Would love to do what you've done!

When I redecorated at the end of 2019, I went for a grey paint pallet for the living areas, bathroom and wc. Good quality light fittings. I found a bargain quirky dining table which is a brushed concrete top and stainless steel base, it’s an egg/oval shape and I love it. Statement oversized mirrors and added colour with throws and artwork.
My advice would be to do lots of research and only buy things you love and that ‘speak’ to you, hold out because you will find what you love, don’t settle!
My dd’s room is quite small so I got an ikea Kura bed, she sleeps on the top and has set up a town underneath with her toys, no more messy floor space.
Also Alexa smart bulbs in the kids rooms, and shelves for their teddy’s and things that they don’t play with too often.

I'd say, don't rush. It doesn't have to be made over the week you move in. I painted a couple of areas that were badly marked/not at all my taste and the rest I left for a couple of years(too long but I just had no time).

However when I did come to sort out the main rooms, I knew how I used them and what I wanted to change to make the rooms work better for me.

I'd also say, pick the colours you like not what other people say you should have.

Big spend = new kitchen. I hate clutter on the work top so I've got tonnes of storage for all my stuff (pan drawer!!).

For the other stuff I would decide if you are style driven or more classic in your taste....I'm classic so the following works for me. My sister on the other hand totally changes the appearances of rooms every 2-3 years so buying stuff with the intention of keeping it for 15 years doesn't work for her!

Small spend - house framing style. I will use any brand of frames but all my stuff is framed in black or silver. (I used to have blonde wood, but those frames have gone out of fashion now so I've replaced them). Makes it look coordinated.

decent kitchen stuff - I have had my own flat for 17 years (eek!) and chose stuff I liked, bought good quality (some is Ikea!) and still have it eg. pots/ pans, knives, graters, potato peeler etc.
Friends who bought more cheaply or for expediency have often gone through several sets of the same items.

Bed - spend money on bedlinen, duvet, pillows etc that you like. Your bed should be a welcome oasis from life. Again, if you buy decent stuff and it lasts