Home decor

Trawl the charity shops, loads of art and decor items at bargain prices.

Finding (almost) the same decorative little touches in B&M, The Range etc that I’ve been paying so much more for in Next and John Lewis.

Look at companies who colour match expensive paint brands...I saved quite a bit doing this when I had my heart set on a particular shade.

The best room I ever did took a long time - but cost very little. I was at home with small children and stony broke.

I stripped everything back to bare wood and plaster, including the floor, 'whitewashed' with diluted paint, then painted a 'treescape' mural on one wall. All the paint was leftovers.

I made a four poster bed frame and blanket box, had two dining chairs as bedside tables, then bought a lovely bedspread. The curtains were made from sheets. It was such a calm, peaceful atmosphere in there.

Agree with taking your time. We have a local in person auction and items go for very little, especially anything big e.g. a very nice three piece suite didn't sell even at £3 so got given to charity. You need to be able to transport what you buy though.

Car boots can also be good.

Its taken me a long time to come around to neutrals, but big spends - sofas, curtains, flooring good old cream/ ivory etc then adding seasonal accent colours with cushion covers, throws, art work and accessories seems to pay off over time!
If you stick to a favourite palette for accessories can be swapped from room to room.
Hetty58, your decor ideas sound gorgeous - I'd love that right now!

Also! Chalk/ Mineral Paint!
Oh my goodness, easy to us, goes further than you think and can transform a miss matched jumble into 'eclectic rustic chic'.
Or so they say, I'm still working on the chic bit!

I paint my ornaments,I buy testers to compliment my colour scheme, I usually look for wooden ornaments to paint but I have a couple of wooden cats and a clock that have changed colour over the years that stay with me, I have also painted a couple of lampshades ,it's so quick and easy

I find Magnolia all through my home though it’s no in “fashion” very calming I don’t tire of it add plenty of colours and pictures to stand out against the walls .

Have friends you go bold with dramatic colours and wallpaper which after a few years they are fed up of it and start decorating ones again!

With magnolia you almost forget it’s there in the background but appreciate the lovely flooring and furnishings etc .

Oooh, Hetty58, that sounds lovely!
I knew someone who once made bathroom curtains out of towels, so things would match up!

If the walls are not tiled, they are painted white. My rooms are too small for dark wall colours.

I move furniture all around the house - small tables/cupboards have been used as bedside tables, coffee tables, plant stands... I just took some doors off one, painted it white and use it for the TV and hi-fi equipment. I've added some legs to another small pine cupboard, painted it and made it into a dresser for a small bedroom. Always look at what you have before buying new, including mirrors, pictures, ornaments, lamps, etc. I'm in the process of spraying an old three shelf unit on castors from black and chrome to all midnight blue - it's been in a wardrobe as shelving for 20 years now it's seeing the light to house some baskets of clutter in another room.

A few nice scatter cushions and throws can brighten the place up. Yes definitely look in charity shops or on eBay for bargains.

We are going to freshen up our house next year so we’ve been out to get the paint charts, loaded the Dulux app so we can see the colours on our wall. That took a bit of doing, there didn’t seem to be any instructions so it took a while to realise that I had to take a photo of the wall. Just thumping the wall didn’t work🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️.
We’ve made the big decision. I think we’ll stick with Natural Hessian in most rooms. I keep telling myself that I’m so boring but it’s a fabulous colour and seems to look different when the light and furnishings change.