With a long list of smaller projects either planned or still needing to be finished in our guest bedroom, this weekend was planned completely planned up well in advance.
Some of the things we still have to do in the bedroom are
- Attach the picture rail
- Replace window
- Attach trim around window and install windowsill
- Varnish floorboards
- Install fireplace
- Sort electrics
- Replace radiator
- Strip and sand door
- Paint everything
We’d planned to tick at least 2 of the boxes, but as usual around here, things turned out completely different! (I’m not sure we even set foot in the room once!)
To be fair, we had a good reason – the sun was shining! Okay, so some of you may think that’s a bad excuse, but you’ll just have to believe me when I say that the weather has been so awful here just lately, that we pretty much had no choice to drop everything and spend some time outside in the fresh air and sunshine.
Don’t worry though, it’s not as if we did nothing while we were outside enjoying the sun. As you already know, out garden is a complete disaster zone. Between the weeds, dead plants and dissolving asphalt, we’re in the middle of taking down the garden wall (only to rebuild it later) and have now started to take down the little wall on the other side of the garden, too.
We actually started this project well over a month ago, but with the weather being so bad, we just couldn’t motivate ourselves to carry on.
The wall itself is easy to take down. The stones are quite heavy, but they are just laid on top of each other, without any mortar holding them together. We’re planning to build a new (and more stable) raised bed, which we’ll then fill with some pretty plants.
A few months ago we painted the fence in the front garden (read more about it here), but never got round to painting the back of it.
It’s now gone from this
To this
And we also finally got round to painting the fence in our back garden, too. (Remember to talk to your neighbours before painting your fence – it may not be yours to paint). It’s one of the most daring colour choices that we’ve made so far, but we think the dark fence will be a great backdrop to show of our luscious green plants.
It never ceases to amaze us, how a few hours of work and a bit of paint can make such a huge difference.
Here of course are our before and after shots.
We’re not quite finished yet, but it’s definitely already a huge improvement.
What were you up to this weekend? We’re still not sure which plants to choose. Do you have any suggestions?
I understand the asking the neighbors before you paint the fence because it may be that they bought it and put it up. BUT the part of the fence that is facing your yard is what you look at all the time and should be according to your taste. And again, if you have a cranky old neighbor I suppose you can put up your own fence along side their fence (there will be a space in between making your yard smaller) and paint your fence, then their fence stays intact.
I lived in a house where this happened, both sides had their own fence and I just kept the same color as theirs so it was the same on both sides.
I fully agree with you! Luckily our neighbours are amazing and we don’t have any problems at all, but not everyone is as lucky as we are. If you google the issue, you’ll be amazed to find the amount of disputes that people are having over a garden fence! In our case, the fence legally belongs to our neighbours and is actually on their side of the property boundary, so we felt it was only right to ask (we knew they wouldn’t mind).
It seems weird to get upset about a side of a fence you can’t see, but I suppose some people are just like that…
Cx
I would love to paint mine, but it actually belongs to my neighbour, so I’d need to put my own against his first… So as my kitchen ceiling needs painting, the fence will be a project for an other year. But yours is definitely inspiring.
Thanks Magali! We’re really lucky to have such great neighbours, but really it should be in their interest, too. Wood needs treating and maintaining, so it seems weird to have two fences to paint and maintain.
Can’t wait to see your finished kitchen!
Cx
I really like color on the fence. It reminds me of a nice aged wine barrel. Can I ask why you aren’t painting the posts?
Thanks Caitlin! We haven’t painted the posts because they are concrete. I’ve tested the paint on a small area of one of them and am waiting a bit to see how it holds up. If it works, we’ll probably paint the posts, too. Can’t stop thinking about wine now…
Cx
Actually, Christine, I like the posts and the bottom of the fence the way they are, the whiteness contrasts sharply with the dark color of the wood. I thought you left them like that on purpose!
I like them that way, too! Either way, it’s such an improvement!
Cx
You got some quality time with the garden! Nice for you (and for the garden of course) For plants, white and blue are great against a black fence. Birches as well, but they may be a bit too big =)
I love the sound of blue and white plants. We have just bought a clematis which has white flowers in winter. Can’t wait to see it, but hopefully the colder weather is still a way off!
Cx