1st Home anniversary

Last year on this day we got the keys to the house. We’ve exchanged contracts a day earlier, while I was in London with work. It was a very exciting day.
After we took the keys, we went to see the house, took measurements and started to make a plan. We bought the house as a project and we had to get things going quickly as in a month and a half we had to move in. At that time we gave notice for our rented house as staying more would have added to the financial pressure, so we had to make the house ready for us fast. Also, the end of the year is a very period for us with work.

We’ve started with the garden, if you are reading my blog for a while you might know that. By October the garden was almost sorted, the concrete slabs were removed and we planted grass. The house was stripped of the old carpets and wallpaper, the old kitchen cabinets, the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom.

When we moved by the middle of October, the first floor was almost finished, we painted the walls and the new carpet was laid down. We were able to arrange the furniture that we already had in a different way. In the master bedroom we used two from the 4 wardrobes and we added a few more custom shelves and rails to make a build-in wardrobe. It was a relatively easy thing to do by ourselves.
Our spare bedroom is the room where we work and we used the other two wardrobes for storage, they are much more spacious than a regular bookcase and it’s very handy. The bathroom was finished a few days before moving, with new tiles, new sink, new plumbing. We’ve changed all the plumbing in the house, as I mentioned in 5 tips for renovating.

By November the living room was almost done too, new paint, carpets. We had the old dinning table and no bookcase, as I wasn’t sure how I want them. The tree was up, the fireplace was ready for the Christmas night and I was making lists with what I’m going to cook. The kitchen took a little longer to finish as we had more work and the cabinets took longer to make, as they were bespoke; the only way we were able to fit everything we wanted in a small galley kitchen. The porch was done too.

This year we continued with the renovations. The kitchen was done by January when I had my “Life is short, eat dessert first” quote on the wall. The jars were in their places by July, new plants were planted. The garden was finished a couple of months ago, see here and the conservatory was finished too (pictures to come). I have a bench in the conservatory that hubby made and I love it. We’ve installed the bookcase in the living room last month, because they were bespoke too. It took a while to get an idea and hubby liked it, now I think everything worth the effort. Hubby made his loudspeakers for watching movies. I’ll make a post with the living room soon.

There are some things that need to be finished, but mostly are decor-related. I think we did an amazing job to finish so many things in a short period of time while working and on a budget. We had to rely on specialized help from cutting wood for shelves to plumbing, but we did so many things by ourselves and this makes me even prouder.

Because we were so involved in every little thing and we’ve made it as we’ve wanted, I love our home. Buying it was a long and complicated process, we changed solicitors half way through the process, we had issues with the bank and had to wait, we talked with a financial adviser. In the end it worked out perfectly and I couldn’t be more happier.