How do I find my own style and make my house a home?

[LadySybilLikesCake]

I'm sorry if this is a bit daft. Most of the items in my house are either hand me downs, presents or bought because they were cheap, so my house isn't 'me'. I can't decorate and I need to replace things, like the sofa and the bed, which were cheap and I needed a bed IYSWIM, but I don't know what to look for or where to start (apart from decluttering). My budget is PAYE so I have plenty of time.

How on Earth do I make my house a home?

Get on Pinterest! Start going through the home decor bit or search for a particular thing (bedrooms, beds, couch etc) and pin what you like! That is exactly how I have settled on my new colour scheme for my living room :)

It makes like your own personal mood board full of things you like!

Don't worry about your 'style'. Surround yourself with things / colours that YOU like and don't try to follow a theme or whatever is the latest trend.

I'd start by picking out one or two things you really love-a painting, a vase, a rug or a chair for example. Then build a room around it, use it's in colour either as a base or an accent colour to continue throughout the room.

Pinterest is a great place to find different styles and looks that you are drawn towards, make pinboards for different rooms and pin anything and everything you like, then look through and see what emerges as strongest or what you like best and weed out the stuff that doesn't fit so well. This can form your basis for shopping for your house and adding to it gradually.

For me, texture and a sense of comfort and relaxation is really important in loving and bedrooms (more so than sleek good looks for example) and I love beautiful lamps and light fittings, so I have cheap rugs and fairly basic sofas (more practical with dc's anyway) but vintage glass lamps and super soft (velvet or cashmere or faux fur) cushions and throws on the sofas. The things that make a house a home are the things that you really love.

Ah, that's a great plan, thank you!

I like the shabby French look but it's everywhere. I don't want to be like everyone else, I want to be an individual (reminds me of Monty Python and the Life of Brian)

Sorry - 'Use its colour'....

Lamps would be great. I only have one in the living room and it's not really me (yes, it was cheap). I have loads of books and I don't really like the book cases (second hand from an old neighbour). They are on my list but there's other things which are a priority (like the sofa) so I can't see them getting replaced anytime soon. I could do lamps though, and vintage glass sounds wonderful! Do you know any sites, please?

Once you've found your style Tkmaxx are great for inexpensive things that don't look or cheap. Its very hit an miss so you could pick up bits and pieces over time....a lamp here, a few towels there etc.

For large items you can pick up some fantastic stuff second hand on places like Gumtree.

Have a look at houzz.com. Its very american and mostly very high end but if you created an ideas book and save any rooms that you like you'll build up a picture of what style appeals to you.

Also, don't be afraid to take a paint brush to your existing furniture.

I was coming on to suggest Pinterest, but I'm too late.

It's brilliant for getting ideas.

I used to buy a stack of house magazines and drool over the 10k sofas and glass extensions
But then look for cheaper versions of the things I liked.

Laura Ashley (for an example) has an ebay shop with some great bargains.

Have a look on ebay for vintage lamps, and are there any antique type shops near you?

We live near a huge old warehouse type shop and it has alsorts in it, not just boring old brown furniture.

Keep an eye on eBay, this place has some great things but you have to keep checking because it's a very eclectic mix . Graham and Green also have some lovely things that mix well with vintage and aren't too expensive...

Hey Anni

Great tip by the previous poster.
I found a fab big old mirror in a charity shop for £12, with a nasty gold frame.
I painted it with some matt black paint from b&q, attached a new chunky silver chain (also from b&q)

It now hangs in my bathroom... And everyone comments on it.

What I would do is paint a room white, start with that room. Then I would paint the bookcase you have in an eggshell paint - maybe something like sage green or whatever you like. Buy funky handles for other furniture from zara

Buy a nice rug

Put a lamp under a large mirror

Candles

Wicker baskets

Big old style clock

Range of cushions and throws

(My favourite wall paint colours are antique white, crown - mellow sage and Dulux - mulberry silk )

Ooooh I love doing up rooms but I am thrifty. Dig around charity shops too.

I love that site Sleep.
But what's that strange dildo/hotdog thing halfway down the page?! :o

I think it's really hard when you come by loads of hand me downs that do a job. It's difficult to justify turfing stuff out if it fills a need, but not nice if that stuff isn't really your taste.

I don't think there's anything wrong in liking stuff that's current, if you really like it because you like it then that's not the same as liking it because it's what's in now.

If you want to work out your own style I second/third/fourth making a Pinterest account and mood boards pinning from either other webpages or repinning from other accounts. You can get a Pin It button for your toolbar which makes that really easy.

Personally I think to know yourself it's a good idea to work out the colours that appeal. Do you favour cool neutrals, colours of the natural world, or jewel colours, or are you more monochrome?
Designers often start by finding a painting that really appeals, what kind of things would you like to have on your wall to look at all the time OP?

Oh, I didn't know about Laura Ashley's ebay shop! Thank you

TKmaxx here isn't very good unless you want towels I may pop in for cast iron pans though lord knows where I'll put them though The charity shops are dire too.

I've been looking out for wicker baskets, they seem expensive

I can't paint the walls, I can paint my book cases though!

Thank you! Sorry that I didn't reply personally, I'm excited!!

I figured I'd do one room at a time. The room leading off the street is the slug room study. It has a small table (bought for £15 from Ikea and varnished by me but is too small and pushed under the window), 2 chairs, a wardrobe (which won't go up the staircase), a tall fridge freezer (which won't go into the kitchen and doesn't like the damp cellar) and 2 book cases. I could either bite the bullet and get rid of the wardrobe, or find some way to turn it into a book case (I'm liking this idea more but no idea how), then I can get rid of one of the Ikea ones that I don't really like. I think it needs a mirror above the (open) fireplace, a new blind and a nice table. I may ask about putting in a pretty ceiling lamp.

I'd take a picture but ds's school work is all over the floor!

I'll be checking out Laura Ashley's ebay shop for a while

I love my kitchen. The cupboards are cream but the tiles are all different colours - reds, greens, blue etc. I hate monochrome and cream is a bit boring. I like tartan but it's easy to go overkill.

If you have a bit of a hodge podge of 2nd hand furniture then a bit of paint can tie things in a bit.

I have also sucessfully covered a cheapy argos dressing table in fancy paper from paperchase and chanaged the drawer knobs to fancify it.

I just used PVA glue then varnished once properly dry. I'm by no means a crafty type.

I'm going to paint the book cases, I think. It can't be too hard to put a couple of shelves into a wardrobe though. A couple of 'L' brackets should do it (and a spirit level). I can give one of the shelves away and 'relocate' the other one after paining it I like the glass doors. There's also a corner one in my living room which looks odd. I can get rid of this one too. I have a smaller book case with doors which would look great if painted.

My old neighbour liked Billy

I found a knob shop this afternoon (meant in a non-rude way)

I have to go to bed. You've all given me some fantastic ideas, I'm really grateful. I'll post some pictures as and when

Have you heard of Annie Sloan paint? It comes in a lot of different colours and has a chalky effect. The thing that is brilliant about it is that you don't need to do any preparation at all to whatever you want to paint, no rubbing down, sanding or undercoating. You can also use it on a lot of different types of surfaces. You can get ideas on Pinterest or Google it. It could give you the base for a shabby chic look, but then you could personalise it with something a bit more funky.

Brilliant, thank you!

There was a huge pipe going from the ceiling to the floor in one of the houses I lived in. I gave it a lick of paint and painted a spiralling vine all the way up it, I think it looked lovely (stopped me walking into it when I was tipsy as it used to blend into the wall . I used to be quite artistic, I just don't have the time now.

The Laura Ashley outlet was fab! I'm going to start saving

Do you think that the Annie Sloane paint could be usd on Billy Bookcases with a wood type finish?

Afaik Annie Sloan can be used on anything (even varnished wood) so should be fine on billy. This thread has made me want to do some renovation!

OP - wilkinsons (wilkos online) has some great things too. V cheap and you need to chose carefully to select the gems as also lots of tat. But fab for picture frames, cushions, throws, etc. Keep checking back if they don't have anything you like at first try.

I think I'll get some things for cheap (towels) but I'd rather invest in a few nice pieces (may get the sofa from the Laura Ashley outlet though), some nice cushions maybe It shouldn't take me too long to save. I need to declutter and look for things I like (this will take some time!).