Shabby new home - where to start?

[audley]

We are buying an ex rental property that is 12 years old and a little neglacted. We have a budget of 10k to sort it out, the kitchen and bathrooms will have to wait! I don't know where to start. We will have 10 weeks to get everything done before DC2 is due. Are carpets, curtains and a paint job the best I can hope for?

Also, when I've decorated in the past I've taken a looong time to live in the space before choosing colour schemes etc. Are there any golden rules for colours in certain rooms, ie those with lots of daylight/ little daylight and according to function? My current house is only 3 years old and still all white walls and cream carpets so I've lost my eye for colour living here. I don't think we'll get the next house finished well enough to take such a stark look.

My only thoughts so far are that I want the same carpet throughout to help make the place look more spacious and I am hankering after yellow walls, but I'm not certain! Maybe pink? All our furniture is Ash wood and sofas are dark brown leather.
Anyone got any ideas?

(1) Clean everything - this will show up the extent of the problems
(2) Address any DIY task that is pressing (because it'll bite you later to ignore the leaky bath etc.)
(3) Paint everything white - it will be easy to overpaint later and you won't have matching issues.
(4) Only then tackle carpets/curtains.

Good luck. Expect the worst and you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.

I have a very sunny dining room and once had it painted in a yellow/cream sort of rag rolled effect called 'Duet'. It was fantastic and in the sunny weather, I just wanted to live in that room all the time.

My lounge is in a clover pink all over and I've lived with it for years. Loved it for many, like it still, most people have raised their eyebrows at my choice of pink in the lounge, but it's a warm and welcoming colour and one friend described it as 'cosy'. Now I would like to change it to a neutral cream.

I envy you the blank canvas of a neglected house. Good luck.

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Ok, first of all you have to get a list of everything you might want to do together.

The absolute rule is to do the structural stuff first. That's foundations, building work, damp proofing, followed by plumbing, electrics and wiring and lighting (only in terms of where it's gonna go, bare wires sticking out ready for fixtures).

Then you do plastering, then you do a base coat, ie 'size' the walls. Paint any skirting.

Then you do flooring. Once you have the flooring done, you can start on the decorating but make sure to keep the flooring well protected with large plastic sheets throughout, taped to skirting.

(If you are having carpet exclusively, do this after decorating - but do any solid floors before you decorate).
Then you can start on things like curtain poles, light fittings, that kind of thing.

Saying all that, we had only a week before moving in to prepare our flat. We ripped up the disgusting old carpets and got carpet put down in the bedrooms, oiled the floorboards in the living room, and cleaned like maniacs so the kitchen and bathrooms were useable.

That was all we had time for - the dining room floor had to be laid later, and that caused chaos for ages with furniture in other rooms and waiting for it to dry etc before walking on it - so deffo do floors first!

I haven't finished decorating yet but it's a far sight easier to contend with than laying a floor, once everything (and your family) is in the house iyswim!

Oh and wait before you paint.

You can safely live with a few bad colours on the walls while you get a feeling for what you want the rooms to be like.

you have to take time to observe the light patterns through the day, things like that.

You'll figure it out if you just wait and see...