New flat

6 years ago

Just bought my first flat and attached some pictures from the sales pictures. Would love some tips and guidance on what to do to make this beautiful. There will be no furniture when I move in. The flooring is something I would love to get some ideas about and also whether or not it makes sense to double glaze the wooden sash windows and to use shutters

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Jonathan

6 years ago

Great flat. What you do to it depends on budget. I am imagining that since you have no furniture there is not a big enough budget to replace kitchens and bathrooms so I am guessing this is a question about what you need to buy to fill this flat.
Personally I think that anyone who has lived in a Victorian conversion will tell you that carpets are necessary for sound insulation and to keep it cozy. You should look at the existing carpets and decide if you want to replace or get professionally cleaned.
Double glazed Windows- the economic ways of doing this are unattractive and will devalue the property. Shutters- could look great - curtains will likely keep the heat in better.
Decorating- you could use one of the designers on here to help- there will be a fee but also some trade discounts available on purchases which will help offset this.
If you want to make all the choices then I would suggest putting together a colour choice of 6 colours that all work with each other and then use them to decorate and every purchase you make has to work with these colour "rules". I would choose a soft white (brilliant white is unforgiving in old building) use the soft white for woodwork and coving. Choose two pale neutrals such as a pale grey and another white which can be used for walls and ceilings. Then in my opinion you need a two deep colours because they help period features stand out such as a deep blue and a deep brown- you can paint whole rooms in these colours or just an accent wall. The last colour would be an accent that works with the two other colours such as a citrus yellow.
Lastly I think the flat is missing a fireplace for the living room. Get some advice from the supplier to get the right proportions for the room.

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Comments (18)

tezz4
6 years ago
Nice place! Depends how far you want to go with this. You can leave it as is and furnish similarly or else you could blow out part of the kitchen/dining wall and create a large hatch or walkthrough to widen the space further and open up the plan. The kitchen looks like it could do with a complete update too.

I love beds positioned in front of windows, firstly because it looks really good snd secondly because it frees up walls for more storage pieces or art.

For the terrace get some cool outdoor furniture for chilling.

And use all the recessed walls as an excuse for different shades of paint.

Wooden toilet seat needs to go and the undersink cupboard too. You could save the bathroom, there are lots of possible additions to upgrade - unless you can refurb it completely.
tezz4
6 years ago
I really can't see your floors from the pics but l would think hardwood flooring. Defo no fitted carpets, so gross. The stain colour would depend on your general style.

As for shutters, unless you need extra security, don't seem necessary. You could always control the daylight with window treatments and filters.
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You have a lovely clean clear kitchen and whatever you decide to do, my advice would be to keep the tops as clear as possible. Toasters do not need to be on display, and neither do kitchen tools. Leave the kettle out - put away coffee tea etc. A soft mint green kettle would not stand out too much, and if you wanted to continue the green theme into the living room, various shades of mint, lime and other greens work very well with grey. Also grey comes in dozens of different shades, so you could incorporate a darker grey amongst your colour scheme.
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Hi kelly-Marie, congratulations on the new flat! The colours you have chosen are dark so as said above, look to see how much light you have in each room at different times of the day which will determine which colours work best. Is the lounge carpet already down or are you fitting it? What other rooms are there in the flat? Chocolate brown could look great in the bedroom as per pics from room-decorating-ideas. These work due to number of windows (light), White furniture, bedding etc so you may have to get the balance right. Do you already have lounge and bedroom furniture? If so what are they like? As Elena said a dark grey carpet will absorb a lot of light. If your lounge gets little light grey paint wouldn't be the best colour to choose tbh although some shades may work. Having the same or same colour flooring throughout will also give the feeling of a bigger space.
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Here http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/sofas-armchairs/leather-sofas/landskrona-two-seat-sofa-grann-bomstad-white-metal-spr-69031768/
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Hi there, congratulations for having your first place! Moving into a new place is always exciting, but especially when it's your first place together. Let's start with practical issues. For the bedrooms the main thing is that you have proper blackout to guarantee a good sleep. You can combine a blackout roller blind with full lenght curtains (so you can have lighter curtains) or full lenght curtains with a blackout lining (normal lining isn't usually enough to blockout the light). It doesn't sound like a big deal, but if you want to sleep a bit later in the morning or happen to be unwell, it is really nice to be able to make the bedroom as dark as possible. The kitchen curtains depend on how close to the sink and the hob they are. If the window is on the other side of the room than the hob, then curtains are ok. But if the window is right next to the hob, I don't recommend having curtains as they go horrible in no time. In the living room you don't necessarily need blackout curtains so you can choose to have lighter curtains which are mainly for decorative purposes and to add texture to the room. One thing to take into consideration is insulation. In many houses windows can be really drafty and come winter, you may wish you had chosen thick curtains to keep the cold out. Wheather you go for roman blinds or full lenght curtains really is a matter of taste, but you also need to consider what works best for the size of the windows you have, if there is space for full lenght curtains (for example, you might have a radiator under the window in which case full lenght curtains may not be the best option). All curtain options have a different look, so I suggest you first decide what kind of a look you want to achieve in each room and then see which curtain option best delivers that look (taking into account practicalities). Hope this helps, Kati
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lkirk44
6 years ago
I suppose wooden floors depends on neighbours and noise compliance may cost a lot if lease requirements are to sound proof floor!
Love the flat as it is and especially balcony and view very lucky. I would live with it a while and then how you live will give you ideas how you would like to change x
PRO
Woodpecker Flooring
6 years ago
Hi Yan, we've got lots of Resources and Inspiration on our website that could help you make a choice for your flooring: https://woodpeckerflooring.co.uk/resources/

To give a quick summary of wood flooring, it's suitable for underfloor heating, will last longer than a lifetime and is available in a whole host of beautiful colours and finishes.

Give us a shout if you'd like any further advice!
Yan K
Original Author
6 years ago
I am thinking of opening up the lounge kitchen with an industrial style partition
Yan K
Original Author
6 years ago
My purchase is taking ages! Some advice please:
1) how to go about selecting flooring. My style preference is to have a wooden flooring (herringbone effect)
2) when to think about the electrics - how important is it to modify a flat to have a separate ring for the kitchen.
3) Should I be considering 'smart home' features - such as electronic door locks that can be opened by Mobile phones?
4) how to decide how many sockets in a room?
5) how to decide if wet underfloor heating is a good choice to replace old radiators and give some more floor space?
6) how to decide if I should include LED lighting
7) should I consider a second bathroom adjacent to the existing one?
8) how to decide on skirting and wall finished
Claire Nicholson
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Hi Jan,

Wow! That's a lot of questions :)

I guess there are a few key things to answer / consider to help with the longer list;

What budget are you working with?

Do you want to do everything in one go at the start or are you happy to have different 'phases' to complete over a period of time?

Have you purchased the house to live in or to 'improve' and sell?

Best wishes,

Claire
Yan K
Original Author
6 years ago
Haha! I don't think I mentioned anything about the fireplace. It's a place for myself to live in and eventually sell and move on, and I'd like to do the work upfront - I might continue to rent until all the major work is done. I don't have any furniture currently. Budget - I haven't decided on yet, was going to gear it around what needs to be done
Yan K
Original Author
6 years ago
Claire - I have no idea about the costs yet because I haven't moved in.
Esther Ololade
6 years ago
Hi Yan,

I think setting a budget might be useful first before you decide what you can/want to do otherwise you find that there are unlimited things you can do making choices more difficult.
A S
6 years ago
Set a budget and work around the budget as opposed to the opposite way round. You don't want it to be that you have to halt the project as funds for renovation have run out.

As you want to sell it on in a couple of years I wouldn't invest a large amount of money as many people like to refurbish a property when. they move in to make it 'theirs' but enough so you can survive in a decent looking environment.

Maybe prioritise what is most important and what things could wait if budget is of issue

All the best
Yan K
Original Author
6 years ago
Difficult to set a budget if you don't know what things cost. If I have a rough idea of costs I can weigh up the cost benefit and the prioritisation.
lkirk44
6 years ago
I would get some quotes for flooring, painting and qualified electrical works to give you an idea. On a new home make sure electric switch box and gas all checked and up to date with regulations which an electrician can advise. Paints don't really cost it's furniture but you can go vintage with second hand it's great making furniture work for your needs.
Taking your time saves money wasting and a headache later on that is what l have learnt anyway.
Claire Nicholson
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Hi Jan,

As a few people have said the costs can vary wildly depending on your personal preferences and style!

Its like asking someone how much a car costs... it depends on whether you choose a Fiat Punto or a Bentley but they will both clearly still get you from A to B :)

Flooring for example you would be able to get a basic engineered wood floor or Luxury Vinyl tile for around £25 sq meter at the low end but for beautiful oil reclaimed herringbone pattern you could easily pay £200 sq meter. You will also need to allow for fitting on top of this. Again, depending on whereabouts in the country you are, £25-50 a sq meter are reasonable fitting costs.

For a midrange wood floor I would expect to pay around £60 sq meter but this is very dependent on style.

Herringbone is probably 20-25% more expensive to fit due to all the edge cutting.

Skirting board I would take a look at skirting4u.com as if you know the sizes of your room it is very easy to calculate for costs.

Wet underfloor heating can be expensive to install, especially as you would need to take up your existing floors (clearly no issue if you are taking it all up to replace anyway!)

We paid £40 sq meter for our wet system and then £2000 to have it installed (50sq meter room)

Decorators vary depending on the area but £20-30 per hour is fairly standard. You will need to account for prep work of a good painted so budget for twice as many days as you think it would take you to do it yourself.

Electricians come in at around £200-250 per day plus materials. Get a quote or two for the works your thinking of getting done as our experience is it takes more days than you think!

Sockets- think about what you'll do in each room. Where will you sit to use your laptop? Where might you like a lamp or two? Where will you use small kitchen appliances like toaster, kettle and mixer? Where will you charge your phone at night? Where will you plug in a desktop computer?

Some of the gadgets you mention are nice to have if they are important to you personally but are unlikely to increase the value of your home when you come to sell it.

Bathrooms are another significant spend and I would very roughly budget £5-8k for a midrange bathroom to kit it or and have it plumbed in. You would need building work on top of that to create your second room.

These are all very approximate and again, hugely influenced by what type of specification / finish you want for the flat but may give you some ideas.

Hope it helps!
A S
6 years ago
In that case it'd be helpful to get a few contractors round to price up the entire cost; more often than not they individually list costs. This gives you a rough idea in terms of costing and allows you to prioritise what you want to do.

Prices vary depending on location, so a quote from up north will vary drastically to a quote down south, hence why it's useful to get the actual trades people in to inform you.
It also depends on the quality of work you want done, do you want go very high end, Mid range or low end. Sometimes the low end items work out better for value than the high end. I can say from personal experience, for instance with shower systems....Having installed two or three expensive systems which failed after two months of use we decided to try a much cheaper one which lasted us in excess of 5 years.

All the best!
tezz4
6 years ago
I believe budget would depend first on what you can afford!!

You can spend any amount really ranging from just making do to going really far out.

Then it would depend on the realistic cost of the finished product as in what would the place cost on the local market considering the location; the value of the actual building; the convenience; the popularity of the area etc. You should keep all this in perspective so that your investment will be relative to the price the apartment will fetch should you decide to sell.

Do the best you can but be aware that once you start on a roll costs keep coming at you. I wish you every success!
PRO
The Lighting Company
6 years ago
Don't forget the lights! The Lighting Company

New flat

Jonathan

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