But are you giving up too easily? You are a home owner and, as such, you have the wherewithal (the collateral) for lenders to look more favourably upon you if you ask to borrow their money. Taking out a secured loan to pay for the makeover may be the best route to peace, pipe and slippers at home.

A secured loan is a loan that is taken out against the value of your home (you'll be able to borrow more next time because the makeover may increase the value of your property) so you need to be diligent about making the repayments on such a loan.

The best advice, if you have decided that you want to go the route of a secured loan is to shop around. Do some research and compare what lenders are offering. Try to get one with the lowest APR or annual percentage rate because that way, you will often be paying less interest. But watch out that it isn't for too long a period because that might negate what you have saved on the APR.

Better advice: don't approach a lender until you have done your survey and have all the information at your finger tips when you apply for a loan. Find out what the loan fees are, if possible, when you are doing your research because this should also be calculated into the final cost of the loan. Lenders will not offer you more than your house is worth, and, often, they may offer you considerably less than you might want.

The coming of the Internet has led to a virtual explosion of online businesses and the money lending business is no exception. These firms are worth checking out as it could be that you will get better value as a result of their low running costs.

When you go for a loan, it might be a good idea to have some idea of the costs for the kind of makeover that you want for your home as these can often run over. Once you have done all this, you should be able to approach a lender with confidence and be sitting in your stylish living room six months from now.