DIY has been a bit of a theme this year for us. This post is just as much for me, as it is for you as I didn’t realise how much we’d done until I started writing. Oh, and it’s a long one so make yourself a cup of tea!
Looking back on achievements is so important, so often we just plough on to the next goal. So, I’ve taken the time here to list all the things we’ve done on our house this year. Some of it is DIY, stuff we’ve done ourselves, and for other things we’ve called in the experts in.
It is all too easy to let accomplishments go by uncelebrated, to just be always moving on to the next thing.
I really wanted to take the time to pause and look back now, near the end of the year. We have done so much, but the house needed so much. We’ve spent a small fortune, but for us, our home is high up on the priority list. Being able to truly enjoy and love where we live is a long-term goal, which as you’ll see we’ve gathered a lot of momentum on this year.
Some of the things here I’ve shared already, and some I haven’t but intend too at some point in the future.
In no particular order, our DIY and home improvements for 2017;
Hallway Floor
Ah, our gorgeous hallway floor. This turned out to be even more incredible than we imagined. I teamed up with Harvey Maria. We called in a flooring expert to fit this for us, details in the post.
Radiators
We had three radiators replaced and another one replaced and moved to a different wall. The radiators were really old and past their best. The one we had moved has really transformed how the room is used now too (my youngest daughters bedroom). We outsourced for this job, don’t want to mess around with gas and plumbing, right?!
Small bedroom
Moving the radiator in the bedroom enabled us to make much better use of the space. We repainted this room and sanded and filled the floorboards. We added some new decor too; a lampshade, curtains and a rug. I’ve yet to share this room here on the blog as it’s still not quite finished. But, soon hopefully! We did all the work ourselves (apart from the radiator as mentioned above).
Green Velvet Sofa
Getting this sofa, was a personal highlight for me. It really makes the room and is so comfortable I often have difficulty leaving it. More on our sofa here and more about our Living Room here.
Bay windows and shutters
The beautiful bay windows at the front of our home were original so only single glazed. The wooden frames were rotten and we desperately needed them replaced for insulation and security reasons. We paid a bit more in order to keep the panes of stained glass, and used a local firm. After getting the window done we were then able to collaborate with SantaFe shutters and really give this room the wow factor. More about or shutters here and here.
Porch
Our old porch wasn’t an original feature of the house and had probably been added in the 1970s. Again single glazed with rotting wooden frames, it wasn’t a great way to welcome visitors into the house. Peeling paintwork and so draughty, it was a real eyesore. I took ages to decide how I wanted the new porch to look, and it is a real improvement.
Stairs
Oh, the stairs. This job has been the longest and most tedious of DIY jobs we’ve ever done. Hours and hours of work, making trivial headway at times. Credit to my husband though, he is relentless and wouldn’t be defeated by them. We’ve literally just finished these and I will share the details in the new year. Here’s a quick shot I shared over on Instagram Stories recently. Proper photos in 2018.
Garden/shed/fence/pergola
The garden needed a huge makeover, mainly to remove the bramble bushes running between us and our neighbour. We also needed a new shed as the previous one was literally being held up by all the vines that had crept through and grown inside. As we are south facing I really wanted to create somewhere shady to sit out as previously to the work we had done there was no shade! We have a lot of glass at the back of the house, so it was important to create shade inside the house too. It’s no fun being blinded by brightness whilst to make dinner, or whilst the girls are playing. We used a local gardening team for this work.
Bedroom windows
We had the windows replaced in the three bedrooms. Although these were newer than the already mentioned Bay window, they were still draughty and the seal on the double glazing had gone. We used the same local company as for our porch and bay.
Guttering, fascia and soffits
Again, these were so, so old and way past their best. Rotting wood with peeling paint added to the scruffy look of the exterior of our home. The chap we used for this was someone we found online, and never again will I do that. It was the first and last time. We always go on recommendations from friends and family but had come up short with this trade. He was seemingly okay when giving us the quote, but as the work began I grew increasingly wary of what he was doing. It was slapdash in places and we had to get him to come back and fix parts.
Plastering living room
As we were taking off radiators in here, it seemed perfect timing to sort out an awful wall we had. We had a wall and bit plastered by a guy we’ve used before.
Kitchen changes
- We took down the Ivar cupboards and replaced them with an open bookcase taken from our Dining room. This makes the kitchen feel more spacious and also helped with clearing out some stuff we didn’t use anymore.
- We switched out the steel open shelves for scaffolding boards. I love them! You can read about it here.
Dining room bookcase
Related to the above bookcase move. We have an alcove in the dining room that had a bookcase in. I always thought it looked daft as the bookcase was much narrower than the alcove. So, I was always on the lookout for something that would fit the space better. I eventually found that Ikea had bought out a new width that would fit perfectly. We bought that one and moved the other, narrower one into the kitchen.
Rugs
We added new rugs to the Dining room and to my eldest’s room.
Electrical fittings
We replaced all our plug sockets and light switches to a Victorian Brushed Brass style.
House painting
We had the outside render of the house painted. Along with the shutters, new windows and porch this has really added kerb appeal to our home. Especially when you know how it looked before! We teamed up with Santex for this job and hired some outdoor painters to do the job for us. Take a look and read about it here
As you can see this year has been full on in terms of home renovations. It takes so much more time than the actual job itself too.
Sourcing materials, tradespeople and quotes, logistics of when the work will happen any other jobs that need to happen beforehand. It’s like having another job; project manager of your own home.
If you are wondering what we’ve got planned next, well I’d like a bit of a break from DIY for a few months. We have got some things which we’ll get to if our budgets allow but in the meantime, we are going to enjoy all the hard work we’ve done!
Have you done any DIY this year?
susan earlam ~ horror author 
I would love your input