As much as things in Blogland mostly look happy and rosy things in real life home improvement often look very different. Renovating a house is hard.
DIY is often hard work, there are frequent setbacks and there are so many emotional ups and downs that it can be really tough to keep balanced and feel yourself.
Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom either and the rewards and buzz you get when finishing a project definitely outweigh any negativity, but sometimes DIY has a way of taking over – both physically and emotionally.
We spend most of our weekends tackling some kind of project (as I’m writing this I should really be painting an architrave, leveling our driveway and finishing off the decorative timber around our new bi-fold doors) and even on the weekends where we say we’re not going to do anything (because in order to keep sane they have to happen every now and then!) we almost inevitably find ourselves just quickly fixing something or buying some supplies for the next job on our list.
It’s never ending and it’s especially difficult when you live in the house you’re renovating as you can’t ever step away from it. There’s always something you walk past that needs repairing, replacing, painting, ripping out… the list is endless.
At the end of the day, it’s always a trade-off between either saving money or saving time and at the moment we kind of don’t have both. There are only ever so many projects you can do at any one time, especially if you do them yourself and if you pay for projects there are still only so many projects you can do because sooner or later the money will run out.
Even the projects where you do decide to pay someone to do all of the work can be difficult. There are unreliable builders, dodgy tradespeople and often unforeseen circumstances crop up that need your attention.
And then there’s money. We don’t really talk about finances here much, but buying and renovating a house is of course not a cheap thing to do and if you’ve not calculated correctly it can be hugely stressful. When we first moved in we maxed out on every level and for the first year did almost no improvement to our home because we were too busy staying on top of all of our bills. We had done all of our calculations properly and knew what to expect, but real life can still be a bit of a sobering experience, especially if you’ve gone into a situation where you weren’t prepared.
Things have obviously changed since and I really don’t mean to sound miserable about this. We’re so glad we bought our home and it’s definitely the best financial decision we’ve ever made, but there’s no point in sugarcoating things – the first year was tough. Even now we’re starting to see results and have some rooms that are complete, we still go through phases where we struggle.
Keeping yourself motivated is probably the most difficult aspect of all. There’s a reason why we’re serial project starters. It’s new, it’s exciting and the biggest results are usually achieved at the beginning of a project.
When tackling projects ourselves we often get to the point where we seem to hit a brick wall (often literally) and any problems or unexpected issues can quickly turn our enthusiasm into total disinterest. It can be difficult to know where to start, especially when you’re hit with problems you don’t know how to solve. Having said that, the toughest problems and challenges are also always the ones that end up being most rewarding and working your way through a problem and eventually getting the result you’re striving for is immensely satisfying.
Overall this isn’t meant to sound negative – it’s just the way it is. There are definitely a lot of ups and downs, sometimes it feels like you could tackle anything and sometimes you just can’t seem to do the most simple DIY job. Is it worth it? I guess everyone has to decide that for themselves, but for us it totally is. DIY has become a way of life for us and we wouldn’t want it any other way.
We’d love to know your experiences. Have or are you renovating a house – how are you finding it? Do you struggle to keep motivated? What’s your toughest challenge been? Do you think it’s worth it?
Amen to all of this! Everything you said. We have just decided to put a temporary halt to our renovation efforts (despite upstairs being bare painted plaster with no doors or proper lighting and my home office, spare rooms and landing being storage for power tool, timber, insulation, cans of paint etc etc) because we are getting married in August and the wedding is totally unorganised right now as we’ve been spending every spare minute on the house, not to mention the fact that all our money now needs to be channelled wedding-wards. We’ll resume after the wedding, though no doubt we’ll still be doing a bit here and there, but we have very few free weekends when we’re not away for other weddings or at conferences, and we would like to try and enjoy the few we have! I don’t think many people realise how hard it can be renovating the place you are living in, and having to continually pause for finances to catch up, and just the general stress of living somewhere unfinished and in a constant state of flux. But, like you, we are loving it and would not change it for anything – the chance to turn our unloved old miners’ cottages into a real family home, decorated just the way we want, is flipping amazing and we feel privileged every day, and so glad we didn’t go for the modern house which would have needed nothing doing to it other than a lick of paint! This is so much more fun! x
Wow, it really sounds like you have a lot on, too! It’s always a relief to hear that other people’s experiences are similar to our own. It not only makes us feel a lot more normal but in a weird way it also takes the totally self-imposed pressure off. I guess we should all learn to enjoy what we have and not stress too much about silly things like the perfect shade of grey or the fact our bathroom has no door (it does now, but didn’t for a couple of months!)
Love that we’re not the only ones who live this kind of crazy lifestyle and enjoy it!
Cx
Ana,
Congratulations on the upcoming wedding and for going with an old building, you can’t add character with cushions, you need good old wonky walls and a bit of history!
As for this article, I can totally relate. We’ve an en suite room on the top floor that hasn’t been touched in two years and countless other jobs on the go but this year we’ve resolved to get all the odds and ends finished before starting anything major.
…Although in my/our defence, in those two years, I started this renovation as a single man, met my (now) wife because of the house (she was my bank manager when I went to ask for more money for the house!)
We got married and decided to do the reception in the garden and in our home so the push to finish wave one of the house was crazy…and just when we got over that, we had our first baby and now we’re getting used to Ava running around everywhere…we’re only seven weeks away from baby number two.
Wouldn’t change a thing!
I love that you wouldn’t change anything about your process, Stu! Real life can often get in the way of finding time to finish all of those DIY jobs that need doing especially if you have a family and it’s great to hear that you’ve still found a way to make everything to work for you.
Good luck with baby number 2!
Cx
Yes! This is just what I needed to read right now!
We bought our first house nearly 3 years ago now and are only just starting to get to grips with renovating. Partly that is because it was newly decorated when we moved in and it seemed pointless to rip everything out just because it wasn’t what we would choose. Now we have started, each project seems to open a can of rubbish DIY worms that we have to fix before we can actually get to grips with the project itself!
(Such as the bricks I discovered in the front garden yesterday, while removing an old shrub. It looks like the old garden wall was just pulled over and left in situ, while a new wall was built!! I only dug enough out to get the roots from the shrub, but there are more under the soil…for another day…)
Your blog has so many finished projects it can seem as though you are an unstoppable force, so this is a really great reality check! It’s good to know that you guys get de-motivated as well, but that you are able to see things through in spite of it. That gives me hope that one day we will get our house the way we want it too.
I’m sure you’ll manage to get your house just the way you’d like it to be, Laura! If we could (although we’re obviously not finished) anyone can! It’s taken us almost 6 years to get where we are now and I wouldn’t change a thing about the process. It may not all have been ideal (we had a similar garden brick experience) but it’s definitely been worth it!
Cx
I loved reading your post first thing this morning. We have started so many different projects my husband has forbade me to start anymore until I finish what has been started! It is one part motivation and one part because we hit the proverbial brick wall and don’t always know how to move forward, or have the funds, or can’t find a tradesman that actually shows up etc.
I too realize though, that I could not imagine living in any other house. We slowly get to envision it the way we want it and the way we live in it. Buying a finished house, as so many of our friends and family have done, feels like stepping into someone else’s home and I fear that I would always feel like a guest, or at the very least, wasteful that I am ripping out someone else’s lovely work that is just not to my taste/style etc.
Thank you again for being an inspiration and for showing both sides of the DIY coin. Have a lovely day.
Thank you so much for the feedback, Gabrielle! When we first started looking for a house we were also faced with the dilemma of possibly having to rip out a perfectly good bathroom or kitchen just because it was something that we really didn’t like and I couldn’t agree with you more about it feeling wrong and wasteful.
It’s a great feeling to slowly get your home looking the way you want even if getting there isn’t always straight forward. It’s always such a relief to hear that other people struggle with similar issues.
It’s comments like yours that help keep us motivated, so thanks! Hope you have a lovely day, too!
Cx
I saw this post pop up on FB the other day and immediately thought “yes”. Now having read it I can sympathise entirely except on a much smaller scale because we tackle nothing like as ambitious and inspiring as the projects you do. That said, from the little we have done, and the huge amount still to do it does feel never-ending doesn’t it? And there’s only a finite amount of time and money. People keep saying to me “are you done with the house yet?” and I give a wry smile and say no. It is so worth it though but I agree it can feel very frustrating at times because you don’t feel totally up for it all the time and when the money runs out (as happens a lot in our case) it can be months before another project gets underway X
Although DIY has almost become a way of life for us, any home improvement job can be stressful (no matter how big or small). You’ve done a huge amount, too! It may sometimes not seem like it, but just look back at what your home used to be like!
It is always a relief to hear that we’re not the only ones that struggle sometimes. We also get the “Are you done yet?” questions and go through phases where we have no motivation and no money. I guess it’s all part of the process!
Cx
We have just bought a 3 story 1900 end terrace that needs a complete renovation… There is not one ‘OK’ room (although it is livable whilst doing it up). First night here the washing machine flooded the kitchen and pulling up a carpet (it smelt so bad it had to go asap) has revealed some very dodgy edges of still glued on Lino… Plus a badly needed new roof, repointing, ceilings and boiler!
This weekend was the first what have we actually done wobble (pulled out a wardrobe and along with it a huge section of plaster board and a hole in the floor). But! I am so excited to get started on this tough but great journey. We too didn’t want to buy something that we felt guilty about pulling out a new kitchen or redecorating rooms that were fine to move right into.
I stumbled on your blog during our buying process and it has given me so much inspiration, I have been though so many posts for tips and hints & your house looks wonderful. Looking forward to reading your future posts. Cx
Oh wow! It sounds like you really have your work cut out, Chloe! It can sometimes be difficult to stay motivated, especially when you have so much to do, but just try to remember the buzz and excitement you’re feeling now. Oh, and take lots of pictures – seeing how far you’ve come is the best motivation of all!
Good luck with your home improvements!
Cx