The stress of having a property that takes over a year to sell, while it feels like your life is in limbo, the interactions with solicitors, having to trust in the system that everything is going ok while you wait for your sale to be progressed, not to mention entering into an intimidating financial commitment. I know I'm not the only person who feels like they will never move house ever again.
And look - I made a thing! A super cosy hall curtain using Ikea fabric, which is lined and has 2 sewn-together fleece blankets between curtain and lining. And yes, our whole hall and landing is wood panelled, plus has polystyrene ceiling tiles. I will save the treat of showing you the hideous and unsafe staircase for another day.
I'll leave you with a picture of the wallpaper in our bedroom, which we have partially torn off. The previous resident was a heavy smoker, and this is result of 30 years of smoking in bed. The pale square is where a picture was hanging. I think the yellowed shadow of the embossed paper looks quite pretty but it's obviously really disgusting.
Right now, only home-based sewing is on the agenda but I have been knitting so hope I can share that with you soon. Plus I am still co-hosting #vintagepledge this year, so there will certainly be more vintage sewing. I promise I won't abandon the blog or only talk about house stuff - this blog is my own dedicated space for talking about what I love.
In the meantime, please feel free to share your home renovation stories with me!
K x
congratulations on the move! hope the settling in and doing up go well! we recently discovered the remains of the most amazing original wallpaper when we were doing up our kitchen - but mostly we seem uncover pretty shoddy DIY efforts by previous owners!
ReplyDeleteThanks Shivani, we have an amazing display of wallpapers in the house too!
DeletePhew! Sounds like it was a pretty big move. Hope you're enjoying settling in and making the place your own. :) x
ReplyDeleteCheers Becca x
DeleteCongrats! Our house was a similar mess & it took a while but we redecorated every room in the end (plus replaced all of the windows, the boiler, kitchen, bathroom, etc.). Good luck with it, it will be well worth all of the hard work. x
ReplyDeleteThanks Charlotte, that is encouraging as we've also got window and boiler replacement on the horizon
DeleteAw congratulations Kerry! We did exactly the same (go from 1-bed flat to 3-bed house) over 15 years ago. Our house hadn't been touched for 40 years which meant we had to do EVERYTHING. It did take a couple of years but it feels 100% ours now. Over the years we've added a loft conversion and kitchen extension but that was long after the kids came along. Enjoy all the extra space! xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane, it is wonderful having more room
DeleteCongrats on the move, Kerry! We'll be in the same boat in 3 weeks when we (hopefully) get the keys to our new place. The whole process is so stressful no matter what way you go about it, isn't it? Looking forward to seeing how your new home progresses over time. In the meantime, enjoy peeling off that wallpaper! Keira x
ReplyDeleteThanks Keira! Good luck with your move x
DeleteGlad your move went ok! I totally sympathise with the uncovering of unexpected 'features' , we have uncovered more than I can count, most recently the fact that in the cavity between the brick walls of the front of our house if filled with rubble, hence the damp!! Happy renovations!
ReplyDeleteCrikey, that's not great. We've definitely had a lot of wondering what on earth past owners were thinking!
DeleteNot "What were they thinking?" , but "What were they drinking?" .
DeleteOh my! Congrats on the new home and good luck with the projects! The previous owner of our space was a smoker as well, and we had to wash every wall surface, paint with an odor-masking but toxic primer, and then a few coats of regular paint. If you do the paint job yourself, wear a face mask!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips, Meg - the nicotine stained bedroom is a sight to behold!
DeleteCongratulations on the new home. I moved at the start of December too. I have boxes everywhere still and every room needs to be redecorated and the curtains changed. While it is a lot of work, it is fun doing up somewhere. I love choosing paint colours and fabrics but that is the easy bit. I hope that everything doesn't get on top of you and that you manage to get some time away from it when you need to. Living in a building site is no fun. Been there. :) Xx
ReplyDeleteYou're right, painting is the fun part really!
DeleteFirstly, congratulations on moving! I I had a major downsize 7 months ago and am now at the point that it feels like home, but seem to be going through another stage. I put everything where I thought I wanted it and, having lived with it for a while, am doing some reorganising so it suits me better. I guess these things take time! As for renovating, it's fun to imagine how things might look. It's very creative. But I hated the actual doing of it (not on this house), although I did have 3 small children at the time, so the clue is probably there! The best of luck and lots of happiness in your new place xx
ReplyDeleteIt definitely takes time to see how you like to use a space doesn't it? Another reason not to rush into renovations. Hope you're feeling settled and organised
DeleteHow exciting! We've done up five houses or flats in the past 15 years, and I really enjoy it. The first time we looked to buy, we were in love with a house that was a 1930s bungalow with bay windows, wood panelling etc - so much potential but UGH, the entire interior was brown and sticky from nicotine. And then dust had stuck in the stick. And the bathroom was guava pink - bath, basin, loo, everything, even shagpile carpet! It was too much for our finances and stomachs and we found a better starting point in an older two storey farmhouse. All the very best for your DIY ing :)
ReplyDeleteThank you MrsC! x
DeleteCongratulations on moving in to your new home! I have moved 8 times in 40 years (including a brief interlude in Italy plus a couple of moves in Scotland) and it is never easy. Every house has had its challenges but the whole family has developed their DIY skills, yes even the, now grown-up, kids. You can look forward to a home that is truly the way you want it, filled with gorgeous home makes and personal collections. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteYes we are definitely developing our skills and learning fast!
DeleteCongratulations on moving house! Hope you're settling in well now x
ReplyDeleteThank you! x
DeleteCongrats on moving and being settled! I know the feeling of selling/buying at the same time too, I am in NO rush to do it again (and that was nearly 4 years ago). Good luck with the house projects!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Tasha x
DeleteUgh, smoking in bed, how feral!! Congratulations on the move, I can feel your pain having done it a few times, not fun at all. Good luck with the renos!
ReplyDeleteIt's so gross! I also found a cigarette end stuck between floorboards in the bathroom recently too!
DeleteYay congratulations on the move! How's your daughter settling in to her new home? She must be loving all the extra space to run around! I know my son loves when we visit friends with stairs (we live in a ground floor flat so poor boy is deprived of his own stairs!). Good luck with all the redecorating and renovating.
ReplyDeleteShe really loves it! She has her own room and happily has adjusted really well. She's actually sleeping in the spare room while we decorate her room so I can't wait to show her her 'proper' room
DeleteCOn graduations on the move. It all sounds very exciting. At least when everything needs done, you can justify changing it to meet your taste, rather than say, putting up with a yucky kitchen that's new!!! Looking forward to hearing about all your renovations!
ReplyDelete*congratulations, obviously!
DeleteThanks Helen, I'm sure that I will share some more on here soon
DeleteCongratulations on your new home! I hope you'll be very happy there for a long time to come.
ReplyDeleteAh, the memories of buying a house from a heavy smoker; when I moved into my first home the outline of every piece of the previous owners' furniture was clearly visible on the walls. (And the trauma of their green and white bathroom has never entirely left me!)
Ugh! It's so disgusting! Our bedroom ceiling is truly a disgusting sight, in addition to the shadows of pictures on the bedroom walls
DeleteCongrats on your new home! Definitely worth doing all the work in the long run and making it into the home you'll love. We're currently making our own kitchen - as in building the cabinet carcasses and fronts and door frames and flooring etc. A lot of work but we'll have our own bespoke kitchen at the end and the satisfaction of having done it all ourselves. Good luck with your renovations!
ReplyDeleteBuilding your own kitchen is impressive! well done you
Deletewow, sounds exhausting, but worth it in the long term. Good luck getting it all done.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rosemary!
DeleteCongratulations on your new house! You're absolutely right about moving being stressful, I wouldn't entertain the idea of doing it again. My house needed a lot of work done to it too. It's definately a case of slow and steady wins the race. And I'd advice doing one room at a time, unless it's something like re-wiring.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lynne! We're concentrating on decorating my daughter's bedroom first and then the kitchen is the next big thing to sort out
DeleteCongrats on the new home! When we brought ours back in 2001 it had flea-ridden carpets, the kitchen was greasy and totally manky and everything needed redecorating. I brought industrial-sized bottles of bleach to clean it all! I can remember sitting at the top of the stairs thinking "What have we done?" But we knew it was the house for us and we're still in it now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Liza, I have totally felt the same so it's really reassuring to know that other sane people have made similar decisions! But like you say, this was the first house we were both equally excited about so we are trying to keep that in mind and it does have the potential to be a lovely home.
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