Decide which room you can manage without before deciding what colour it should be. If you are living at home while decorating, the plan needs to cover where you will sleep, work, eat and move through the house, as well as the finish you want.
Alpha Renovations Ltd carries out painting and decorating in Cheltenham and across the Cotswolds. If you plan to stay at home while the work goes on, these are the decisions worth making before the first room is cleared.
Choose a sensible first room
Start with the room that bothers you most now, then set that against how heavily you rely on it. The room you most want decorated may also be the one that needs the most careful arrangements while the work takes place.
You can finish one room before opening up the next, or have several spaces done together. Ask for the proposed order to be explained, along with what each option means for access and moving belongings. Agree an arrangement that suits your household rather than assuming every room can stay in use throughout.
If you have guests coming or a date when the house needs to be fully usable, mention it at the start. It is far easier to decide what can be finished before that date, and what can sensibly wait, while the plan is still being made.
Plan around sleeping, working and getting in and out
Every room in the plan needs thinking through before the work is booked:
- Bedroom: where the bed, clothes and bedside things will go, and where you will sleep if the room is out of use.
- Home office: where the desk, computer and anything needed for the working day can be set up.
- Hall, stairs and landing: which doors and routes must stay usable, and at what times someone needs to leave or come home.
- Living room: where the household will sit in the evenings while the room is being decorated.
Be specific about essential access. A plan that works on paper can fall apart if nobody mentioned the early school run or a visitor who cannot be rearranged.
Describe the surfaces and their condition
A request to decorate a room could mean the walls alone, or walls, ceiling, doors, frames and other painted woodwork. Walk around and make a list, including cupboard interiors only if you want them done. That gives a concrete brief to discuss instead of relying on everyone having the same picture of a finished room.
Point out visible cracks, flaking, staining or patches you are unsure about, and ask what assessment and preparation are proposed before a finish is agreed. Do not assume every mark can simply be painted over. If you are keeping part of an existing finish, mark the boundary clearly, including walls behind furniture and doors that usually stay open.
Make a plan for belongings and fixtures
Decide what you can clear before work starts and what needs to stay. Discuss larger furniture, rugs, curtains, pictures and fragile items one by one where necessary, and confirm who is responsible for moving and protecting them. A general promise that the room will be ready is not a plan.
The same applies to anything fixed to a surface being decorated. Point out shelves, curtain poles and other fittings you intend to keep, remove or replace, and ask how the areas around them will be finished. If something is moving to a new position, record that before the finish is agreed.
Agree when each room can be used again
Ask when each space will be ready to use, when belongings can go back and whether there are any product instructions to follow. Get that advice for the actual materials being used, and plan any temporary sleeping or working arrangements around it rather than guessing a return time.
Bring all the decisions together in one short room list: surfaces, preparation, colours, items being kept, essential access and the order of work. If you are comparing proposals, check each one against the same list. At the end, walk through the agreed surfaces together and keep the final colour and product details.
Questions customers ask
Can I stay at home while a room is decorated?
Many people do, and it works best when the plan is agreed first. Decide where you will sleep, work and eat, which routes must stay clear and when each room can be used again, and have the order of work confirmed before you plan around it.
Is it better to decorate one room at a time or several together?
That depends on how many rooms your household can give up at once. One room at a time keeps more of the house usable, while several together can mean fewer separate stages. Ask for both options to be explained against your own routine.
See the painting and decorating page. If the decorating is part of wider renovations and refurbishments, read planning an indoor refurbishment for the winter months. When your room list is ready, get in touch.
