Council house - help!

[FriendlyElephant]

We are about to move into a new home and I have no idea where to start with making it nice.

It's a council house, so although it's quite clean and in good repair, it has no flooring, curtains etc, needs decorating and all the fixtures and fittings are basic, so flimsy plain doors, white plastic plug sockets and light switches, boring white bathroom suite. Apart from the kitchen there are floorboards throughout.

I have no idea where to start! I have always lived in council properties but my parents were not at all houseproud, so I have no idea what would need doing to improve it. DP and I have lived in a council flat for the past three years but we never had the money to do much with it.

What makes a home nice, in your opinion? What are the basics and finishing touches? I hate hate hate living in scruffy houses and now I have a choice in the matter I would like to make my home pleasant! We dont have loads of money but enough to get things done a bit at a time.

Maybe buy some house magazines and look to see what styles inspire you - traditional, modern, open plan, etc. Then go from there. Ikea is good if you have a budget, or of course, Ebay.

I also think that you shouldn't attempt every room at once. Do one room at a time - maybe lounge and kitchen first as they are used first, and then bedrooms.

I use the Houzz app for all my ideas...has a desktop site too.

Thank you for your replies - I am a bit ad

sorry! - I am a bit addicted to the Houzz app. I have ideas but I'm not confident that I can make them work. I'm not sure why, surely it can't be that difficult!

Blank canvass houses are daunting. Do you have any friends whose houses you admire / feel comfortable in? Think about your style - do you like stark white? Bold colours? Pale pastels?

Maybe have a walk round a shop that does home furnishings, pick out some things you like then take them home and see what you can build around them with colours etc (I'm common so ignore me if you have cash to flash) but tbh you can't go past Wilkinsons for home decoration at the minute - I've just done our bedroom and used their curtains and wallpaper (funky retro flowered ones) and it looks fab

Oh I don't have cash to flash by any means! But for the first time ever we do have a bit of money spare at the end of the month, and time to work on it while I'm on maternity leave.

I do covet a nice clean minimalist home, but I'm a bit of a hoarder/cheap tat collector so it never works. And I do feel more comfortable in more cluttered, lived-in homes so I suppose its not too bad.

I have some ideas of themes/things I would like but I can't seem to visualise how it will end up! Hopefully it will be easier once we've actually moved in and spent time in the house.

Ps - ours is ex council and they're fab - well built, big rooms, decent garden... :-)

Honestly, have a nose on the Wilkinson website - some lovely stuff. We're doing ours up and DP has expensive tastes so we're paying extra for really nice carpets, internal doors, furniture etc (we're buying it and don't want to move ever) but i sneak in the wilko bedding (I got a lovely kingsize quilt cover for something like then£20) and rugs, curtains etc. He loves the curtains and is usually the type to only go for £200 ones because he assumes they're nicer

Do you have children/pets? I would go for wipe-clean floors, laminate or vinyl - then get nice ikea rugs. Cream carpets look lovely for about 5 minutes.

Sand the floorboards?

We did 4 rooms in one weekend. Hired a sander, was about £50 including sandpaper. Then used osmo polyx hardwax oil and stopgap for the gaps. Cheap, looks fab, easy to keep clean

Then curtains, I'd go to ikea, cheap poles, nice big plain curtains and a few big rugs

Then live in it and decide slowly how best to use the space and stalk eBay using the distance search to find more unusual pieces of furniture. I've bought most ours cheaply and painted it

I also vote for doing the minimum at first, I think you need to live in a house for a while before getting a proper feel of how you want it "forever".

I bought my first house earlier this year...ex Council, lovely wee village just outside Edinburgh...love it!!! Rooms are huge, as is garden. Planned every room in my head (and using Houzz), as it is, I've done DS room only. Now that I'm in and settled my original ideas are not as appropriate. So recommend just living in it for a while...try different things in different places...your personal style will soon fall into place

You cannot do it all at once. Your starting point in all rooms has to be windows. If curtains head to ikea.. For blinds shop around. If you are one of those that likes nets, check your market for material stalls.

Personally speaking I wouldnt do carpets. Sand and varnish the floors and use rugs. Floors attract a lot of dirt.

Work around your existing furniture.

For the minimalist, but lived in look avoid nick naks. they will truly drive you insane. The only purpose they provide is more crap to clean.

Live in the place. You will see lighting in different parts of the day. This will give you ideas for walls and lighting in rooms.