It may have taken almost two months but we’ve finally unpacked all boxes! I can’t even put into words how good it feels to finally have moved into our new (and hopefully very long term) home.
We already shared a video tour of our empty home a video tour of our empty home that I filmed on the day I picked up the keys and now that our furniture is in and we’ve unpacked it’s about time we give you the full house tour!
I should warn you though – don’t expect to see any stylish or beautiful interiors. We have a long way to go yet!
So, welcome to our new and still completely unrenovated home!
As you come into the apartment from the communal staircase the first thing you see is our small hallway. At the moment it’s still a completely bland space with no real features other than the original floorboards which we’re planning on sanding.
Leading off the hallway is the small guest WC, the second hallway (which leads to all other rooms) and the room we’re currently using as an office.
We’re really lucky that all rooms are really light and bright. The ceilings almost everywhere are 3,6m high which means that most of the windows are super large, too.
This is the room that we’d ultimately like to turn into our kitchen. Leading off the office (soon to be the kitchen) are the two largest rooms – the dining room followed by the living room.
If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ll know that we can’t just resist period features and we’re really lucky to still have a lot of original details in our new home.
All of the doors and windows are still original (although they’ll need stripping and repainting), there are original floorboards as well as an amazing parquet floor in the dining room and living room, all radiators are original and we even have some original cement tiles in the kitchen and bathroom.
Our by far favourite feature is the plasterwork on some of the ceilings. It’s so intricate and the detail is still amazing.
We’ve still not got round to hanging many pictures and in general the apartment is still really empty.
The first room we’d like to update is our guest bedroom which at the moment looks like this.
Not exactly an inviting or relaxing space, is it? We’re really only using it as a dumping ground for all random things we don’t know what to do with.
We shared our mood board for this room a couple of weeks ago but haven’t been able to make much progress, yet.
The main problem is that we’d like to make changes to the electrics but can’t do so until we’ve managed to sort a few general connection problems in the building. For this, we need the consent of all other people who own an apartment here and inevitably everything is dragging on for a lot longer than we would like. Living in an apartment is definitely more complicated than having your own house where you can just decide how and when you’ll do stuff yourself.
Our master bedroom is also still a bit of a mess.
Our curtains look ridiculous and we’re using boxes for storage but we have a new bed and an amazing new mattress (we’ll be sharing a review soon).
We’re so lucky to have an amazing ceiling in this room, too. Isn’t it spectacular?!
Admittedly our lamp looks absolutely tiny and more than just a bit out of proportion but I’m sure we’ll get round to replacing it at some point.
The last room on our house tour is the kitchen. We already shared a few quick and temporary updates that we’ve been making but so far we’ve not completed any of the other jobs on our to-do list.
It isn’t something that I would have chosen but it’s actually laid out well and for the moment is all we really need. I love the original tiles on the floor. They’re a bit damaged but hopefully, we’ll be able to repair and salvage them.
Leading off the kitchen is a small pantry that we have already given a quick makeover. It was really yucky before and there was just no way that I would have been able to store food there without giving it a much needed clean and update.
As you can see there’s a lot to do, countless projects await and we’re so excited about getting stuck in.
Sorting the electrics is still our main priority (along with getting a better internet connection which at the moment is beyond miserable) and then we can finally start to move on to some of the more fun projects one of which is getting the floors sanded. I’m sure sanded floors will make a huge difference to the way the whole apartment feels and I’m admittedly really sick of getting splinters in my toes!
How do you set your priorities when renovating a home? What’s your favourite home improvement project?
I’ve just discovered your blog, and I can’t believe how much work you’ve done! I’m renovating my first home with my fiance, and blogging about it along the way (https://www.dreamofhome.co.uk)
It’s tough going, but we’re so near to moving in!
Our priority was also sorting out the wiring. The house was owned by a guy who liked to fiddle with things, so we discovered some shocking electrics – our wall lamps in the lounge were connected to a 30 amp-fused cooker cable, 100% not safe! The wires were so thin, we were amazed they hadn’t blown sooner. The wall that the lights were on was also made of chipboard, and not plaster board.
We have had to sort the wiring out in every part of the house, and so that was priority to keep us safe. The other priority was the kitchen – it was from the 70s and practically falling apart.
I’m now following your blog to see how the project goes!
So glad that you found your way over to us, Sarah! The two things we sorted in our last home were having the unsafe gas fire disconnected and the electrics updated. As much as it would have been nice not to spend our last money on those things I just know that I wouldn’t have felt safe living in a house where things possibly weren’t safe!
I guess back to basics and safety first are always the best way to start any project – even if they aren’t the most exciting!
Looking forward to checking out your blog!
Cx
Dealing with damp in my Victorian semi was the first priority. The entire kitchen had to go – and I mean everything, right back to the brick and joists and the entire floor dug out … and well, why not extend the kitchen 3m while we’re at it? It took three months and quite a lot of money but I have a lovely new bright, spacious kitchen without a hint of damp anywhere. The second major task – also to do with eradicating damp – was to lower the groundwork down the side of the house. That wasn’t quite as expensive, but putting proper drainage in has had a massive effect on how the house feels. As everything dried out, however, it settled, so now I have a whole load of new cracks in the plaster… the work never stops!
Wow, that sounds like quite an undertaking, Genie! It’s always annoying to spend money on things you essentially don’t really see but those are often the projects that are most important.
You’re totally right about it being never ending!
CX