oh my god, i need to steal your styles..

[oimoomoo]

After a spell in hospital the council very kindly had to house myself and my little boy.

ive always lived in rented places so never bothered decorating but ive moved here and it is in terrible condition (am so thankful though!) but what do i do with it?? and where do i even start with a very very small budget??

the only room ive done is my sons room which was done before anything as wanted him to have a nice room, but now i just look aroud and have no idea what style to go for, what colours etc?!? ive been looking at magazines and websites and my head is spinning so thought id ask you knowledgable lot {grin}

my list ive written to prepare has an est finish date of 2078, but just in case i get it prepared earlier please help some who has no sense of anything that looks good, and currently has mis matched funiture and would just end up with a room that looks like ikea threw up on it.

thank you muchly

at Ikea throwing up
Hope you will be very happy in your new place
What do you like? As in which colours? Modern or more traditional?
My apartment is a mixture of expensive and (very) cheap, but all quite modern. Living room is (I know, I know) chocolate brown, duck egg blue and cream. Kitchen is duck egg blue, beige and cream. Bathroom is White and turquoise and spare room is purples and lilacs. My bedroom is brown, whites and blues

Have you had a look at any home magazines or websites? Don't rush - mine has evolved as I found things I loved.
I would start with basics - wall colours, paint or paper and big things like sofa/bed. Once you have picked those you start to "fill in the gaps" as such.
Have you got anything already you have to work with? Pictures/bedding/towel colours?
The other way is to start with an item you love and build from there

I find house magazines a bit intimidating tbh - everyone has such perfect houses. How about looking at websites like Rightmove for details of properties similar to yours, which you like the look of? I do that and it seems much more achievable than the magazine pics.

oh looking at right move etc is a brilliant idea!! why didnt i think of that

thank you so much brighthair im a lot happier already as no stairs so cn take my little boy out and has given me so much freedom now your house sounds lovely! i do love the idea of duck egg blue but im not sure what to do with it, as in which room?

i love modern as well im not so much an old style type person, in my living room i have a grey slate sofa and black glass dining table and tv stand with a black bookcase (had them before i moved) and a white lino floor - gosh
sounds lovely

i really like light grey, and i know people will tell me of but a feature wall as well as mocha/coffee colours im just wondering if i did my living room in a light grey then had a teal rug, cushions etc if my funiture would be ok in the living room?!?

i might have to steal your ideas though brighthair re colours

i do need to find cheap funiture though for bedroom NOT all ikea

gosh am so sorry for my spelling!! i should not be allowed to post unless i read it through first no excuse except im an idiot

Are you on pinterest. Lots of ideas on there to help you!

I struggle to commit. I know that DH can only be persuaded to decorate once in a decade and So I dither and dither and it never gets done - hence I live in a bland magnolia box at the moment!!

If you want a feature wall then do it
I have one in an amazing wallpaper and it made a massive difference to the room
Your furniture is nice and neutral then so you could almost go with whatever you liked. Cushions etc are fairly cheap at places like asda and dunhelm mill so you could always change them, and walls can always be painted
My Internet connection on my iPad is down but when it is back up I will post some photos of my apartment

Hope this works
Kitchen
instagr.am/p/IaGHw7td1j/

Part of the living room
instagr.am/p/IaGXfJNd1n/

Other part of living room
instagr.am/p/IaGeMlNd1o/

Bedroom
instagr.am/p/IaGs1Xtd1t/

Also try houzz.com (or free app), it's great and has tons of photos to inspire you.

thank you primaface i will have a look for that and also at pintrest i had a flick at pintrest last night i was half of the bedrooms! but all seem fairy easy to do.

Brighthair i love your pictures your toaster and canisters in the kitchen are brilliant and i love you screen!!! i want it.

Im going to do a feature wall in the bedroom i have see some amazing wallpaper so one feature wall then onto hunt for funiture although i found somthing called ikea hackers, and its all about changing your ikea funiture to look - well - un ikeaish

youve all been so helpful and now my head isnt spinning thanks to magazines [grins]

i will come back on and share pictures when im done or actually more to ask for more help im sure

the canisters are from home sense, they were reduced to £3 as the writing on them is French. The screen cost me £10 in a local (very odd) shop where I had to scramble over stuff and dig it out!!!
Toaste and kettle are Russell Hobbs and were more pricey but have had them 5 years with no problem

well I?ve chosen my kitchen style/colour - all my canisters kettle etc are black so i don?t have to change them just yet and be cheap I?ve decided on a putty cream colour, with black and white photos in black frames on the massive wall yay should be done in a month a week.

Then onto balcony as it needs re concreting and painting I?m thinking white and an olive green for railings and floor

Bedroom I?m thinking a feature wall with black and white paper then goldish walls with deeper gold accessories as per something I saw on pintrest and IKEA furniture but personalised as per something i saw on houzz

The living room I?m going to do in a light grey, with all my black furniture and a black and white screen stolen as per brghthair

My hallway and bathroom I?m still stuck on, but hopefully that sounds ok, am now waiting for someone to tell me that?s to many colours - not enough colours
So thank you all so much, I no longer want to cry at the thought of doing my flat up thank you to all you guys am very excited now, but if anyone has suggestions for paint colours id be very grateful and here is and for you all

I think that sounds lovely
Bathrooms I like when everything is White but splash of colour with towels and accessories. Blues always look fresh, or a deep purple?
Hallway I would keep as light as you can so it will look really spacious

How's about white in the bathroom with sunny yellow towels and accessories? Bright and cheerful, no, especially good for grotty mornings?

These are pretty.

Something like this could hold your toothbrushes?

Yellow/gold also go really well with grey and make it more spring-like. How about some sumptuous velvet cushions for your living room, like this?

Yellow + gray scheme

Actually, Apartment Therapy is generally good for quirky interior design porn ideas.

I liked your idea of teal and light grey with black furniture, think it will work very well.

My full house seems to be decorated in shades of blue, with the odd green thrown in! I have honey oak wood running throughout, for kitchen units, furniture etc, and slate style floor and wall tiles and accessories. So my kitchen, for example, is oak units, black worktop & sink, slate style floor tiles and small wall tiles, but only as a splashback height, not fully in between cupboards, IYSWIM. The walls are a gorgeous turquoise colour, and I have an oak table with black chairs. Black and white photos on the wall, in black glass frames, and black accessories. It's lovely and bright, and even though it sounds like a lot of black, it's the turquoise that dominates the room.

Sorry, that was rather long

Hi,

I'm back, i actually finished my entire kitchen and i love it!! makes such a difference, so now onto the balcony - as its coming up for summer -.

Thank you so much for all your ideas, im doing my bathroom fully white -off white- and using coloured things to bring colour into it.

and i loved the teal with my black funiture and grey but now im thinking i love bright coloured yellow as per that website

im now searching as i love f&b paints but i cant not afford them but i have sadly fallen in love with lots of colours from there. I know the finish will be different but anyone know if i can get them matched as close as possible?

thank you so much for your help i now have a house decorated when finished in 20 years by mumsnetters

Yay!! Have you been to a paint shop and had a look? I found some lovely chalky colours when I went to look
I bet teal looks fab, I have a thing for turquoise and chocolate brown

how bout mixing a sort of light olive/lime with your living room? will definitely add that bit of life to it. just a few cushions or vases on high shelves- out of arms reach!! or ikea do a fabulous rug that looks a bit like grass? sounds odd but it would go lovely with black and grey and cover up any horrible flooring?