Decorating office room, hall and landing
Discussion
I've lived in my house for a year now, and finally managed to get rid of all the junk I should've got rid of years ago, and organised the rooms how I want them. Now it's time to get on with some serious decorating!
The downstairs is fairly straightforward, only really needs a new carpet and a lick of paint and general tidy. We've already got most of the furniture we want for the next few years. However, the upstairs is a bit more old fashioned, and looks like it hasn't been touched for about 20 years at least, and is in urgent need of a revamp.
One of the spare bedrooms is an office/"man cave" type room which I want to do first. Mainly so if it all takes a lot longer than expected there will be minimal disruption! I'd also like to do the painting etc. myself, to save money for the downstairs bits that people will see a lot more. I've got no experience in painting and decorating though, so just want to make sure I'm not missing anything!
This is a general view of the office room, although it's a few months old. We have a new desk and chair now, and it's tidier!
And a couple of close ups of the window area.
Those shelves are going at the weekend, they were some old ones from work just for temporary storage. The main thing I want to do is get rid of that pink wall! Can I just paint straight over that with a different colour, or should I prep it in some way first? There is also a few minor little scuffs, worth filling or just leaving? They are not all that visible at the moment and will be mostly hidden.
Also the window frame and shelf is fairly rough and grim looking. What can I do to improve this besides replacing it all? Sand and varnish, or paint a different colour? Would it be best to do this before painting the wall?
Finally there is the wooden strip all round the wall near the ceiling? This is a picture rail I assume? I'm guessing ripping it down could do more harm tan good, but maybe painting it the same colour as the rest of the walls may modernise it a bit!
Ideally I'd like the whole room to be the same white / off white colour. At present there is the pink wall you can see, then a large yellow wall as well!
Thanks for any advice or inspiration. I will post the hall and landing later as that's a whole different job!
The downstairs is fairly straightforward, only really needs a new carpet and a lick of paint and general tidy. We've already got most of the furniture we want for the next few years. However, the upstairs is a bit more old fashioned, and looks like it hasn't been touched for about 20 years at least, and is in urgent need of a revamp.
One of the spare bedrooms is an office/"man cave" type room which I want to do first. Mainly so if it all takes a lot longer than expected there will be minimal disruption! I'd also like to do the painting etc. myself, to save money for the downstairs bits that people will see a lot more. I've got no experience in painting and decorating though, so just want to make sure I'm not missing anything!
This is a general view of the office room, although it's a few months old. We have a new desk and chair now, and it's tidier!
And a couple of close ups of the window area.
Those shelves are going at the weekend, they were some old ones from work just for temporary storage. The main thing I want to do is get rid of that pink wall! Can I just paint straight over that with a different colour, or should I prep it in some way first? There is also a few minor little scuffs, worth filling or just leaving? They are not all that visible at the moment and will be mostly hidden.
Also the window frame and shelf is fairly rough and grim looking. What can I do to improve this besides replacing it all? Sand and varnish, or paint a different colour? Would it be best to do this before painting the wall?
Finally there is the wooden strip all round the wall near the ceiling? This is a picture rail I assume? I'm guessing ripping it down could do more harm tan good, but maybe painting it the same colour as the rest of the walls may modernise it a bit!
Ideally I'd like the whole room to be the same white / off white colour. At present there is the pink wall you can see, then a large yellow wall as well!
Thanks for any advice or inspiration. I will post the hall and landing later as that's a whole different job!
mike80 said:
I've got no experience in painting and decorating though, so just want to make sure I'm not missing anything!
Avoid retail places such as B&Q, use either online merchants or pop down to your local Leyland/Crown decorating centre/Dulux deco centre/Brewers/other decorators merchants Get:
Couple of brushes (brush comb to clean them are useful too)
9" roller and sleeves (see if they have a multipack on offer)
Roller tray
basic paint kettle if needed
Masking tape
sugar soap
masking tape
As much dustsheet & plastic sheeting rolls as you need to cover stuff.
Trade paint- if you want simple white or magnolia, they will normally have 10L tubs out on the floor.
Toupret (filler, if needed)
And anything else you need.
As always, don't buy the cheapest of anything, and don't buy the most expensive.
Edited by Yazar on Tuesday 27th January 10:38
mike80 said:
Cheers, the sugar soap is for cleaning it before painting I presume? Thanks for that, not something I'd really thought of.
Do I need two lots of masking tape?
Yes, sugar soap to clean first.Do I need two lots of masking tape?
As much as you need of everything, think tapes normally come in 50m rolls. Use generously and don't rush. Far easier than taking off paint after.
Decorators son here who spent every summer holiday working for the old man. Learn to cut in & don't bother with masking tape. It makes every job twice as long, leaves a line & unless the surface it's stuck to is as flat as a Sam Smith song, paint will bleed under it.
Painting is an easy skill, the quality of the result will come from the preparation, not the painting. Walls clean, flat, filled, free of dust & you will end up with a good finish. Start at the top & work your way down, if using a roller, don't over fill it, it will spray drops everywhere, slow & steady is the key. Take your time & work steadily.
Painting is an easy skill, the quality of the result will come from the preparation, not the painting. Walls clean, flat, filled, free of dust & you will end up with a good finish. Start at the top & work your way down, if using a roller, don't over fill it, it will spray drops everywhere, slow & steady is the key. Take your time & work steadily.
Seems you've got most things covered now. But personally I don't like the brick wall - it makes it look like a basement or something industrial. So, seeing as you're not keen on the picture rail either, I'd pull it off and get a plasterer in to skim that wall - and it will look much more domestic.
Pine window frame - I can't tell if this is structural or just a strip stuck on afterwards. If the latter you might be able to remove it but it might try to take chunks of plaster with it, so proceed with caution. If it can't be removed easily, the easiest answer would be to paint it wall colour.
The windowsill won't look so bad with the frame gone/painted. Replacing it could be tricky as the rest of the window probably sits on it. If you don't like the look of pine then simply clean/sand it and paint it - eg gloss white.
The windowsill won't look so bad with the frame gone/painted. Replacing it could be tricky as the rest of the window probably sits on it. If you don't like the look of pine then simply clean/sand it and paint it - eg gloss white.
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