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Original poster

Help! I need seriously imaginitive ways of making my house feel pretty! (So I do the housework!)

19 replies

fastasleep · 22/02/2006 20:51

Realised that my logical mind decided 'what's the point doing the housework when the room I'm cleaning looks shite when I've finished?!'...

The thing is I'm jealous of my friend who can have vases of flowers and things in her house with a 3 y/o and a 1y/o! My DS destroys everything and I mean everything and we have no money for decorating

I have a house covered in ano...ana... that horrible 1970's bumpy wallpaper (painted shiny white, yay) with bile green carpets, or for variety swirly dark red carpet in sections... a kitchen that...ok I'm not even going to mention the kitchen how can I make it feel prettier so that I want to clean it?!

OP posts:

LIZS · 22/02/2006 20:57

well I bought flowers 3 weeks ago for 2.99 from Tesco, as we're trying to sell, and they're still flowering. Makes such a difference - can you find somewhere beyond their reach to hosue some ? Also if you can change things to white/cream and shiny, or afford to update the colour scheme, taps, curtains or tiles just a bit, buy large cheap rugs from Ikea that mya be mor eof an incentive.

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 22/02/2006 21:00

start small. Find a surface - book-shelf, chest of drawers, sideboard, find two or three stylish things - either something you've got or treat yourself. My favourite "things" are two black bowls (I think they're cereal bowls!) from Heals that cost £3 each, I also have a lovely brown srtipey bowl form BHS (another £3) and a big BHS vase - you can honestly find stuff that looks great for very little money. Arrange them beautifully - NO CLUTTER. Also if you like flowers but they don;t mix with DS try what I always think of as permanent or semi-permanent flowers - twig like things that don't need water - BHS again! Once you've got one little corner that looks nice you'll want to expand.

doormat · 22/02/2006 21:00

agree with flowers
what about new curtains and cushions

even cheaper would be a tin of paint to go over the anaglypta

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 22/02/2006 21:03

just thought of another cheap fix - candles. get yourself to BHS!

LIZS · 22/02/2006 21:06

some pictures, nicely displayed ? You could use postcards, greetings cards or photos in cheap frames, clustered together.

MrsSpoon · 22/02/2006 21:25

I really feel for you fastasleep I have had that house, twice, it's depressing and I know exactly how you feel about not wanting to clean it.

We have fortunately been in the position where it has been a work in progress, albeit slow and it is fantastic when the changes are eventually made, however if you are not able to do anything drastic the suggestion of painting over the wallpaper is a good one, then accessorising. M&S have a surpisingly reasonably priced ranged of little vases and dishes and are worth a look. If you have an Aldi near you they are fantastic value for flowers.

Original poster

fastasleep · 22/02/2006 22:38

Don't have very many places to put little dishes lol we have one huge bookcase which is like a massive floor to ceiling office one, DH's books are stuffed into it three deep iyswim so no space at all!... I was thinking I might make some origami flowers, although if DS destroyed them I'd cry as they take an age to make!!

I like the picture idea, our wallpaper is vile I don't think I can be bothered painting it as all I see is the yucky pattern! Maybe I'll make my own pictures too, oooh I could buy some canvas and use my dusty oil paints!

MTS will laugh at my making things habit when she sees this (if she sees it!)

We're in the process of moving some rooms (some! Ha! We only have the two downstairs apart form kitchen!) Hopefully when we've finished I'll find some crevices for pretty BHS cereal bowls

OP posts:

flashingnosethefrond · 22/02/2006 22:42

Flowering houseplants?

Original poster

fastasleep · 22/02/2006 22:55

Houseplants don't survive the wrath of Theo the Destroyer! We've tried those

OP posts:

Hattie05 · 22/02/2006 23:01

Do you own the house? If so, i'd definitely rip that paper down immediately. I know its hard work, but sooo worth it. Then just paint all the rooms the same neutral colour and you'll be surprised in the difference.

Failing that - pics on walls, and new curtains are a good idea.

Also could you put a few shelves up? Funky looking ones, not too big and just randomly placed to add little trinkets on as others have already suggested.

If you have clutter - buy wicker baskets, and dump the clutter in them - magic. You could do this in your kitchen if its got lots of stuff on work surfaces. Place a pretty basket on worksurface to hide all the odds and ends in.

If your kitchen cupboads are yuck, you can buy that sticky back stuff to give them a quick update. Such as plain white gloss and attach to all the doors to cheer them up.

Spidermama · 22/02/2006 23:03

Oh fastasleep I have two destroyers and two former destroyers who've recently grown out of destroying. They do grow out of it eventually.

Some people manage to keep their kids away from certain areas - at least their bedrooms. I can't even seem to manage that. I don't know why.

Absolutely no help whatsoever but I want to express my solidarity with your cause and wish you, me and people like us the best of luck with our frustrated nest building visions.

Original poster

fastasleep · 22/02/2006 23:04

We do own the house - we pulled the wallpaper off in what was our front room... that says it all really! The wallpaper pulled off about hmmm a 7ft by 4ft area of plaster which exposed the bricks and we're too skint to get anything done about it lol!

Our kitchen actually isn't big enough to hold any useful sized basket on the worksurface (I know why the hell did we buy the place!) but I think DH is going to suspend some baskets from one of the walls, where we can't have shelves due to wires.... ACK!

I might try the sticky backed thingies for the cupboard doors in the kitchen they're poo brown!!

OP posts:

Original poster

fastasleep · 22/02/2006 23:06

Oh SM! I've just spent the last three hours clearing through our bedroom, removing the carnage and exposing the floor.....

it's not even clean yet, that'll take tomorrow evening.

(I did have to hang up Theo's entire wardrobe of clothes due to being lazy and idle as well though)

OP posts:

Hattie05 · 22/02/2006 23:06

Oh bad idea the wallpaper then!

Yes sticky back stuff can be bought in rolls in homebase.
Or you could just paint them and put new handles on the doors?

Original poster

fastasleep · 22/02/2006 23:08

Might just paint them.... then again I 'just' pulled the lino of the floor (poo brown again) and exposed possibly worse tiles which I thought were nice when I was 36 weeks pregnant

you know that moment in Poltergeist where the house just goes ZAP and disappears, I pray for that to happen every night so we can have the insurance money.... but then we'd end up in just as skanky a place as this... GRR!

OP posts:

Hattie05 · 22/02/2006 23:12

LOl i've done that with the floor before. Nice rug to cover them up?

fishie · 22/02/2006 23:22

aarg fa i was just going to say don't take the paper off, but too late just don't pull any more - it was put there for a reason. i did this in our hall and we got landed with a £3k replastering bill (and that was a bloody bargain for what poor chaps had to do).

some houses have suffered a lot and it may take rather a while to rehabilitate them (mutters about polystyrene ceiling tiles artex).......

Chandra · 22/02/2006 23:30

Take it one room at the time, and it works the other way around, it's only when you have clear the clutter that you are ready to start (and finish)with decorating. Otherwise you may only be making the problem worse. (and I'm sure that you already have a lot of beautiful things waiting to be displayed in all their glory )

Hattie05 · 22/02/2006 23:33

pmsl, i was just hoovering polysterene up tonight which had come out of a new lamp i bought, and it took me back to the days when me and dp bought our new house and removed the polysterene ceiling what a snow shower! it took months to finally hoover the last stray bits of polysterene as they just get everywhere don't they.

But its not always true that artex/wallpaper is there for a reason, although i know it normally is.
Me and dp were just debating whether to take the artex off hall ceiling, wondering what we would uncover. DP took a scraper to it, came off easily to find a smooth perfect ceiling underneath! Why oh why would anyone want to cover that with artex???????????????

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