We’ve been in our new home for exactly a week and our home improvement to-do list is already so full that it looks like it might explode if I add just one more item.
We have so many projects planned, jobs to do and repairs to carry out – we’re definitely going to be busy for a long while!
Planning all of these new projects got me thinking about our last home renovation. We managed to achieve a huge amount, especially as we had absolutely no previous DIY experience. We’re so proud of how our house turned out but I couldn’t help but think about things we’d do differently.
These aren’t things that we necessarily did wrong or regret doing. Some things just wouldn’t be right for our new home and we also learned a lot about how to tackle certain types of projects.
1. Take Our Time
Considering it took us 6 years to renovate our last house (and we still didn’t manage to complete everything we wanted!) this sounds like a totally mad way to start our list of things we’d do differently.
Even if our renovation took us a long time, I often found myself rushing through projects instead of enjoying them. For most people, it probably sounds weird to enjoy DIY but over the last few months in our temporary rental home, we’ve really missed it!
I also always want a perfect finish and the only way to achieve it is by taking my time and doing things right. No corner-cutting this time around!
2. Finish Projects Before Starting New Ones
I’m so guilty of this! A shiny new project is just too difficult to resist but there’s also nothing worse than living in a house full of almost-finished projects that niggle away at you.
The feeling of completely finishing a job is so satisfying and rewarding. It’s what gives us the buzz and motivation to keep going!
3. Use High-Quality Fixtures And Fittings
It’s not that we didn’t use high-quality products in our last house, on the contrary in fact! We definitely over-specced a lot of things from a money-making point of view but we did what felt right for the house and for us. Some of the most expensive updates like our wood burner, door handles (with hidden fixings) and bi-fold doors, were also our favourites.
4. Pay For More Jobs
Yep, a radical thing to say on a DIY blog but one thing we did learn during our last home renovation is when it’s best to call in the professionals. We’ll still be attempting to do as much of the work as possible ourselves but we’ll also be getting in the professionals when we need to.
5. Prioritise The Kitchen & Bathroom
Both the kitchen and bathroom were at the very top of my priority list when we first move into our Edwardian home in Manchester. I hated the kitchen and I hated the bathroom even more. Although these were both projects that I was desperate to get done we didn’t get around to doing them – at all!
Needless to say, I’m well and truly sick of living with ugly and impractical kitchens and bathrooms.
We will give the kitchen a temporary update by painting the laminate kitchen cabinets and in the long term we’re planning on moving the kitchen to another room.
6. Learn to plumb
Plumbing is one of the very few jobs that we never got around to trying (unless you count removing the odd radiator). Having watched our plumber at work, most of what he did really didn’t look too difficult. I know that there’s more to it than just pushing a few pipes together but it would be great to complete a few basic plumbing projects. After all, how hard can it be?
7. Be more daring with colours
We already shared the colour scheme for the apartment a couple of weeks ago. It’s nothing totally radical but we would like to use less neutral and bolder colours. The dark blue-grey walls in our dining room worked so well and it’s something we’d like to do more of in our new home. You never know, we might even opt for some wallpaper along the way! Mind-blowingly radical, right? ;)
8. More magnetic plaster walls
We installed our magnetic plaster walls not long before moving out of our house and I loved them! Magnetic plaster has got to be one of the best home things invented in the last decade – who am I kidding – one of the best things ever!
I’d have magnetic walls everywhere if I could but they are expensive, so we’ll have to carefully consider where to install them.
In case you’re wondering what on earth I’m on about you can see our magnetic hallway update here).
9. More temporary solutions
Although I want to take my time with this renovation, there are things that I want to update as soon as possible.
We obviously won’t be able to afford everything straight away so we’ll be doing a few quick fixes to upgrade what we already have and then replace and refurbish things properly when our finances allow us to.
10. Choose what we really want
As much as we loved our last home we always knew it wouldn’t be our forever home. We’d actually never planned on staying there for as long as we did!
For this reason, the financial aspect of improving our home was always at the back of our minds.
It, of course, wasn’t all about making money but we always kept a very careful eye on our expenditures and always weighed the pros and cons of any investment we made. That’s not to say that we didn’t do what we wanted but it does mean that we sometimes chose a more neutral option or ended up installing something that was good but not amazing.
Our new apartment is a much more long-term investment so we can hopefully choose exactly what we want without feeling like we need to please anyone.
Is your to-do list also always longer than it should be? Are there any home improvements you regret or that you’d do differently?
Genie says
oops meant to say repainted the ‘lounge’ and dining room :P
Genie says
I’ve been in my Victorian semi for two years and my first priorities were expensive structural things rather than decor! I had to have the entire kitchen ripped out, including digging out the floor, moving the stopcock and replacing all of the electrics … so I thought ‘well why not extend it by 3m at the same time’ …! The resulting space is wonderful and bright bit a huge hole in my budget, as did having all the groundwork replaced down the side of the house. The only thing I regret is not spending the extra £500 or so getting the floor tiles I really wanted for the kitchen but they can always be replaced later. I also wish I’d painted my bedroom floor before moving the bed and wardrobe in there!
However I have done a lot (all by myself, I might add!) in the two and a half years I’ve been here:
– stripped 2 of the 3 original fireplaces in the house down to the original tile and cast iron
– sanded and painted white the floor in the study
– repainted the kitchen and dining room (which were BROWN when I moved in … so gloomy)
– ripped down horrid black wallpaper in two rooms and replaced with lovely non-depressing colours
– completely repainted upstairs bathroom with proper kitchen and bathroom paint
– built custom picture rails for four rooms
– repainted the stairs in a three-colour scheme (black treads, white walls and skirting, grey risers) that looks lovely
– converted a back garden that consisted of weeds and builder’s rubble into a lovely space with lawn and flower beds
Next on the ever-growing list is taking up all the nasty laminate flooring in the kitchen and dining room, insulating under the suspended floor, then sanding and painting it light grey (I’ll get my lovely builders in to help with that!). The rest of the list gets looooooonger by the day….! And yes I am terribly guilty of leaving jobs half-done – I’ve still got to finish taking the paint off the 1930s tiled fireplace surround in the dining room – a job I started 2 years ago!
Christine says
Wow! You’ve done sooo much in such a short space of time, Genie! I particularly love the sound of your three colour staircase.
Glad to hear that you also struggle with leaving jobs half done, though! It always makes me feel better knowng that we’re not the only ones who can’t resist the temptation of starting a new project!
Good luck with the rest all of your projects! It sounds like you’ll be done with the whole house in no time!
Cx
Louise Ericsäter says
I think nr 9 is super important. I think it gives energy for new projects when you are living ok.
Christine says
I totally agree with you, Louise. It’s exactly what we’ve been doing for this past week – it’s nothing blogworthy (like adding a shower rail and curtain so we don’t have to shower crouched in the bath) at all but it’s a load of little things that make living here better for us.
Cx
susan says
I am SO excited to see what you do with your new apartment. You have such a marvelous starting point to begin with.
Christine says
We know that we’re so lucky to already have a lovely apartment, Susan. If you look closely (nothing we’ve shared yet) there are more than a few things that aren’t as they should be but having said that it is in a perfectly livable state and we can’t wait to make it even better!
Cx
Lo says
We’ve been in our home a year, and so far we’ve:
-rewired, replumbed and replastered most of the rooms
-finished the master bedroom and lounge
-almost finished the guest bedroom and dining room
-ripped up the patio and are halfway though laying it
I sometimes feel as though we haven’t done much, but when I look back on photographs of what the house was like when we moved in – we’ve achieved incredible amounts!!!
Whilst I wish we hadn’t had to spend £600 on bathroom taps, when we knew the bathroom overhaul was so long away, I’m glad we did because it wasn’t functioning the way it was. Also, whilst I am DESPERATE to rip the wall down in the dining room, I know we can’t afford to install a bannister, move the radiator and change the flooring level yet to allow us to remove the wall. Patience is a virtue, but also a killer!
I try and finish projects before moving onto others….which is why there are holes in our kitchen ceiling that have been there for a year…oops.
Lo
http://www.themixtures.com
Christine says
Wow! You’ve achieved a huge amount in just a year, Lo! Looking back at just how far you’ve come is always the best way to stay motivated!
Glad to hear I’m not the only one who struggles with the whole finishing projects before starting new ones thing.
Cx
Gabrielle Mercedes Bolívar says
I can’t wait to see what you decide with your kitchen! Yes- Wallpaper is ..radical. I will keep an open mind :-) We are in our forever home-or well at least until our youngest of three (in second grade) graduates from High School so we are customizing our home and home improvement to us and to what we want. Biggest regret is that it took us 19 years to buy the sofa, chairs and ottomans we had always wanted!. It is amazing how different a space feels with high quality furnishing specific to the space. Other mistakes were simply being too cautious with paint and having to redo it over and over until we got the look/impact we wanted. Bold colors can be soothing when done well. I am excited to follow you on this journey. I just love all the natural light in your new home and the beautiful detail. Gabrielle – Portland, Oregon USA
Christine says
We also had loads of projects where we thought “Why didn’t we do that years ago?!” Your sofa, chairs & ottoman sound perfect, Gabrielle! We splurged on our Eames lounge chair when we were in the middle of our first renovation and spending so much money on a chair when we had a whole house to renovate seemed completely mad at the time. Looking back it’s one of the best things we did!
Can’t wait to share more of our journey with you!
Cx
Kerrie says
I don’t regret any of my renovations but that doesn’t mean I haven’t changed some things over time as my tastes have changed & I had more money to add some finer details here & there. For example I’ve done 2 big kitchen renovations but because the first one was a complete gutting of the room, I didn’t need to change the base cabinets the second time, just added to them & put on fancier doors. I completely agree with your kitchen & bathroom priorities, they are so important to how much you love your space. Good luck & enjoy!
Christine says
Our tastes have definitely changed over time, too. I think that adding things over time is a great way of approaching things, Kerrie.
I really don’t like the kitchen we have here at the moment but having spent the best part of a week scrubbing it clean it’s actually not as bad as I thought. It’s still got to go though! :)
Cx