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Show us yer house and house-related meddlings

Two years looking for a house to rent, and I was beginning to think it'd never happen but finally found one, and it has 1000Mb fibre broadband, and 5 bedrooms 😍
It had a little shop and pub attached many moons ago, and it has a couple of outbuildings, which I'm sure I'll find a use for. I might even start selling FEBs :D

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The garden is huge. Just waiting for a lawnmower to arrive to sort it.
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Those tiles are fabulous, shakespearegirl

I am joining in on this thread now I finally have the keys to my place. It needs so much work that I will be working on it for a while, but I have to decide on paint colours by tomorrow morning. Any advice? Not sure what colour to have in the living room as I haven't got any furniture or carpets in yet. Something neutral? I have to tell the guy what colours I want in each room and he will buy it tomorrow. Bedroom is easy, one light blue wall, the rest white. White for office. I like the idea of a sunny yellow kitchen. How do people choose paint colours?!
 
Those tiles are fabulous, shakespearegirl

I am joining in on this thread now I finally have the keys to my place. It needs so much work that I will be working on it for a while, but I have to decide on paint colours by tomorrow morning. Any advice? Not sure what colour to have in the living room as I haven't got any furniture or carpets in yet. Something neutral? I have to tell the guy what colours I want in each room and he will buy it tomorrow. Bedroom is easy, one light blue wall, the rest white. White for office. I like the idea of a sunny yellow kitchen. How do people choose paint colours?!
Congratulations on finally getting there! :)
I choose paint colours by a long process of staring at shade cards and changing my mind relentlessly. If you have to do it in a hurry, I'd get something neutral and light for now, then you can always paint the odd wall a different colour when you've got your stuff.
 
I agree with moose - it's difficult if you decorate before you really get to know the light in a place, so go fairly neutral for now. First thing I did when I moved in here was strip the hideous wallpaper in the sitting room and paint it a warm cream.
 
A personal preference suggestion - if you’re going to paint any walls and or ceilings white, consider not going for the ubiquitous pure brilliant white - it’s got (to my eyes anyway, and I think this is actually how it’s formulated to be) a sort of harsh almost blue tint to it. I always use Wickes Victorian white - it’s not an off-white, it’s still definitely white, but it’s not the super-bright white of pbw.

Wickes Victorian White - No. 125 Tough & Washable Matt Emulsion Paint - 5L | Wickes.co.uk
 
Those tiles are fabulous, shakespearegirl

I am joining in on this thread now I finally have the keys to my place. It needs so much work that I will be working on it for a while, but I have to decide on paint colours by tomorrow morning. Any advice? Not sure what colour to have in the living room as I haven't got any furniture or carpets in yet. Something neutral? I have to tell the guy what colours I want in each room and he will buy it tomorrow. Bedroom is easy, one light blue wall, the rest white. White for office. I like the idea of a sunny yellow kitchen. How do people choose paint colours?!
Thanks and welcome to house ownership.

id def say neutral if you don’t have time to do tester pots. White/cream/off white, you can then paint your feature wall once you’ve lived within for a while
 
Those tiles are fabulous, shakespearegirl

I am joining in on this thread now I finally have the keys to my place. It needs so much work that I will be working on it for a while, but I have to decide on paint colours by tomorrow morning. Any advice? Not sure what colour to have in the living room as I haven't got any furniture or carpets in yet. Something neutral? I have to tell the guy what colours I want in each room and he will buy it tomorrow. Bedroom is easy, one light blue wall, the rest white. White for office. I like the idea of a sunny yellow kitchen. How do people choose paint colours?!
Well done, at last!

Personally I'd instruct the painter to fill any cracks and paint the whole thing nice clean white, ceiling to floor. Then live with it until you have a feel for the place and how you use it. Then do a room at a time how you decide you want it at your leisure.
 
Decorator refuses to get Wilko paint. Apparently knows where to get good paint. I shall see. I've seen another place he did and it did look good..but he had some odd suggestions like a purple living room.

If there’s not a massive price difference, let him buy the paint he wants. Tradespeople generally know best quality supplies and they won’t always be common consumer facing brands
 
Decorator refuses to get Wilko paint. Apparently knows where to get good paint. I shall see. I've seen another place he did and it did look good..but he had some odd suggestions like a purple living room.
He’s probably right, our decorator friend probably wouldn’t use it either. Some do take against a particular paint because they’ve had a bad job with it.
 
Annoyingly, I have to work this afternoon so I don't think I'll be able to be there for paint purchasing. It's a friend of my boyfriend, who owes him bigtime. Just feeling a bit dubious that they will buy some strange colours and strip that funny wallpaper. I will be going round to clean supervise as soon as I can. I'll take some nice cakes and things to keep him going.
 
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Decorator refuses to get Wilko paint. Apparently knows where to get good paint. I shall see. I've seen another place he did and it did look good..but he had some odd suggestions like a purple living room.

I agree with him about the Wilko paint.

A decorator is not there to make decisions about colours or wallpaper though, they are there to decorate your home as you wish. If you cannot leave him unattended without him deciding to paint the sitting room purple, then he is not doing his job and I would find someone else.
 
I agree with him about the Wilko paint.
What's 'wrong' with Wilko paint?

I need to redo my hallway which is peach and the only place that seems to do peach coloured paint is Wilko. Can't be too expensive either as I need about 4 2.5l cans to do it. :eek: :(
 
What's 'wrong' with Wilko paint?

I need to redo my hallway which is peach and the only place that seems to do peach coloured paint is Wilko. Can't be too expensive either as I need about 4 2.5l cans to do it. :eek: :(

It's just not the best quality, if you're doing DIY then fine use whatever you want, but if you're a professional decorator then your reputation needs to be pristine so you use the best materials that are going to give a flawless finish and last well.
 
Wilko paint is perfectly fine if you’re doing it yourself after being a bit snobbish about it myself. My mum bored during lockdown re did most of her house with wilko paint. It looked great. I’ve just started doing my own bedroom with it and also used their primer. It’s fine.

I tend to find the quality of most wilko things in general are pretty good value for money anyway. One of my favourite shops if I’m honest.
 
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I'm just back from Wilkos. Their paint is £8 a tin compared to £25 or something for the other brands. I feel like samples used to be free. Seems pointless to buy samples when the guy won't be using their stuff anyway.

In the mean time, I've bought a bed. I'm not sure I've ever had a brand new bed and mattress. Deep blue ottoman with a headboard and a firm, (hopefully) decent mattress. Looking forward to sleeping on that after six months on a very soft, old memory foam thing. My back hurts.

Does anyone know how to stop a dripping tap? A quick solution preferably rather than something involving tools and expertise.
 
I'm just back from Wilkos. Their paint is £8 a tin compared to £25 or something for the other brands. I feel like samples used to be free. Seems pointless to buy samples when the guy won't be using their stuff anyway.

In the mean time, I've bought a bed. I'm not sure I've ever had a brand new bed and mattress. Deep blue ottoman with a headboard and a firm, (hopefully) decent mattress. Looking forward to sleeping on that after six months on a very soft, old memory foam thing. My back hurts.

Does anyone know how to stop a dripping tap? A quick solution preferably rather than something involving tools and expertise.
Probably need to replace the washer. If you do a quick Google you can see if it's something you feel up to.
 
Cheap paint goes on thin and uneven. The finish is not as good, and you need to do more coats. More coats = more time = more cost to you. It's a false economy to save a few hundred quid on materials to have to pay a decorator a few hundred more and still end up with a worse finish.
 
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