Can you please advise me how we can decorate my elderly mother's loung
Mel Harris
9 years ago
We are trying to get some help on how to decorate my elderly mother's home so that it's comfortable for her to live with the colour scheme on a day to day basis.
We are having to work with a very low budget so want to avoid any mistakes.
She has a two bedroom bungalow which she has just been awarded a grant to complete emergency repairs. Any day now it will be completely rewired, have 2 ceilings replaced and have a new floor laid in her kitchen and then finally new kitchen units installed.
We need to have a friend strip polystyrene ceiling tiles taken down in her lounge, hallway and her bedroom.
Then we have to decorate each of the rooms. Fortunately, she wants it decorated with paint but we don't want to make any mistakes as it will sadly probably be the last time it gets decorated.
Please could you help me out by pointing out where we could go wrong with the decorating.
Many thanks,
My kind regards,
MEL
We are having to work with a very low budget so want to avoid any mistakes.
She has a two bedroom bungalow which she has just been awarded a grant to complete emergency repairs. Any day now it will be completely rewired, have 2 ceilings replaced and have a new floor laid in her kitchen and then finally new kitchen units installed.
We need to have a friend strip polystyrene ceiling tiles taken down in her lounge, hallway and her bedroom.
Then we have to decorate each of the rooms. Fortunately, she wants it decorated with paint but we don't want to make any mistakes as it will sadly probably be the last time it gets decorated.
Please could you help me out by pointing out where we could go wrong with the decorating.
Many thanks,
My kind regards,
MEL
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jacki_solea1
9 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (40)Hi, I suggest you move the mirrors up , at the level of the window because they are too low , with this you will create a hight of the room , the carpet it is a problem : 1: it keeps the dust in the house and 2: you can never have a clean room with it . I also suggest get some money put a wood floor and the radiator can be cut out , moved on the floor heating , then you can decide if you want or not to create a small place to sit at the window or the corner where your closet is a small table with a chair where you can rest and have also a make-up session . Move the curtains close to the level of the ceiling and try to find a fade coloured curtain that can create an accent in the room (just because you have a patter wall that does not mean everything in the house should have a patter as well) and i suggest a plant because it keeps the air clean even when you sleep . i can try to make you a design suggestion and see more of what i am writing you, but i will need some specific measurements of the room (height- distance from the wall to the window and to the corner and after to the door , i assume that is where the master-bedroom bath is . Kind regards, Andreea...See MoreCan anyone help me with reconfiguring my home /kitchen layout please!!
Comments (13)Whilst I understand the constraints of budget I think you are approaching the planning wrong. I think the way to do this is to decide on the layout that works best and then work out what you can afford to do now- perhaps you can make economies on purchases such as the kitchen cabinets to get a better Gliw in your home. An architectural designer or a concept planner are worth considering to help with this- they would also help you visualise the finished space too. If this were my house I would be thinking the entrance wasn’t big enough for the size of house and I would be concerned about privacy of the bedrooms at the front, I also don’t like the current kitchen being some distance from a window and being a heavy traffic area. Although I can’t see the layout properly I think I have got the sizes about right to show how I would do it. I have moved the front door to the middle of the house, shown a vaulted hall with stairs to two big upstairs spaces, shown the living space as completely open plan but with the option of using one of the downstairs bedrooms or one of the upstairs rooms as an extra living room. In my opinion there are often houses with long narrow extensions across the back that should have been better considered as invariably people need bigger spaces rather than more small rooms and retrospectively opening up the original house into this space is more difficult that building in the steels originally. So my plan doesn’t change any of the external walls of the original property but a couple of internal brick walls have been removed. I have just shown what is commercial and probably wouldn’t cost the earth but a designer would spend time trying to better understand your needs....See MoreHow to decorate/furnish this through lounge/diner?
Comments (21)@sonia I'm leaning towards grey walls too. My bedroom is going to be goose dawn and teal tension (I think!) so I'm wondering about doing the living room in the same greytl bulk buy paint! It's a bit darker than polished pebble though. I like those pics and I have a rose gold standing lamp already... Here with my desk (grey and rose gold)...See MoreHow to decorate north facing lounge diner
Comments (22)With north facing rooms you have to accept they will never be light and cheerful so it is better to go for warmth of colour with layers of textiles to create an inviting space in which you feel coddled and comforted. Looking at your photos and where you are in your thinking I would use your favoured peachblossom but perhaps zone the dining area back wall and cupboards to the side with the slaked lime to keep the rear of the room lighter and aid the mirror. I notice there is an eating area in the kitchen so how often is the dining table used? If the room is primarily used for sitting then the table could be pushed back releasing more floor space. To tie the two ends of the room together recover the chair seats with a peach/blue/grey patterned linen and dress the table with a runner, decorative bowl or plant/flowers in the same palette. Even if you are not keen on pattern it does hide spills on dining chairs! The aim is to layer up the decoration using plains and patterns without confusing the eye. Your wonderful urn flanked by a pair of bowls or candles on a pale runner would work. The side window is crying out to be dressed and could have a roman blind set in the alcove or a flat pelmet of dramatic shape or proportions to match or complement the dining chair fabric or runner fabric. The window corner would benefit from a standard lamp, perhaps a multi bulb to avoid using the over head lights. If the table goes back slightly the sofa could move to in front of the garden doors with the mirrored console behind. It may be difficult to get power to here for lamps but it is possible to find battery operated ones although they are still very costly but there are realistic wax battery candles (some of which are on remote controls) that could go in a pair of glass storm lanterns to an extra glow to both the dinning and sitting areas. The wooden sideboard could then go on the right hand wall as you look at the garden with two small arm chairs flanking it to provide more seating when needed, another mirror above to catch the evening sun and either a pair of tall lamps or one huge one. The navy chair could be angled in the corner of the doors with the sheep to the window side. The tv console is a bit of a problem as the proportions are slightly out. Just pulling it out of the corner along the wall slightly with a turntable underneath the tv itself for angling may help. Alternatively could the console be used at the dead side or the sofa for books and cups etc? The tv could then go on a small round table in the corner. The space between the doors and sofa needs a large rug to define the space and minimise the wear to the carpet from garden traffic. A large square storage footstool would layer the space whilst giving extra storage. The finishing touches will be throws and cushions to complement the peachblossom walls and navy chair; a navy blue wool/mohair throw for the sofa mirroring colour and adding texture, with cushions in the dining chair fabric along with your velvet ones and one other texture or colour. I seem to have got rather carried away! Sorry, but thank you for providing a break from the misery of the day! A...See MoreMel Harris
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