Owning a first flat can be a wonderfully exciting time but it can also come with many pressures. We see our friends and family who have well decorated and furnished flats and there endless representations of wonderfully conceived and elaborately decorated dwellings in the media. My strongest advice would be not too intimidated or feel pressured to match long established homes. Your first flat will take time to turn in to a home and it takes a while for your personality to imprint its self on your surroundings.
I would tackle one room at a time. Set yourself an affordable budget for each room. Take inspiration from every different source you can. It’s good to watch the television and not focus on the story line of programme but the flats they are set in, magazines are also a good source of inspiration.
Decorating yourself will reduce the cost of transforming your flat. The library and the internet provide some fantastic instructional resources which will help you to widen your skills bank and support you with the decorating process. Once you have your ideas and have found inspiration where to shop for materials becomes key to working with in the budget. Check out your local media for outlets which are advertising sales. Take time to look around when you are shopping maybe something you like has been reduced because it is ‘end of line stock.’
Don’t be proud, most people when they start out receive help from friends or family if someone offers you something which fits in with your style then there are ways to personalize these things. Chairs can be covered in throws or recovered. Wooden furniture lends itself to being stripped and painted. There is always the option of looking in newspapers and shops for second-hand items. There are as recycling websites were good furnishings and furniture can be found.
Working on a new home yourself and looking for items which are serviceable and useful to complete the picture will make your home a happy place for you but by going through this exercise you will add new skills to your skills bank, have fun and build your confidence.
