Ideas for home decoration - I am fed up with 'almond' walls

[PacificDogwood]

We live in a 1930s former bungalow, converted with upstairs bedrooms by a previous owner.
We converted the back of the house about 5 years ago and redecorated the whole place at the time. As we had a limited budget, all walls were painted off-white with the occasional bit of colour thrown in in kids' rooms (I know, I know, feature walls ).

So, now everything looks a bit grey and scuffed (indoor ride-on toys have a lot to answer for) and grubby, some cracks have opened and we need a freshen up.
I find myself lacking ideas - I don't like large patterned wall-paper as a rule. The style of the house is more Victorian than Art Deco in spite of when it was built. We have stained glass and parquet flooring in the old bit, v modern kitchen and IKEA stylee stuff in the new bit.

Where could I start looking? I am thinking interesting paints or textures or ?textiles or wallpaper? But what wallpaper??
The modern kitchen dining area probably needs doing first. And the stairs... oh my, the stair well is a mess.

Any ideas gratefully received .

[Joules68]

well grey is the new magnolia..... (work in a DIYstore so see whats popular)

some nice wallpapers out there too. go out looking and gather some samples. I see it all come through my till so ask the customers about it. feature walls less common now,but light wallpapers with silvery streaks look lovely

[PacificDogwood]

Oh thanks for that .

Grey, eh? Hm.
We live in Scotland - the sky seems to have been shades of grey since about... oh, September.

Maybe I should go look at show homes.

in the past I used to look at magazines, but they never include the detritus of 4 children and their father .
We currently have Telladega race track in Scalectrix in our living room...

[TunipTheUnconquerable]

You could go authentic and use 1930s paint colours - Little Greene do some here

[NotJustACigar]

Start looking on Pinterest, pin living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens etc that look good to you, then scan through and try to find common themes. Farrow and Ball paints are lovely, but pricey! Their downpipe shade is very popular at the moment for accent walls with large framed paintings or sketches to add light.

[PacificDogwood]

1930s colours is a good idea, thanks - I really like the Little Green site.

Pinterest - good plan too, thanks - that'll save me spending lots of money on Architectural Digest to then realise I don't have the budget (or the house) for grand schemes .