House Every Weekend

Taking on the Terrace brings new meaning to that once-liked song!

Because yes, we are still at the house every weekend, and as Jon is now staying there during the week, every evening as well. People are starting to become a little disbelieving saying things like 'are you guys still not done' or 'I would have thought you'd have been in by now'. Only those who have truly done all the work on a house themselves will understand. It is so time-consuming. And with no professionals doing anything, we have to complete every tiny detail ourselves. Our solution is just to chip away at it, but I have secret fantasy's where we come come in and a whole room is finished. Saucy right!

For the last month or so we have been doing various tasks...

Jon plastered the attic and the upstairs stairwell and we have given that an undercoat. The plan is to keep it white (not sure my brain can cope with any more colour decisions at this stage!). Thank you to Dad and Lizz for helping sand the newly plastered walls, my least favourite job. It has now become a complete dumping ground, so excuse the mess in the photos!

Dad also came to assist Jon in getting the log burner flu down the chimney. I am slightly useless in those situations as I start panicking about Jon frolicking about on the roof. It didn't help when he reported back that the chimney pots are a little wobbly!

But I did learn how to repoint (basically replacing the cement-like 'mix' between the bricks, for any non-DIY people), so with the addition of our new black slate hearth, the fireplace is basically finished. All that's left is to connect up the log burner and then we can enjoy a warming fire...just in time for summer!

The bedroom wardrobes are finally finished!* We have used lovely porcelain door knobs from 'These Please' on Etsy.

Jon has also been working on the downstairs toilet, which is basically a glorified cupboard. But I actually think it's going to be my favourite room in the house, mainly because I have been given free rein on the decorating (if you can call it decorating in such a teeny tiny space). I have chosen 'exotic' black wallpaper with golden cheetahs on it and we have a black radiator and tap! So far it's just at plaster stage, but will share photos when things get more interesting.

Big news is the sofa finally arrived! Well, first it arrived at Dad's house (small mistake which I cannot 100% say was not my fault), but then was guided onwards to the terrace. It felt like such a long time to wait when we ordered it back in December, I think I even said I wish it could come earlier as we will definitely be finished beginning of April. Mmm maybe not. It was very exciting seeing it almost 'in-situ', however we will definitely not be removing the protective cover just yet. Ripping that off eventually will be a sure sign that the house is ready and open for business.

Attire for the house (an aside)

From the beginning I have had my DIY 'uniform' which I put on every weekend, enabling me to not care when I drip paint all over myself or have to crawl into the soot-filled chimney. Last weekend though I finally had to say goodbye to my work jeans as the small hole in the crotch had grown to a size where it was very visible and slightly indecent.

I have been extremely thankful to have steel-capped shoes. I needed them for a shoot on a building site a few years back and the only ones available in my size had pink trimming! But pink trimming aside they have really saved my feet on this project, as it seems as soon as I step over the terrace threshold I become a complete klutz, tripping over nails, dropping heavy timbers and falling through holes.

*Jon says I can't say the wardrobes are finished as he still needs to fit the clothing rails. He also said they need another coat of paint. I think (hope!) he is joking...

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Maisie

On those 2 day lovely warm days in March, I worked from home outside and gave Maisie the freedom of the whole garden. She spent most of that time sleeping under a bush, not quite such an adventurous mog after all!