Opinions please

Hi All,

I've been 'asked' to decorate the interior of the 'owse in the next few weeks (months).

At the moment there is no wall paper - it's all painted magnolia - with a feature colour on one of the walls in each room. The walls are in good condition so will easily take another coat of emulsion.

Generally agreed no wallpaper - as Alfie will simply use it as a massive flat scratching board - so will be painting (cheaper and quicker).

Opinion is divided in the clanless household - all rooms the same colour (eg magnolia) - using furnishings to add interest/colour. Or, entire rooms with different colours - so a nice soothing pale green in the bedroom and a maroon in the lounge for example.

What would you do?

 

I'd say ... erm, either Plan A or Plan B. Or a bit of both. Or put it on the back burner for a while.

 

Have no idea what an 'owse is.
But in general, I hate wallpaper. And what is an Alfie doing scratching the walls. if that is a cat, then get her a scratching post --prime it with cat nip. I have six, none scratch my walls. that is an interesting phrasing "clanless household". We prefer also painted walls. You can jazz them up with framed pictures, and furniture etc. Colorful pillows etc. Auction places sometime have wonderful pic, cheap, like the cost of just the frame. Our recent color choice was recommended by a decorator, it is a very light lavender, goes great with brown tapestry furniture, gold frames, green and blue and red pieces. this is our living room. Keep that color in mind, check it out. The balance of the kitchen walls is gray, which pops the light maple cupboards, the same color is in the dinning room and hall. This particular paint changes color depending on the light, sometime you swear its more green than gray, or more blue than gray. It is not too light, but more medium in saturation of color. Now our garden room is painted in a bold raspberry-pink color, all the green plants and furniture pops against it, my pillows are lime green accents.
our bedroom is a very light pink.

 

I would delay for as long as possible using the cool temps as the reason for the delay, takes too long for paint to dry when cooler.

Another way to reduce workload just paint feature wall in every room raspberry as it goes great with magnolia.

 

I personally prefer rooms to have different colours, as you use them all differently and they have different functions so i like it when the colours of the rooms make them feel different and suit the purpose.

The same colour throughout with accents imo gets very very boring unless it is a design specific style like scandavian or minimalist etc that is applied throughout on purpose and done to a T so every single thing in the house suits that style or possible mash up of styles lol

 

Buy some spray paint cans (various colours) invite a few Chaves in, and leave them to it
No work for you, and amazing Graffiti Job's a good un

Jack McH

 

I'd suggest colours. Every room in my house is a different colour (and my hallway is all of them) and I think it makes a big difference to the mood and energy of the room.

 

I would just tell her that until she can control Alfie there is no point decorating - job done

We go for white throughout. Colours are too much a matter of taste and nobody looks at the walls anyway, just what is on or next to them. Also an estate agent told me that coloured and coordinated rooms can have the effect of making guests uncomfortable which makes sense as when I think about all the hotels that I've stayed in over the years the most pleasant are those that don't try too hard on the decor front.

 

Lots of great ideas.

Always work in wallet order.

Purchase the most expensive items such as furniture and window dressings, then paint.

You can always find paint to match or compliment fabric but not the other way round . Trust me on this.

My little company is called the House Dressing because that is what I do, I dresses houses not people.

 

we just finished the over hauling of our bathroom. And after an assessment of possible color choice, I went with black and white bathroom. The rest of my house has different color walls. And no other color left over really appealed to me. So here is our new bathroom. Designed by yours truly. And put in by my wonderful husband.

 

Paint all the walls white, then put one of these in every room, then you can have any colour at the touch of a button

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Auraglow-Remote-Controlled-Colour-Changing/dp/B003TXM53K

 

All my rooms except for the hallway have a coloured feature wall. White is clinical and can seem as cold during the winter months as blue can. A wall with a warm colour can make such a difference to a room.

My estate agent said as long as the rooms have good, simple, clean lines then there isn't an issue. My dining room below just after it was finished, both alcoves are 'gold', the chimney breast and other walls are a hint of yellow. This room gets very little sun so the colour gives it a feeling of warmth.



Clanless, if you've got decent walls don't paper them, it will ruin the surface over time and then you won't be able to re-paint without additional work.

 

Try to avoid magnolia and white , except for ceilings . Don't use cheapo paints , they really do not cover very well. Selecting colours is not easy , sample pots tend to look a different colour on every wall you paint. A tip we got on here ,can't remember who , was to paint cards with your sample colour then you can move them around the house .

 

I definitely agree with @HarryS advice not to use cheapo paint. I have done that too many times. It's very much a false economy because you use at least twice as much paint. The final colour often bares very little resemblance to the colour on the label.

 

I have to admit to being very boring when it comes to painting I paint all the ceilings white & all the walls are Dulux Natural Calico,with the exception of the sitting room that's Dulux Buttermilk! The woodwork is all white.
I personally like light colours in a house.
Good luck with the decorating