inspiration for my blank canvas please

[madmomma]

I have lived in a lovely but neglected house since April, and we've not been able to afford to do much (overstretched ourselves financially buying it). I've very luckily come into some money - not a vast amount but enough (I think) to finish what needs doing so that we're not going to have to live in a building site anymore . I don't know where to start in terms of picking colours, carpets, curtains etc, and would really welcome some pointers from those with more creative experience. I've got a big hall, stairs & landing to decorate & carpet, an informal, family dining room to decorate and a 2nd lounge which will have no TV in it, and will need to double as play space for 2 babies.urniture I'd really appreciate any input as I'm drawing a blank! I need to know the best reasonably priced places to buy furniture too.

Where to begin?????

Try buying some magazines to get your inspiration. Don't go for anything that you think will date quickly and try to keep sympathetic to the period of the house.

What period is the house? How would you describe your taste?

In general terms, large items - carpets, walls and floors should be neutral and then you add colour with your curtains, cushions and accessories.

Hall, stairs and landing I'd go for a dark neutral that is good quality with the best underlay you can afford. I'd paint the walls a warm neutral with washable paint. I'd put informal framed family photos on the walls.

The family dining room and 2nd lounge/playroom I'd put a dark, wooden floor down. The dining room can be more of an adult room so I'd go for a warm, darker colour, maybe green or red if it suits the age/feel of the house.

The 2nd lounge/playroom I'd do a neutral colour with LOTS of quality storage, perhaps baskets in a wooden chest for example. It's likely that anything in this room will get wrecked easily, so go for a cheap, colourful rug and leather sofas that can be cleaned easily but won't break the bank.

HTH!

Hmm I'm embarrassed to admit that I've no idea what period the house is from. It's old but not that old

I probably should get some magazines, but they seem such a rip off. I'm thinking maybe I'll make moodboards. Is that incredibly twee?

My taste is... erm... well I love unusual colours and intresting colour combinations, I like a bit of shabby chic, like things to look lived in and not too modern.

For the hall stairs & landing carpet I was wondering about a pattern to hide dirt? Are all patterns naff do you think?

No, I think stripes can look really good.<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=www.magiccarpetwoodflooring.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/striped-carpet-241009.jpg&imgrefurl=www.magiccarpetwoodflooring.com/gallery/striped-carpet-241009/&h=1536&w=2048&sz=627&tbnid=EfzN5duxCVEP-M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dstriped%2Bcarpet%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=striped+carpet&docid=FUmfVOymsgHVuM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zbm7TteKDtS7hAeGjIG1Bw&sqi=2&ved=0CFoQ9QEwAA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Like this
Google shabby chic and see what takes your fancy.

I'm quite partial to a stripey hall carpet that has nice vertical stripes going up the stairs. Patterns remind me of my Granny's house, but I've not really researched patterned carpets so they may be much nicer now. Our's is dark red and shows up fluff (sock fluff) I'm guessing so don't assume patterned won't require Hoovering as much.

My friend was having similar dilemmas decorating her flat a while ago. I found a book that Tescos do for about a fiver with lots and lots of pictures of internal decoration grouped into sections such as 'modern' 'period' 'colour' etc.

It was a lot cheaper than buying tons of magazines, and my friend found it really inspirational. Her flat looks fab now.

This website is what I'd class as shabby chic. Have a look at different websites and print out the pictures you like the look of. I think mood boards are excellent to help you visual different things together.

hmm that shabby chic website is lovely but I think all that white might be a bit cold, plus it'd get dirty too quickly.

I love that stripey staircarpet

Will have a look in tesco for that book - it sounds ideal.

I've started a little file on each room so I can make notes on what needs to be in there & all the uses it has to accomodate. Maybe that'll help steer me.

I'm all over the leather sofas idea for the lounge. We have them in the TV lounge and they're a godsend.

I need to put a fire in the lounge, so I need to start investigating that too.

Do we think paint the landing rather than paper it? Maybe pattern over such a large area would be too much?

Big yes to lots of toy storage in the lounge. I'm determined not to have loads of toys visible in the evenings - I want it to be child-friendly during the day but a sophisticated(ish) adult room to relax in in the evenings. Also plan on having all the household books in there, so will need plenty of book storage. Any advance on several billy bookcases?