Where should I start decorating a neglected council house myself?

[aliumbear]

I have moved into a council house and it is a bit of a dump. The doors, skirting boards, around the windows, windowsills, walls, floors and the ceiling need doing. I'd rather do it bit by bit myself if I can rather than paying someone. But I've never decorated myself before so I've got no clue. This is a long list but I hope someone can advise me.

There is wallpaper in every room including the bathroom. The living room wallpaper is salvageable but needs neatening around the edges where it meets the ceiling. Some of the walls in the rest of the house have noticeable bits of wallpaper missing or peeling. Even where the wallpaper isn't missing, there's a lot of air bubbles in most of it. I have heard of the injecting into the air bubbles, but am not sure. Where there is no wallpaper there are cracks in the wall which would bother me.
The kitchen cabinets have been painted with an incorrect type of paint which is coming off.
They have painted the pipes in the bathroom badly
There's big paint splashes of different colour paint on every ceiling/
The skirting boards are white but need a refresh and it looks like they've painted over all sorts and it's not smooth there's loads of little bumps.
There is no edging around the top of the walls to meet the ceiling.
there is ceiling paper on the ceiling but it has peeled around the edges so you can see every section.
the door handles have glossy white paint on, the doors are painted glossy white but also have paint where they have attempted to paint them brown and left them a mess.
The little glass windows above the doors also has white paint on.
The painted white windowsills have what look like tea stains.
Every floor has those self adhesive floor planks, there's gaps including around the edges and they are peeling. Underneath are wood floorboards, some of which are creaking.

Start with the smallest room and try removing wall paper.

watch some YouTube tutorials

I would start with the easiest room to empty so you don't have things getting on your way.

Start with the smallest room to practice on,
OR
Decorate your bedroom, make it your sanctuary.

Watch You Tube videos to learn hints & tips. Decorating means attention to detail. Take it easy. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Good luck in your new home. Exciting times ahead! 💐

You can pop the air bubbles with a needle. The painted glass panels are a pain though. Same in my council house, I've just left them. Haven't got the patience to try and remove it

Doesn’t matter where you start really. But id slowly strip everything back to get a bare shell first - so peel the wallpaper in each room, then the ceilings, then strip the paint from doors, then from pipes and hardware etc. Finally sand the windowsills. Then peel up the floors.

You’ll have an ugly shell - but then you can look at what really needs doing. So possibly skimming the cracks in the walls, then laying new flooring, then painting all the rooms and windowsills.

It will take time and patience and you’ll have an ugly house for a few weeks/months

Razor blade is your best bet for getting paint off glass

Always work top to bottom and do preparation first, so sand down woodwork, then paint ceiling, then do wall colour, then flooring. This saves getting dust on fresh paintwork or paint on new flooring.

I would tackle the living space first as it will make the most impact and is where you spend most time.

Depending on your situation, you may be able to access help through the council and/or charities. There are also charities that supply leftover paint - you may find they have helpful tips too or even someone willing to help. Decorating is so messy I think I’d move everything and start with a big room - a little inconvenience at the start will pay dividends later. Once you’ve tackled that, anything else can be split into smaller jobs. Sugar soap is a great de-greaser so wash all your woodwork down with that then reassess. I think it’s then worth contacting your council about the floorboards, that may fall under their maintenance (fixing any dodgy ones). Good luck!

I would say a lot depends on what kind of person you are. I couldn't do all the stripping, start with a clear shell and then make it pretty again. I'd lose momentum and be living in a shell for years.

Is there anything that will get worse if you don't tackle it early? Damp? Will the bathroom pipes rust if you don't get those sorted first?

I like the idea of practicing on a small room but I guess that might be the place you use the least so have the least impact?

I find gloss painted wood the easiest to get a nice finish on as ana mateur, so I'd be tempted to do doors and skirting boards sorted first.

Can you remember what stood out most when you first saw the house? Those might be the most satisfying to start with.

Good luck - great opportunity to make a lovely little haven just how you want it :)

Personally I would start by stripping one room, probably your bedroom, right back. Then methodically put it back together in your taste to create the sanctuary room. If you bodge a bit here and there, it won’t matter too much because it’s not a room for visitors. Definitely I wouldn’t attempt more than one room at a time.

One room at a time as you will have to move furniture around and you can close the door to it at night or until the next time you are able to work on it. Perhaps bedroom first so you have a haven when it’s done, then lounge as another PP said you are likely to spend lots of time in there

Have you got a room which you can empty? That’s a good place to start, as you can take as long as you need learning skills on it, without getting in a pickle with ‘stuff’.

A room intended for a baby would be good, as baby can be in with you while you do it.
Bathroom is another good one.

Don’t attempt to get it perfect. See it as your ‘first attempt’, and expect to come back to it later when you’ve got more experience.

I love the wallpaper in my bathrooms. It looks great. We don’t get massively steamed up though- if your bathroom is small and wet you’d be better with bathroom paint.

I don't actually know how to do these DIY tasks or how to find out

YouTube videos. There are masses of videos that will explain what basic equipment you'll need for each job, then videos that explain how to carry out each job.

You don't need expensive equipment but when you buy something like paint and brushes, check before you use them if that type of paint needs the brushes washing in water or white spirit. So you'll be prepared and won't damage the equipment you've bought.

I was hoping someone could advise me on how to do these jobs and what I'll need

Definitely YouTube. There are loads of great videos on there. You’ll get better and better the more you do and it’ll be so satisfying when you’re done. Definitely do a room at a time and rope some friends in to help you out.

You tube will have videos but also chatgpt will be able to give hints and tips

Post on Facebook / nextdoor to see if people have old tools or paint if budget is an issue

First speak to the council and see if they will do any making good, kitchen units especially are a pain and their responsibility.
If you get no joy there then you are left with a choice of diy, or paying someone. It might be worth working out what it would cost to equip yourself and purchase materials before you write off getting someone in. You could get someone to do say hall and sitting room? Could you do a skill swap to bring the cost down?