NOW CLOSED Talk to B&Q about the most unloved room in your home - £150 giftcard to be won

[AngelieMumsnet]

As you may have seen already, we're working with B&Q, who so far have helped 20 MNers revamp the unloved rooms in their homes - check out the video of their fab revamps here. MNers have also been posting their before and after pics of rooms they've revamped here so do check out both of those threads for Mumsnetter room makeovers!

What B&Q would like now is to hear from as many MNers as possible...

Which is the most unloved room in your home and why? Is it a bathroom that's more shabby than chic? A garden that's more of a jungle? A living room that's past its best or a spare room that's just a dumping ground?

Everyone who shares their unloved room stories here will be entered into a prize draw to win a £150 B&Q giftcard.

Please note that any comments you post here may appear on the B&Q pages on Mumsnet and potentially elsewhere.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw
MNHQ

Our bedroom. We've made sure the children have nice rooms, and most of the downstairs is in reasonable nick, but there is always something else that needs doing/paying for so our bedroom needs curtains and paint and a new bed. It was next on the list to do, then this week we were burgled.
They trashed our room (thankfully nowhere else though) so it feels polluted and I NEED to reclaim it, but we're now broke from paying out insurance excesses!

It's our bedroom. It's become a dumping ground for everything that we don't have room for elsewhere, (tiny house). I would love a grown up bedroom with actual wardrobes instead of hanging my clothes on the bookcase. Or a proper dressing table that isn't 2 sets of falling apart chests of drawers with a large bit of wood resting over them. We've currently got all of dd1's Lego (about 30 sets) in our bedroom on the huge worktop that used to reside in the living room because there's no room for it in the kids' room. We have the old telly tucked in a corner, the old hi-fi system that used to be in the living room. Oh and the printer currently resides on my dressing table too, along with the big steam iron as there's nowhere else to keep them. It's basically a storeroom with a bed in the middle.

GladbagsGold so sorry to hear you've been burgled.

Our whole house is/was a work in progress, the downstairs is now pretty much finished as was the passage/stairs & landing until we had a leak from the boiler workman not connecting a pipe properly which over a 4 month period meant we had a slow leak which no one could seem to locate, now that means all of this has to be re-done . I have just completely re-decorated the boys bedrooms and they look so much fresher and cleaner now and have stuck to light colours but there's still a few finishing touches to be done (like the floors and shelving) but as we go up the stairs again, you come to our bedroom which is ok. More of a dumping ground for the kids stuff as we have so little storage here. There's boxes of toys, coats etc in the corner of my room which just makes it look cluttered and messy!

But then we also have the garden. Not a good look at all! It's okay for now I suppose but not really the nice haven we wanted! It's very bare and minimal in everything. The bottom half needs to be redone as the concrete has chipped away meaning we have potholes! The top is a patchy grassy area, again with potholes, it all just really needs sorting out and could probably definitely do with some sort of storage place/shed for the kids stuff. I would love to be able to do the garden nice, not just for the kids but for us too, so that we could sit out there in the nice weather.

I suppose it will all come with time and money !

The kitchen could do with new worktops too!

It's awful when you go around your house and you can pick faults with everything isn't it!!!

A small single bedroom. It was decorated as a nursery 8 years ago, but ds3 preferred to share a room with ds2, so was never used that much. Since then it's been a dumping ground for everything that doesn't have a home, and the roof has leaked so there's water damage.

Now about to start secondary ds2 isn't that chuffed with having to share a room with ds3, and so he's going to go back into the little room. We are going to try and assemble a high sleeper with a tent underneath and ds2 is planning to have sleepovers in ds3's room once a week. In the meantime we need to clear up the water damage, repaint and get some non-baby bits and bobs so ds3 isn't too put out by having his own room.

Actually most of our house is a bit of a mess (80's kitchen and bathroom, leaky roof damage) but this room needs to be made nice for ds3. Dh described it as 'borderline uninhabitable' yesterday, so it really does need some work doing to it.

there is not a room in our house that doesn't need revamping. We moved recently and we have pretty limited funds available right now but the thing that I think would make the biggest difference would be the hall, stairs and landing. It's quite narrow and has terrible 1970s/80s swirly brown/green carpet (I know it's that vintage as my mother had the same one in ... orange - she loved it); then it has the garish terracotta paint over the embossed wallpaper and, over the (stripped wood, antique pine finish) dado rail, an 'orrible cream that is beginning to make me feel queasy. All covered with the marks from umpteen pictures that must have been in situ for several decades - so apart from it not being to my personal taste, it looks dingy. I think redecorating here in light colours would make such a difference and open up the who centre of the house.

My living room is awful. The paint is dreadful, the carpet is threadbare and looks dirty in places. The sofa is really old and saggy. If I could afford it I would get a new one. Hopefully, I will be able to start working on it soon.

I've told B&Q twice already about our Garden of Woe, but third time lucky-eh?

Our house is a new build property where the developers went bust half way through construction. Consequentially, it was finished off as cheaply as possible by contractors hired by the bank in order to be able to sell the houses and scrape back money. So the entire house, let alone the garden, has been unloved right from the start.

We managed to gather the funds to get the house and moved in five days before Christmas to no working central heating, no flooring, no help with new build snagging or anything. We also had to contend with everything the disgruntled builders had left for us after their firm went bust and didn't pay them. Concrete down the drains, for example.

Since that time, we've been working hard to make the inside of the house habitable on a budget of peanuts. I think the base-paint coloured, water-damaged ceilings and walls will be staying that way for a while yet! Consequentially, the garden has been woefully neglected and utterly unloved, beyond the occasional attack we make on pulling out the weeds and digging up dangers.

I call it a garden, but wasteland would be a better description. We have unfinished fences that are missing panels and have been painted only on our neighbours sides, so we have charming orange dribble marks. We have dusty patches of bare ground dotted with half bricks and buried construction knife blades, riddled with deep routed weeds and, my personal favourite, the muddy bog that is the pathway to the garage. Our patio is one row of wobbly, slippery slabs next to the house - not enough to fit a chair on.

Once upon a time, the land on which our house was built used to be an orchard. So, the garden should have a lot of potential! With a bit of money, time and love we could clear out the junk that has been piled up, paint the fences, put in some flower beds and lay some proper turf so the garden becomes safe for our DD to play out in.

We'll get to it eventually, but it's likely to be a few years yet. It'd be lovely to be able to get the garden sorted while DD is still young enough to enjoy it!

It must be our conservatory. Although it rewards us with lots of light and sunshine, it hasn't had anything done to it since before we moved in, which was 9 years ago. The roof is leaking and has come apart (our weak attempts to divert the leaks), the door is hanging on for dear life and you need a degree in door shutting to be able to lock it, there are condensation marks inbetween the double glazing of the windows, the outside wooden slat walls, although they have seen lots of weather, haven't seen a new coat of anything and are therefore peeling and coming apart. Of course the inside walls are in need of a coat of paint too.

Nevertheless, it's the place where we sit and look out onto the garden, eat our meals, wash our clothes and the operation centre for any DIY. So it has quite a few demands on it!

Oh dear. Sounds bad doesn't it, but due to having to invest into our new business, we haven't had any extra cash to pour into it and we reckon it will be quite thirsty in that respect!

It is definetley our kitchen. We moved in, in 2010 but have not got round to revamping it. Some cupboard doors are missing, others do not open and the sealant around the kitchen sink is black and coming away from the wall. This sounds really gross, but I've also seen some silver fish in the bottom cupboard!

As I'm on maternity leave there is no spare money to save to do up the kitchen this year. Most of the rest of the house is done so the kitchen really is an eyesore.

Can't wait for it to get done! Maybe in 2015....!!!!

DD's room. Everyone was when I was pregnant and said I wouldn't decorate the nursery until she arrived. She's 5 months now and it hasn't been done...

The carpet is covered in splodges from the previous occupants' toddler (I hate to think what!). The lining paper is peeling and it's a horrible baby blue with glue left from decals. We've only just managed to chip 'Jake' off the door (not DD'S name obviously!). It's full of pushchair accessories.

I'm about to start making curtains and a quilt and then I'll repaint. Hopefully it'll be done by the time she moves in. I've got a while because it's on a different floor so even if we move her at 6 months it won't be there initially - too paranoid and too lazy!

The spare room. It hasn't been painted since we moved in 19 years ago - and everyone tends to put things they don't want in their room in there. I also store toilet rolls and kitchen rolls which I buy when they are on offer which doesn't help. I've been trying to sort it out recently but it needs proper storage. We tend to keep the door closed and only go in when we have to to retrieve something!

Living room. Is a "dead" area used only for kids to watch a manky TV in (none of your F@** Off huge wall screens). Has morphed from a cheerful, kiddy friendly room years ago when they were toddlers into a dull, characterless space, magnolia walls, two ancient, stained sofas that don't match, and another unmatching armchair that DS has ripped all the foam out of the arm. Long to turn it into a cosy, welcoming pod where I can have girly nights curled up in a cosy chair with a large glass of wine..........

It has to be the spare room that we have been meaning to turn into a playroom since we moved in 4 years ago but is currently used as a dumping ground and somewhere to store stuff that doesn't have a real home. It houses at the moment 2 bookcases of books/CD's/DVD's, OH chest of drawers, clothes horse and ironing board - all very "child-friendly"!!!! It also has the delightful pink carpet inherited from the previous owners that is also in the lounge, bedrooms, stairs and the bathroom (who carpets a bathroom?) And don't get me started on the bathroom!!!!

The lounge, dark dreary and drab.

Also dd stole it a couple of years ago so I rarely even go in it, she controls the tv and frankly, it's so un welcoming, she's welcome to it!

With a 3.5 yr old wrecking most rooms, difficult to pick just one but probably the bathroom as have tried every mould killer available and scrub the walls daily but the dreaded black stuff round the grouting seems to multiply overnight while I'm in my bed ready to glare at me in the morning. Would love to get something that finally gets rid of it (or at least means I'm not on my hands and knees in the shower with a bottle of bleach and a headache!)

The hall way entrance when you come into the flat. It just looks a bit shabby as its old carpet, walls need reprinting especially scruffy skirting board... A shame as it gives a bit of a run down first impression though the flat is nice on the whole!

the bathroom, we bought the house 5 years ago and every room was decorated nicely. but the bathroom is cream flowery tiles with a peach shudders bathroom suite its also falling apart the loo handle barely flushes etc. we keep saying we need to do something about it but never having the money to do so. looks in purse and moth flys out

The 'spare room' which is too small to do much with. Currently a dumping ground for clothes and rubbish - as well as a Futon my partner spends most of his time on while I deal with night feeds.

Our spare room is a mess!

It doesn't have any furniture in because buying 'spare' furniture isn't really a priority when we don't have much spare money. Its just become full of various piles of junk or unfinished projects or things to put on ebay or washing I haven't put away and just everything that doesn't really have a place to go.

I'd love to do it up so that it was a lovely welcoming guest room. At the moment when we have people to stay we have to hide all the junk and put out an inflatable mattress. I don't think its very comfortable at all! I'd like to paint, get a new carpet and a nice bed for my guests to sleep in!

Aw thanks ReginaPhilangie. The good news is that four people were arrested and two remanded :) but looks like I will never see my late mum's necklaces again :(

Ours is the spare room. It hasn't been decorated since the mid 1990's and has an awful blue and green sponge print effect wall paper with sun and moon border. The carpet was second hand from my Grandparents and installed before I was born (I grew up in this house so know about the history) and is threadbare all over the place and well over 40 years old. The furniture is a complete mismatch of free stuff we've been donated from people over the years and nothing works with each other. It also has the washing machine in it. It's a nightmare which I try to avoid as much as possible but it's so frustrating as in essence it's a nice double bedroom with original fireplace and could look so lovely with some time and alot of paint on everything.

The living room. It is painted a dark shade of brownish grey. It has a pretty wallpaper to go with it, but it is a north facing room, so the darkness of the whole walls is really depressing. Then there's the odd curtains. I must buy a pair. They are approximately the same shade, but wildly different lengths, and it matters because the streetlight shines right in. I do not love being in this room as much as I thought I would, mostly because of the darkness, and it has a single bulb instead of lighting with 3 bulbs like the dining room does. It would be brilliant to put in a new light fixture. It was laminate, but somebody took the central part of the laminate up and put carpet in. The landlord insists that any laminate put back in be soundproofed for the benefit of the downstairs residents. Sigh.

Hall stairs and landing, deffo. They are carpeted in Dark Blue carpet, and because i hate it it is covered in small paint splots from when I repainted (walls were yellow! With dark blue!) and fraying in the doorways where i pulled it about when re-wiring... and it is 'velvet' effect so looks bloody awful straight after hoovering.

That and the small bedroom -full of bits of toys, old clothes, duvets, feathers (from the budgies when they were in there) dust, bits of coving, books...It was a 'dressing room' so had large floor-to-ceiling cupboards which we had to take out to fit a bed in, but now we have no storage.

We've lived in our house over 4 years now and to be honest most of it needs work doing to it still! Mainly cosmetic, but the spare room, stairs/landing and garden are competing for the most unloved room title.

The spare room and stairs still have the original textured magnolia painted wallpaper. The stairs themselves have no carpet and are creaky as anything, whilst the spare room still has the previous owner's stained carpet. The gardens (front and back) haven't seen a lawnmower for over a year, we just let everything die over winter and then it kind of looks ok again... until summer comes around. We have a horrific weed throughout called ground elder, our garden is sadly too small though for Alan Titchmarsh's recommended cure of a flame thrower!

Though I think our spare room wins out as most unloved room for the additional following reasons. The ceiling paper is literally peeling off and underneath is all cracked and lumpy. There is an interesting beam diagonally slanting down the middle of one wall toward the corner from the centre of the room (hard to describe!). Down this beam drips a brown thick liquid every now and then, but we're not sure what it is. Also damp is now starting to come down the wall near to the corner where this beam disappears, but we're pretty sure it's due to a missing roof tile. There's a wardrobe in there for our guests (yes, we make them stay in this room when visiting) but they can't use it because it's full of old dresses, jumpers and coats (mine and his) which will probably not be warn again. Also you can't actually open the wardrobe to see that the inside is full as our whole old glass shower cubicle pieces are propped against it whilst it isn't selling on ebay! There are also multiple empty and full boxes piled high and tools... oh so many tools, mainly electrical strewn across the floor in one corner where they have spilt out from a cupboard. There's also a snowboard in the room somewhere and an excess of freecycled rolls of carpet intended for the stairs/landing, but never even unrolled. The Christmas decorations are in there, I think, we didn't put any up last year because we weren't sure where they were exactly; fortunately DD was only a few weeks old at the time so she didn't notice. And the curtain pole is falling down.

It's chaos quite frankly and needs a massive clear out of what is listed, plus everything I don't remember owning, before we can even think about replacing the entire ceiling with plasterboard and removing the hideous wallpaper, then plastering the whole room, then painting the whole room including door and radiator... and sticking in a new carpet, skirting board and architrave. It's a lot of daunting work so we need help (and motivation) fast! And don't forget that we currently make our guests sleep in this room...