Making dated rooms look nice

[lastqueenofscotland]

I’ve bought a house which does need some work, the bedrooms and living room have been improved no end by a lick of paint but the bathroom and kitchen are very dated.
I’m saving for an extension when these will be replaced so don’t want to be ripping out and replacing things now.
So just cheap and cheerful ways to make it look a bit less 80s in the meanwhile

Can you embrace it instead??? Go retro??

You could use self adhesive film for the kitchen cupboards or paint them.

Don’t worry about it - honestly save your money and effort until you do the extension.

No point throwing good money after bad if the extension is in sight.

I think we’ll end up living with our early 90s kitchen for about 2 years. We hate the practically but I can’t say I notice the dated style (too much) anymore. It definitely motivates me in planning our new kitchen though

I would (and have) embraced the retro as things like tiles and kitchen cupboards really need replacing to make a difference to look. I would just make sure they are clean and tidy. So if you have things like rusty chains on plugs, replace them. Clean grout, replace silicone sealer, repaint ceiling. Replacing broken or unsavoury flooring (like the carpet in our bathroom) was fairly cheap and easy.

I'd also advise saving your money trying to make them look Better. They won't! Instead, set up mood boards in each room and keep adding to it, use it as a planning board to give you inspiration. Gah way, when anyone comes round you don't need to apologise for the dated decor Like I did, its self explanatory!

Tile paint and tile stickers (wall and floor) can make a huge difference, look on ebay and in the pound shops for bargains.

I'd go to Pinterest as so many ideas on how to update on a budget and lots of easy DIY ideas. I personally have a whole board of ideas and in the process of renovating a house right now. So many tips on painting over tiles, using wraps on appliances, painting gold out dated door handles to black and so on. I'm having a fab time updating my house and can't get over the volumes of wonderful ideas shared by others.

All of the above sounds worse than the dated look!

It’s not very expensive to change door Henderson if you are keeping the doors! I would try and repair or replace anything broken or utterly grubby. Add your own personality but don’t change anything you will rip out in the future. You could add a lovely bathroom mirror and fluffy towels. Buy nice toiletries and then it won’t seem so bad!

a purple toilet does the same as a white one. More important is to check where pipes and overflows go and if anything is leaking.