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Would you like to give your unloved room or garden a makeover? Have a look at MNers' revamps for inspiration and you could win a £150 B&Q giftcard NOW CLOSED

75 replies

AngelieMumsnet · 14/08/2013 12:30

We're working with B&Q, who so far have helped lots of MNers revamp their unloved rooms and gardens. You can check out the video of their room revamps here, and you can see their before and after room and garden photos here and here. Once you've checked out out all of the info mentioned, please come back to this thread and answer the Qs below to be entered into a prize draw to win a £150 B&Q giftcard.

  • Are there any Mumsnetter room revamps that you'd take inspiration from? Has looking at the room and garden revamps spurred you on to tackle your unloved room or garden?


  • If you've revamped a room or garden of your own over the last few months, we'd love to hear about how you did it. Who was involved? How long did it take? Did you have to overcome any disasters to get the job finished? What top tips would you share with other MNers about how to make revamping a room or garden fun and not stressful?! Please share an image of your revamped room or garden on this thread if you'd like to.


  • If you haven't revamped a room or garden, but would like to, then we'd love to we're from you too! What's keeping you from doing up your unloved room or garden? What would you like to do to your unloved room/garden?


Everyone who posts a comment here will be entered into a prize draw to win a £150 B&Q giftcard.

Please note that any comments you post here may appear on the B&Q pages on Mumsnet and potentially elsewhere.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ
OP posts:
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Spirael · 14/08/2013 15:02

- Are there any Mumsnetter room revamps that you'd take inspiration from? Has looking at the room and garden revamps spurred you on to tackle your unloved room or garden?
There was no one specific thing that provided any inspiration. But investigating potential costs just in case I happened to be chosen prompted me to at least paint the fence, as it was cheaper than I was fearing.

- If you've revamped a room or garden of your own over the last few months, we'd love to hear about how you did it. Who was involved? How long did it take? Did you have to overcome any disasters to get the job finished? What top tips would you share with other MNers about how to make revamping a room or garden fun and not stressful?! Please share an image of your revamped room or garden on this thread if you'd like to.
My entire house was/is utterly unloved. We moved in 5 days before Christmas to no central heating, no water, no flooring, paintwork all undercoat, an encyclopedic list of snags and a wasteland for a garden.
Since that time, we've worked pretty hard to at least make the house habitable. No trades; just me, DH, DD and sometimes GPs and Friends whenever possible. DD (aged 3) has proven to be exceptionally good at fence painting.
Ok, so all the walls are "Undercoat White" still, but we do at least have heating, water and the cheapest carpet and vinyl known to man covering our floors!
Our biggest effort has been the garden, which we've been de-weeding, digging over and scattering grass seed on for weeks now. It's early days yet, but we may have the beginnings of a lawn...

- If you haven't revamped a room or garden, but would like to, then we'd love to we're [sic] from you too! What's keeping you from doing up your unloved room or garden? What would you like to do to your unloved room/garden?
Money, time and the fact that MNHQ/B&Q keep dashing my hopes by making me write out about my unloved garden and not choosing me to be part of their revamps or to win the competitions. Wink

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midnightinmoscow · 14/08/2013 16:23
  1. Some of the pictures of the garden revamps are inspiring, espcecially the one with the planted lavender border - really pretty.


  1. We finished decorating our bedroom and hall a few months ago following a loft conversion. Hard work! The hallway was tricky as we live in a victorian terrace to really high cealings - and as we have put in another staircase that means that we needed to paint the whole height of the house. Also we tried to restore some of the cornicing which was very hard work and painstaking. It took us around 4 weeks to finish - mostly because of work. My top tip would be that one person (DH) concentrated on the decorating whereas I took over with the DC's. So every night after work, I did baths/milk/bedtimes etc alone, giving DH 2 hours to get some work done. Another top tip is to get more paint than you think, and don't scrimp on rollers and other equipment. We didn't really have any problems, but it was just a big project to take on with 2 small DC's running about.


  1. We have run out of money, but would love to revamp our bathroom. There are exposed pipes that need boxing in, it needs some new woodwork, new flooring and tiles. It's a lovely room, with a great view but at the moment looks and feels unloved.
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sharond101 · 14/08/2013 21:55

I'd just like to add that some of the pictures are amazing. We did up a whole new house recently with a baby in the house too. If you plan wel and budget you really can do a good job.

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whattodoo · 14/08/2013 22:31

Wow! The garden revamp thread is very inspiring. The trials and tribulations along the way were very interesting (if a little frustrating for the revamper!).
It's 1030pm, but I know I'm going to have trouble getting to sleep tonight due to the ideas running round my head.
First opportunity, I'm going to get some new plants for the front garden, repaint the iron railings and give everything a power wash.

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lolancurly · 15/08/2013 11:26

We have a room, that we call The Yellow Room - simply because it is painted yellow! It is up in the eaves of the very old house we live in and is windowless and really more of a box room than anything else. It leads off of a bedroom, and we have never known what to do with it. Over the course of the year, more and more stuff gets dumped in it, and I have an annual sort out, but really it is a wasted space. I really want to turn it into a more use-able space but haven't a clue where to start! It could possibly be a dressing room if it had a velux window. I really need some inspiration as I have been dithering for the last 7 years on what to do with it!

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Elainey1609 · 15/08/2013 17:30

The pictures are shown are lovely
Especially the garden
I always have the idea that if I ever even attempt to try something like that it will always be a disaster lol
Have been living in house for years and have done hardly any decorating just never seem to have the money so bland at the moment
We are saving up to revamp the living room, gonna do it on a budget but still need to save the penny's
Bought some lovely cushions from boot fair just the other day ready

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Cremolafoam · 15/08/2013 19:40

Ooh thanks midnightinmoscow,
That's mine with the lavenders!
Grass is coming up now too and I've finished off the porch with a couple of giant pots and a duke of Edinburgh award rose which is stunningSmile

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rachel19784 · 16/08/2013 01:14

I needed a push to finally give my room a makeover, I still need a few things to make it complete. bedside lamps, picture frames,new door handles.Apart from that I am loving my new room, my own little sanctuary when the boys take over the living room.It was such a cheap yet succesful make over, we had help from my father, used products which we had laying around and revamped them, from start to finish it took a little under a week off and on.A few minor disaters occured when my other half painted practically everything including himself, so I have spent days steaming and scrubbing.We have made really quirky pieces and couldnt be happier and cost less than £100 !!!

Take a look at our pictures:umeandthekids.com/bedroom-makeover-with-my-husbands-unique/ Smile

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Jammybean · 16/08/2013 07:12

Ohh let me see, my whole house (newly converted) is painted magnolia and I am currently cultivating weeds in the garden. Smile

I have a head full of ideas in creating some interest in each room starting off by repainting the whole house in Farrow & Ball, upstairs could really do with a different colour carpet, the one that the developer put down is a little bit too brown. I have boxes of prints/ pictures which need hanging/reframing. I've seen a lovely mirror that would look fab for the living room. Could do with more storage as I'm still living out of boxes. Need a dressing table and bedside table for our bedroom. Need light fittings around the house, wires poking out if walls everywhere!

In the garden, more plants less weeds. We desperately need fast growing hedging of some sort, I'd rather not see my neighbour sitting on his down stairs loo! Grin Our patio could do with some furniture, I was thinking of planting some wisteria up the sides of the fence and train it to creep up the house. Lavender in troughs by the patio. And two bay trees for either side of the front door.

What's keeping me from doing all this? Money and time. Nearly 3 months since moving in its a little bit overwhelming. My plan is to start inside and work my way out. Scouring ebay for bits and pieces. Reupholstering a couple of sofas because we can't afford new ones. And getting things for the house/garden as birthday presents for the foreseeable future!

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k8vincent · 16/08/2013 07:53

Not so much looking at the garden revamps, but certainly entering and not being picked for the B&Q garden voucher inspired us to do something with the garden. Went out and bought 2 boxes of clearance floor tiles and created a sunny seating area in our concrete corner. At least now we can sit out there and enjoy to few plants that are actually growing!

We're about to start on our 'most unloved room' due to an unexpected boost in the money pot. We worked out if we bought everything second hand we could stick with my husband's vision and we might be able to reclaim our bathroom as a bathroom, not just a woodlouse graveyard/tool storage facility.

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cheeseandcrackers · 16/08/2013 07:58

Our unloved room is our 'study'. There isn't actually any room to do any studying in it. It's a very small room but just gets filled up with empty boxes from any appliances we buy (in case we ever need to send them back or they are needed to pack the items if we move again, but we never send anything back and we're definitely not moving again for at least five years..). We have a lovely old desk in there but it is covered with box files, unfiled documents and books and it takes ages to find anything.

We need to buy some decent storage solutions, chuck away the boxes, put a blind on the window, give the room a lick of paint and buy a lamp shade, desk lamp and some picture frames to make it a more attractive place to work.

We haven't done it so far as it hasn't seemed like a priority and finances have been tight but this thread has inspired me to make my unloved room loved before the end of summer!

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swallowedAfly · 16/08/2013 08:53

i love the orange that was used in a child's bedroom on the video from the first link in the OP. any chance of finding out what shade that is? would like to use it myself.

i've just painted the bathroom which was a hellish job as i've had to paint over very textured wallpaper. couldn't strip it back as underneath is years of woodchip paper, crumbling plaster and hellishness that i can't sort unless i get it replastered. it's made the room clean and bright.

next project really is the hall stairs and landing including the floor in those areas. i've been really struggling to find the right colour as it needs to be warm and bright without being too garish. i've done the lounge diner in a really deep teal colour and a light colour in the hall looks really washed out in contrast - as i say, really struggling.

living room is starting to look good. i have the furniture i want in there now but still have one piece left to put together then need a trip to ikea for a couple of giant rugs as i've taken the carpet out and gone to floorboards.

my whole house is a state really and my time and energy and cash constraints mean everything is very piecemeal in terms of progress. if i can get the living room fully finished so i'm happy with it and then do the hall, stairs and landing i will feel so much better about having visitors. bedrooms you can close the door on, kitchen and bathroom just need to be clean. it's the entrance, hallways and lounge that make all the difference i think.

sorry bit of a waffle and not sure i answered any questions.

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asuwere · 16/08/2013 10:37

the room revamp pictures are fantastic! They have given me lots of inspiration plus some motivation! I do find excuses to put it off but really, I just need to get on with it! Maybe I should set myself a deadline like those doing the revamps had and that might help.

We bought our house from an elderly couple who had lived in the house for 40yrs so it was very much lived-in and in their taste. We've had to get new windows, central heating, new kitchen etc (plus having 3 more children!) so decoration hasn't been a priority. We originally just painted over the existing wallpaper in each room till we get round to doing it properly - haven't got very far though.

Motivation, time and money are the main issues but I've seen a couple of easy ideas from others here so I think I will just set a deadline and get the children's rooms done at least.

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MakeTeaNotWar · 16/08/2013 16:51

Pix are fab, well done everyone. We have more than one unloved rooms in our house but I guess it's total inertia and lack of funds stopping me. I know these things can be done cheaply but I get totally overwhelmed by choice. However I shall take some inspiration and make a start by decluttering and investing in some decent storage solutions. Then I'll face the fabric samples and paint colour cards.....

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dahville · 16/08/2013 17:32

I found it tedious to go through the 19 and 24 page threads and click on the thumbnails of all the before and after photos; would it have been very hard for MNHQ to make a page for us to view all the before and after photos in one place? (thank you fourlittledudes for posting before/after shots together)

The garden renos were more interesting than the room renos - maybe it's just time of year and I crave being outside. I particularly likes doingitourselves garden and have taken note of some of the materials used for future projects.

My top tip for revamping a room is to plan it out! Measure the room, twice to ensure accuracy, then plot it out, use any tools offered by the store you shop at, take colour samples home and look at them in the light the room provides. Have a vision before you start or you'll end up with a hodgepodge of a room.

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TiredFeet · 16/08/2013 23:04
  • Are there any Mumsnetter room revamps that you'd take inspiration from? Has looking at the room and garden revamps spurred you on to tackle your unloved room or garden?

no one particular that stood out, but generally seeing how people had transformed their rooms and added colour or made them look so different was quite inspiring. our house is a bit dull and white and I am quite tempted by some of the ideas on the thread!

  • If you've revamped a room or garden of your own over the last few months, we'd love to hear about how you did it. Who was involved? How long did it take? Did you have to overcome any disasters to get the job finished? What top tips would you share with other MNers about how to make revamping a room or garden fun and not stressful?! Please share an image of your revamped room or garden on this thread if you'd like to.

we haven't, but we should!

  • If you haven't revamped a room or garden, but would like to, then we'd love to we're from you too! What's keeping you from doing up your unloved room or garden? What would you like to do to your unloved room/garden?

whats keeping us from doing it - time mainly I think! and also money, we're saving to move somewhere bigger but really it would cheer me up a lot to do some work to our current place
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aristocat · 16/08/2013 23:10

I have also loved seeing the garden thread/pictures especially as this is where I need help. We desperately need a relaxing outdoor seated area that I can unwind in whilst the DCs are playing in the garden.
Decking would be my first choice as my garden is just grass and patio at the moment.

We have no plants or flowers so depending on finances it would either be a seating area or to make the garden look pretty.

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Tigerbomb · 16/08/2013 23:55

I cant believe I wasnt picked for a B&Q garden BUT i did read everyones experiences and nicked some ideas.

We revamped our living room and library recently, it took a few weeks and the library isn't quite finished because I am waiting for my husband to finish off the designs for the book shelves and start building them but he has built a desk and a 10ft by 10ft picture frame for my Terry Pratchett collection of paraphernalia as well as decorating from the bare brick. The roof had leaked and we needed new guttering etc to stop the damp in the library ceiling. The best tip I can think of is take your time. Reuse and recycyle (my desk has been made out of an old wardrobe) My problem is that we are rich in ideas but poor in cash.

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OrangeMochaFrappucino · 17/08/2013 21:26
  1. It's inspiring to me just to see how much people can accomplish on their own!


  1. We haven't revamped a room but did a lot of work on our house when we moved in. My top tip is to have chocolate mini rolls to hand whilst decorating for motivation! Actually, we did turn a spare room into the nursery which was lovely and I learned to use a spirit level to help get the border straight!


  1. What's keeping us from revamping our living room atm is money! But we have to do something soon so we can move furniture from our study downstairs and turn the study into a bedroom for our toddler as we are (assuming all progresses smoothly) going to be needing the nursery for a new arrival next April! So we'll have to find the money and the time to get the house in shape by then!


3.
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Doubtfuldaphne · 17/08/2013 21:59

Are there any Mumsnetter room revamps that you'd take inspiration from? Has looking at the room and garden revamps spurred you on to tackle your unloved room or garden?

I love the bold splashes of colour everyone's using on the video. I've only ever had magnolia walls and I want to change that now.

If you haven't revamped a room or garden, but would like to, then we'd love to hear from you too! What's keeping you from doing up your unloved room or garden? What would you like to do to your unloved room/garden?

Lack of funds has unfortunately been the only thing holding me back from brightening up our home. The garden would be high up on the list as its so bare and quite a small courtyard area. I dream of creating a little meditaranian escape with mirrors and pots and candles and a table and chairs ... It could be so pretty!

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NameThatTuna · 17/08/2013 22:38

Are there any Mumsnetter room revamps that you'd take inspiration from? Has looking at the room and garden revamps spurred you on to tackle your unloved room or garden?

The gardens are inspiring. I love the handmade potting tables. Some of these gardens are like an extension to the home, like an extra room.


If you haven't revamped a room or garden, but would like to, then we'd love to hear from you too! What's keeping you from doing up your unloved room or garden? What would you like to do to your unloved room/garden?

I'm slowly decorating the house, there are a few more rooms I need to do but it's my garden that bothers me the most.
Unfortunately, our garden is very much like it was when we moved in 3 years ago, general tidying and de-weeding aside.
Mainly this is due to funds. There are always other things to pay for so the garden is low priority financially.
We inherited decking that is as big as a dance floor. It's so big our patio set looks lost. We have two other patio area's (our garden is split into 3 levels) but we don't have the money to fill it up. There are no flowers/plants. Not decorative ornaments.

I want a potting table filled with plants like the ones in the pics Envy

Where our garden is split level, the walls on all levels are grubby and in need of a good coat of paint or two, but masonry paint is not cheap.
Our neighbours are retired, so they're always out pottering in their garden. It's beautiful. I've got garden envy!
Although we try to keep the front garden as tidy as possible, it's still the ugliest garden in the street. It's a bit embarrassing tbh.

I could go on and on but you get the picture Smile

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trikken · 18/08/2013 14:14

I'd really like to revamp the bathroom. the old vinyl floor tile things are coming away and the corners have snapped off and the bathroom generally needs a bit of an uplift as it is so old. Though the flooring is pretty embarrassing as it looks such a state.

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BetterWithCheese · 18/08/2013 18:26

We're moving house at the end of the week so I am looking for inspiration for revam

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BetterWithCheese · 18/08/2013 18:30

We're moving house at the end of the week so I am looking for inspiration for revamping most of it! I really like Hopeziah's kitchen and the green in thecatcameback's dining room. Looking at the photos made me excited to get cracking on the new house.

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YourHandInMyHand · 18/08/2013 20:33
  • Are there any Mumsnetter room revamps that you'd take inspiration from? Has looking at the room and garden revamps spurred you on to tackle your unloved room or garden?


I'm really impressed with the MNer room revamps. I especially liked eteo's stripey wall paper but all the rooms looked fantastic. Smile

  • If you've revamped a room or garden of your own over the last few months, we'd love to hear about how you did it. Who was involved? How long did it take? Did you have to overcome any disasters to get the job finished? What top tips would you share with other MNers about how to make revamping a room or garden fun and not stressful?! Please share an image of your revamped room or garden on this thread if you'd like to.


I recently revamped my hall, stairs, and landing. Will try my best to add pics. I tried a few different tester pots of paint on the wall and was really surprised at how different they all were. I'm glad I did this so I knew for sure how the pant would look. Before I painted I decided to remove an old telephone cable that went all the way up my stairs along the skirting board but that wasn't attached to anything at either enf of the cable. Unfortunately it took off a load of plaster too so I had to do some filling before I could crack on! The flooring change went well. I removed the cheap as chips navy blue carpet my landlord had put in and added a nice stripey stair carpet.


  • If you haven't revamped a room or garden, but would like to, then we'd love to we're from you too! What's keeping you from doing up your unloved room or garden? What would you like to do to your unloved room/garden?


Also on my list is I'd love to sort out my bedroom. It has landlord magnolia walls and white ash effect fitted wardrobes that are yellowed and have broken handles. I'd love to get some nice bright white sliding doors on the front of my wardrobe wall, paint the walls, add a feature wall behind a nice new bed, and choose some curtains and a light shade to match. It's just a small matter of having no money stopping me!
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