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Has anyone done an English country cottage style interior by themselves on a budget? If so, how was your experience and what would you recommend? I've never used power tools before but I'm excited to learn and style my house in old British charm.
Ta!
Edit: These are the inspo pics. I love the wall paneling and window treatments so want to implement something similar. Definitely want a chair rail from formal reception all the way through the dinning room.
Our budget is 70k which I'm hoping will cover the entire house including the bathrooms and laundry and the outdoors. I know this will take years and sounds too ambitious but we're determined to do as much as we can by ourselves.
(Apologies for the mess, we've just moved into this property)
Bottom panelling like this from formal seating to dinning room and then upper wall can have a different style of treatment to create the separation of spaces.
Love the pop of golden trims. I think it would look great on an accent wall? Or would it be an overkill?
Love this wall treatment minus the ceiling trim. Will this make a 2.4m high ceiling look taller?
Very keen to DIY a slim pullout storage like this next to the fridge.
Our kitchen is positioned in a similar way so keen to try this style out but want more of floating shelves alongsides of the window.
(Apologies for the mess) Our ceilings are a standard 2.4m high. Want this formal seating to be modern English country while the rest of the house will be more of country cottage.
Dinning room doesn't get much of the daylight so thinking of wall colours to make it look brighter.
Not sure what to do with this separation wall here. Should I paint it a neutral colour or wallpaper it to make it look more bearable?
These are some ideas I'm thinking for that separation wall.
Want to the have shaker cabinets raised all the way to the ceiling and shift the stove/oven to the center. Also upgrade the bench top to a natural material.
This is our family room where I'm thinking of breadboarding. But will it look off without the chair rail?
The overall colour of the open plan area will be a natural muted green but keen to play with different tones/shades to create a sense of separation paired with contrasting rugs to hide the tiles. I want to also play around with patterns and textures in terms of using fabrics and wallpapers.
Thank you so much for showing interest in this post.
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, @MikaRJ. It's a pleasure having you join us and we hope you find the site a handy resource for useful D.I.Y. advice and inspiring ideas.
Thanks for your question. Sounds like an exciting project! Are you able to include some photos of your current house as well as any inspirational pics of the type of look you're after? This will help our members provide more tailored advice and ideas on how you can style your house.
Our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. expert @EricL will be online later today and will be happy to suggest some ideas. Let me also tag @lifestylebymari, @Aleishacorr, @redbournreno and @2Belindas to see if they have any suggestions in the meantime.
Keep us updated as your project progresses. I'd love to see the final look you create.
Akanksha
Hello @MikaRJ
Thanks for sharing your question about getting an English country cottage style interior.
There are some techniques you can use to give a room a cottage style interior such as using Easycraft EasyVJ panels and adding wainscotting and timber moulding on the wall to give it more detail. It also helps if you have the appliances that fit into the theme you are going for. Country style tables and chairs will help enhance the look and feel that you are after.
As soon as we see the pictures of the interior of the house, we'll be able to give you more suggestions.
We look forward to seeing the photos.
Eric
Welcome to the community. I wonder if this collection might be inspiring for you @MikaRJ - 10 farmhouse style ideas for your home.
Please let us know if you need a hand uploading some images so members can see what you are working with.
Thanks,
Jason
Hi @MikaRJ,
That's quite a large project to unpack, but I love your enthusiasm! Now that you've established the overall theme, I recommend concentrating on the individual areas and breaking it down into several smaller and achievable projects. Perhaps you might like to start with the entrance area. Create your first impressions there and continue it throughout your home.
In answer to your questions, I think the pop of gold on a few selected feature walls would add interest to the space. I wouldn't go too overboard, or it could become overwhelming and lead to the need to incorporate other gold styling choices to balance it out.
Adding a tall and thin framework to the walls will make the ceiling look taller and give the room a more spacious feel.
Here's a step-by-step guide on How to build a slimline spice rack.
Lighter colours typically make a space look brighter and larger. The separation wall could be a good opportunity to add wallpaper and make a feature out of it. That's likely something to decide on later down the track once you've achieved your other projects. There is no point creating a feature now if it overwhelms the space.
As mentioned, it's important to start small whilst keeping your overall theme in mind. Start in an area and add to it. The risk in trying to concentrate on the whole house simultaneously is that you can't pay any one area the attention it needs. Create the entrance of your dreams, which will spur you on with the rest of the projects and set the mood for the whole home.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Thank you so much for your suggestions. It helps a great deal talking to professionals and have more clarity on projects.
I'm thinking of starting with the formal seating area and want to paint the walls including the ceiling a dark moody green to give it depth - preferably Dulux's Amphitrite (while keeping rest of the spaces a lighter shade of the same family)
but since it's an open plan, I can't figure out how I should paint the ceiling of the living room without making it look awkward for rest of the spaces. Should I build an archway in the top half to section it out?
Thanks
Mika
That's an option @MikaRJ. Even adding a strip of something like Porta 30 x 8mm 2.4m Rounded Edging Bead Clear Pine across the ceiling would provide a visual reference to the painted area's division and border instead of abruptly stopping. Could even fancy it up with a profiled beading.
Mitchell
Thanks! Do you know of a project where these were used for ceiling or something similar? Would be great if I could get some references 
Mika
