Decorating 'etiquette'

We are in the middle of decorating now, and have cleared one room in readiness for the decorator coming on Monday. There is nothing left in there as the ceiling had to come down and be replaced first. That was a pain, but we had plenty of notice and moved things a bit at a time. The downside is that the rest of the house is crammed with books and furniture that have come out of it, and the decorators are doing another room too.

The plan is to have them do the empty room first, then move as much as possible into there to clear space in the other room, but we have to sit somewhere throughout. They have said that they will work around us as best as possible, and I'm pretty sure they would have helped to move things if we'd asked. Things like books and ornaments obviously need to be moved first, but they will help with larger items. If you have a lot that has to be moved and it will take time, they might add it to the quote, but you'd need to ask when booking them.

It is a good excuse for a clearout. I am amazed at how much stuff is all over the house after clearing one room. there wasn't time to sort as we went, but when it comes to putting things back I am going to be ruthless.

Have you any younger relatives that would help? Perhaps tempt them with the offer of dinner or a bottle of their favourite tipple. Though if you have and they agree, don't forget to say it includes repositioning the furniture afterwards.

When I had work done I said that furniture would have to be moved so could that be included in the cost of the job.

I spent the best part of 2 weeks taking down 4 pairs of curtains. emptying book shelves, cupboards, drawers and tv unit when I had 2 small rooms decorated. I was worn out! Took the chap and his brother all of 7 hours to decorate, then another week for me to put everything back, after having a good sort out. They moved the empty furniture away from the walls, but I’ve been using the same chap for years now, so he’s very helpful.

Wrt your ages and health conditions, really this is why so many older people neglect decorating late in life. I am 74 and with that in view, I will never be having whole rooms decorated again. I used auro 321 white, expensive very matt paint which is a lovely soft white and having had that in my last home, I know how easy it was to cover marks with it when I moved. So I had all walls and ceilings covered in two coats of that

I can easily paint vertically now, if anything needs a refresh then I will always be able to do it myself without moving anything

I just had my whole interior painted by a professional, he works on his own and I moved all my own furniture because I wanted to as I had more control. Be aware that a good professional will have perhaps a 6 month waiting time.

Re moving the furniture, you would need to find someone who works with another and be very upfront when asking for prices. You will need to empty units that would be heavy to move, such as dressers. A good decorator will not be painting around any furniture

I do not know what would happen re the piano but bookcases can normally be slid on sliders