Would you decorate house you won't stay in?

[Jj2431]

Hi,

We are currently living in a victorian terrace. I hate it. We are with HA. We are currently on a waiting list for a 3 bed house and also checking homeswapper. We have only been bidding for a year and the averages waiting time here seems to be between 3-6 years to get anywhere, however, you never know when you'll get a place, could be sooner than that or later. Would you decorate a house you could leave at any minute if you knew you MIGHT be there a few more years or would you not waste the money?

If it makes the rest of your time there more pleasant then I think it’s worth doing. Good luck!

If we're just talking paint then do it. It will make you feel better and it makes your house more appealing to swappers.

Yep

If you're just talking DIY paint and paper, yes of course I would. I could be there a while and I'd like to feel as comfortable with it as I could, and decorating it to my tastes could help. I wouldn't do anything expensive, but quite a lot could be done cheaply.

You say you hate it. Could decorating maybe also make you hate it less?

Yes was thinking just paint etc. Problem is most of the house is woodchip and I daren't even attempt to remove it as I bet the walls are bad underneath.

Any ideas on how to make it look better?

Fresh coat of paint. New pictures. Plants.

Are you willing to post a picture for people to give you ideas?

Woodchip is not always as bad as its rep. We've stripped whole rooms and just made good a couple of patches ourselves, more than once. More often we have stripped it then put up thick lining paper - a bit of a bodge perhaps but that was what funds allowed. Replastering is not inevitable (though it does give the best finish of course.)

How about stripping and making good the main living room only? Bring it up to date, get a plasterer in to skim the ceiling (£100) if it's artexed. Then whack some paint over the woodchip in the bedrooms if you have enough steam left.

You can steam off wood chip back to the old grey plaster and put up 1200 grade lining paper and matt paint. We did a whole house like that. Honestly the wallpaper steamer was the best £20 we ever spent. Maybe do your main rooms to start with.

Otherwise I would spend my money on things I could take to the next house.

Thanks everyone. I'm going to go for it I think as I would rather make it the best I can for the time I'm here rather than be miserable. I'll leave the woodchip and try to freshen it up instead.