Here are 2 different ideas.

Thankyou! We are sleeping here first night tonight so need curtains up today!!! I hadn't planned on sleeping here yet but my hubby told our kids and now no going back!!!! So I'm about to drive to a big next about 7 miles away ... Hope they have something?!?! Unfortunately the nearest dunelm is too far !

Hello Lisamarie, Thank you very much! Well look at it like this, I offer up ideas I would do or consider but then you need to see what works for you and what you like, in my suggestions.. My advice is never impartial though as I am far too invested in what I do and love.. You do need to consider the furniture though but despite all these ideas your bright cushions will still add a really nice contrast.. What I was thinking, because I have this same experience... I painted the chimney breast only in grey.. I then painted the walls a cream colour, skirting in white. In your case it would be Wimborne for the walls and All White for the woodwork... ... I lived with it for a while but felt bored. It wasn't dramatic or characterful.. .. So I went on to paint the left wall where the window is and the opposite wall.. So 3 sides will now have dark grey 1 of the walls has an 8 ft by 6 ft mirror though the other is the chimney breast and the alcoves will be papered Oreste charcoal by Zoffany.. When I have got around to paying my pro-forma! ;) ..... (It's going to be a dark interior for the living room).. So I then painted all the window frames and windows black against the window panes and again a purple/grey colour I made for the frames, skirting, picture rail and architrave. It is coming along but not finished.. I have very little £ so I have to do things when I can.. Why not get some A4 paper and a few sample pots of nice chalky whites and creams, I do like pointing, also Shaded White and Clunch are really gr8 ... Stick some on the wall and some of the skirting colour on the skirting... You want to butt them up close together, so you can see them together... Look throughout the day at the changes. Duplicate the wall colours at eye level too.. so you can see at more height.. The room will look like a bad shave day! : ) ) Colours will change depending on the light.. choose a colour that is just a little creamier, so that if you want the woodwork white... you can still get a contrast.. Otherwise it will be white wall and woodwork and a downpipe chimney breast... So let's just say you went with some contrast... For Downpipe you could have Plummett or Manor house grey for the wood work... You could do the floor too.... Take these ideas and extend them to the other rooms... See what feels right.. Let me know what you think and if you get all that... and have more questions.. I just can't ever write a paragraph!! :))

the layout and planting ideas are great, thank you. the garden is south facing, so the evening sun is on the triangular area nearest the front door. I put bamboo screening up but there's a footpath the other side of the metal fence, and it got vandalised so often that I gave up. ditto the few fence panels we had put up against the metal fence to give us some privacy. it's council and of course they refuse to erect a decent fence, or facilitate some sort of system where we pay them back in instalments. I dont expect handouts, I'd have a 6' high fence put up tomorrow if I could afford it. hiring a skip is also out of my budget, so I've gradually been taking stuff to the tip or burning it. I have kids and pets including chickens, and although I'd like to think I'll grow some veg in the raised beds, I know I'll never get round to it! the sheds: one small one is a potting shed, the other small one in the corner chicken run is storage, and the big one is supposed to be a workshop but is currently crammed with stuff that needs sorting and storing or chucking, including all my tools, garden tools, kids toys, camping stuff, etc etc. I'm sure you get the picture! there are 2 greenhouses and umpteen raised beds, stacks of bricks, wood, bits of shed panelling, old Windows etc, because my husband had lots of plabd for the garden and did loads of growing veg etc, but never got round to finishing anything. in his defence this is Wales, it rains all the bloody time, and of course there are never enough hours in the day. however, we have recently separated, so I now find myself staring in horror at the whole overwhelming project, scratching my head, wondering where the hell to start, and then closing my eyes and pretending it's not there.