When we first moved in, the house needed quite a bit of structural work doing, and we still have a couple of plastered walls that we haven’t quite got round to repainting (it’s fine, we never entertain people in the utility room). After that we sorted out the kitchen. I can’t explain how awful the kitchen was when we moved in. The cupboards were rotten, the drawers had collapsed, everything was brown and the whole thing, no matter how much I scrubbed, just felt unclean. Having the old kitchen ripped out was really satisfying, and I really love the kitchen as it is now. It’s still not fully finished, there’s still a layer of kitchen paint to go on the walls (hint hint, Laurie), and one of the barstools needs painting (that’s on my to do list), and there are still extra bits to be bought, but it’ll do for now.
A lot of the rooms have different light fittings meaning we have to have about a million spare bulbs in at any time (or, more likely, live in the dark for ages when a bulb goes), so I’ve been looking for better lighting options. LampCommerce has a good selection, so I’ve been having a nosy through some of their pendant lights. Ebony’s room has been decorated (in fact it was featured in this roundup of children’s rooms here), and Laurie’s office is done, but there are still plenty of rooms painted in magnolia that are crying out for a lick of paint.
One of the major problems for me at the moment is working out exactly how we should use the house. Both the playroom and living room are untouched at the moment, so we could quite easily switch them, but it’s difficult to decide which room works best for which purpose. At the moment the playroom is a walk through room, and it’s also a messy room which isn’t really a great combination. Both rooms need quite a bit of work, so it’s not something I need to decide right now. Though I would like to start thinking about things like paint colours, layout and floorings. I can’t wait to rip up the horrible brown carpets that cover the floor and have a peek at the floorboards beneath.
After spending all of our money on structural work and a kitchen last year, I thought it would be better to focus on the garden this year. It’s hard work, but doesn’t cost that much to do. So I’ve been digging out beds, laying turf and painting sheds (well, shed) for the past month or so. It’s not finished yet, partly because I ran out of paint, and partly because I need the turf to fully take before I can move onto my next jobs, but it’s already looking loads better. When we moved in, the garden was totally overgrown and looked more like a (very tiny) meadow. Now it’s looking more like a family garden.
I was pretty surprised to discover that I actually really enjoy gardening. We’ve spent hours in the garden so far this year, Ebony playing next to me whilst I’ve been busy lugging mud and stones about. I hope the weather picks up soon so that I can finish it off, because one thing I’ve learnt is that gardening in bad weather is no fun at all. Especially with a three year old in tow. I hope we get it finished in time for summer (assuming we get one) so that we can spend lots of time out there as a family.
It’s weird to think we left our old home a whole year ago (you can read about that here). And though I know there’s still plenty (and plenty) of work to be done, I already love the changes we’ve made here.
