How often do you redecorate your home?

[user1461609321]

Evening everyone

Just wanted to check how often you re-paint walls, buy new items like curtains etc

I feel like my house needs a yearly re-paint otherwise the house looks so run down and scruffy

My walls are magnolia but get so stained in the kitchen or kid's bedroom, I don't know why?

The sealant around the bath is often getting mould spots etc

We tidy up daily, sweep/ mop frequently but my home always seems to have something broken (like a light switch etc, and as we own the property, it costs us personally to fix it)

Whenever I visit other peoples houses or look at social media, everything looks so clean and shiny so I feel like a slob

Recently did kids room last year, painted, put wall stickers etc, new curtains etc, just one year later wall stickers have been pulled off wall, leaving unsightly marks, wall a mess, they have spoilt their bunk bed etc

Finally how do people keep rugs clean, I have tried using scrubbing brush and carpet cleaner but how do you get the carpet dry in this weather whilst avoiding the damp smell?

Please help me!

Yes we have F&B modern emulsion in the kitchen and hall, it's very good for wiping. I don't use dettol wipes on paintwork though just kitchen cupboards, tiles and switches as I destroyed the banister gloss paint with them, it sort of melted it,

Hard to believe they could happily live in such a shit hole for so long- hard to believe people can have such non existent standards! I'd be so embarrassed if I was the old owners.

Perhaps they didn't have the money or the time or the physical/mental well-being to keep on top of it n

Hallways twice a year (very large muddy dogs and toddler prints) DP does it on the weekends I go visit my relative abroad. Never touched up my bedroom In 10 years, kids room was decorated last year and I'm going to change it this year (siblings starting to share room) if DP couldn't do it I would attempt myself. Couldn't imagine paying for it.

@sausagepastapot

we have just moved into a bigger house and they haven't cleaned let alone decorated for circa 14 years.

Its truly vile and going to be so much work for us to redo everything.

Hard to believe they could happily live in such a shit hole for so long- hard to believe people can have such non existent standards! I'd be so embarrassed if I was the old owners.

When we moved in it was the same, really disgusting and not maintained at all so we renovated the whole place, did a touch up of walls 2 years in, but yet at year 3 feel we need to repaint AGAIN to maintain a clean and fresh look

I've never lived anywhere long enough to redecorate
We've been here 4.5 years, finished our bedroom 4 years ago & it's absolutely fine. The only new thing is a new duvet cover. We have two cats and the most noticeable thing was a cat-height dirty mark on the door frame where they were squeezing through the gap - easily wiped off though.

You know you can gently wipe walls with a damp cloth if you get any marks?
And maybe choose a richer colour than magnolia next time - it may be that you are noticing a lot if the colour isn't very forgiving, even a shade or two deeper might help?

What paint did you use? I've used dulux trade emulsion & it stands up to a gentle wipe if any marks appear.

Re the stickers being peeled off and stuff... can you get the kids involved in decorating their room next time (age dependent but even little ones can help washing brushes and rollers, for example)? If they see what hard work it is, maybe they'll respect it a bit more?

About every 7/8 years for paint but we wouldn’t replace curtains etc that frequently.

I have a jar of the paint for every room in the utility room and I touch up as it’s needed.

For rugs I have a vax carpet cleaner

But just want to feel like I have my shit together rather than just passing through life

If you're redecorating every year you wouldn't have time for anything else!

Would love kids to remember having a lovely childhood home, not a run down one (I know it's about the memories created rather than what house looks like) but want more of a balance

Is it actually run down?

We are 10 years in our house and no plans to redecorate. Had to get a new carpet twice due to accidents but apart from that happy with how everything looks.

Might need to get a new kitchen at some point.

Not 'run down' per se but very 'lived in' kids room and kitchen most in need of a touch up/ repaint

We've been in our house 11 years and still have one room left that hasn't been decorated since we moved in. But we did do a major kitchen extension so maybe that makes up for it! Once the last room is done I will probably be happy for at least another decade unless the dog completely destroys something!

We redecorate when we want to sell.

So, twice in 30 years.

I think if I was a child I would be more pissed off with my parents constantly decorating

Wow that's good

My kids’ bedrooms were done 10 years ago and really need repainting. It’s often hard to keep on top of stuff. I need some motivation !

@GreenClock

My kids’ bedrooms were done 10 years ago and really need repainting. It’s often hard to keep on top of stuff. I need some motivation !

Me too sister

Painting every 2/3 years.
Kitchen/bathroom 10years
Living room/ bedroom furnishings 5 years.
My DH's Company(housebuilder) has interior designers who dress their show homes I use them in our home.

We try and be smart with our decoration to minimise redoing it.

Magnolia with children would be a no go for example.

The kids rooms are all painted in scrubable paint, no wall stickers or wallpaper to peel. Easy to clean and only needs the very rare touch up when we have a child come to stay that draws on walls etc.

Bathrooms are tiled floor to ceiling. Kitchen has high splash backs and only paint at the top where it can’t be marked.

Sitting room is the one area that tends to look run down and needs more touch ups as we spend most of our time in there.

I learnt many years ago that some decorations and furnishings will have to wait until we no longer have small children at home. We foster so likely not until retirement.

I do long for carpet downstairs one day however!

It's quite an upheaval though, we do need to do our bedroom and get new carpet which means completely clearing the room into the spare room which we won't be able to get into with all the extra furniture in there and sleeping in the caravan, it would be very difficult if all the bedrooms were occupied. I couldn't do that every year or two

In the kitchen: washable paint in your friend there. Plus tiles in the areas most likely to get oil stains.

We don’t redecorate often. Haven’t done it in years and tbh it needs redoing.
The kitchen is the one area that probably needs paint more often. Bathroom sealant is replaced regularly just because it peels/gets damaged anyway.

Furnishing etc… not unless they fall into bits.

In the process of decorating, lounge done, hall stairs etc to go

Upstairs done in three rooms 4 years ago amd could do with a refresh, maybe this year defo next year

Kitchen diner done 3 years ago or so so again maybe next year

Would love kids to remember having a lovely childhood home, not a run down one (I know it's about the memories created rather than what house looks like) but want more of a balance

I asked my adult children if they had any "memories" from their childhood home. They didn't have a clue what I meant, obviously not then

Been here over 20 years. Kitchen, loo, bathroom, spare room + dining room have been done 2x. All other rooms 1x. We still have the curtains we put up when we moved in, except one pair that got worn into holes. (Some rooms have shutters and don't need curtains).

Just the thought of redecorating the hall makes me feel faint!

I think your problem is pale colours on your walls and floor, with young kids.

I just do a bit of decorating when something or other looks a bit crappy, as in walls or other places, like woodwork etc. I live in small terraced cottage,its about 150 years old, and there are damp areas in a few places around the house.. I have three cats, so always cats hairs all over, and two of the cats scratch the carpet at the bottom of the stairs everytime they come in, and now it looks a bit tatty and ragged. I tend to ignore the jobs in the Winter months,, but come a bright sunny spring day. thats when everthing is going to look drab and annoying all over..

Then I will go in the garden to plant stuff, and forget about the efforts of decorating !

I painted some of the walls about 4 years ago, our bedroom was done when we bought it 14 years. Replaced blinds when broken, change the shower curtain every now and then and get new furnishings like bedding/cushions if beyond repair (often get my sewing kit out).