Project House, 6 weeks on...

May 10, 2016




Six weeks in already?? In some ways it feels like it's been a lifetime already but then I look back at the original photos {here} and realise just how much has changed in that time. You can see the update on week 2 here and week 4 here. And it's been a busy time all round with that long Easter weekend originally and then the bank holiday with numerous birthdays etc to slow us down along the way. We've also not worked any weekends on the house, just needing some time away from it. This week we want to crack on as we're off to Italy next week. Originally we really wanted to move in this week before we go away but there's just no way that will happen. And that's just to renovate three rooms {bedroom, lounge, bathroom} and the hallway.
We haven't even touched the two spare bedrooms or dining room storing all of our boxes and furniture yet, or y'know that gross 70s kitchen which will have to stay until we get permission to extend. It's all taking longer than we thought, the perils of an old {and listed} building I guess, plus we still don't have a bathroom or even a cooker or a fridge! So I think we'll see how we go when we're back, there's no point moving in before we've got a couple of rooms finished. I felt a bit disheartened at the end of last week but lots of you on Insta reminded me that Rome wasn't built in a day and all that. Plus it really is our forever home so if it takes an extra month to get moved in then so be it. When the rooms are properly finished and furnished, I'll be posting full makeover posts on them with exactly how we did everything but for now a quick update and some recent photos:

  • The Hallway/front of the house:

We stripped back the old green carpet from the stairs, they need a fair bit of work to restore properly with lots of holes and cracks to fill. It's the original staircase which is over 200 years old, I can't even begin to imagine all the families and couples who have used it over the years. I had chosen Cornforth White by Farrow & Ball for the hall, stairs and landing but when it started going on I realised it was too dark. So had a mad dash out for a lighter, off white colour and settled on Wimbourne White by F&B instead. It's not actually in this photo, the white colour is just primer. We'll paint the stairs white and add a carpet runner with stair rods. But that will be once everythings finished or it will get trashed with builders/plumbers going up and down etc. We'll probably use the Cornforth White for the panelling. 


At the top of the stairs we took out the ugly secondary glazing that was covering up this pretty window and the decorator restored the window and repainted it. It's small things like that that really make it all feel fresher and so much brighter/lighter. 


The front door is the original and while we're keeping the colour on the front for now, the back is being stripped back and repainted this week. 


I had planted these tubs up with tulips last Autumn before we knew we were moving, they were in the garden but I decided to bring them round to pretty the front of the house up a bit. We also repainted the wall and planted a climbing David Austin rose. 



We also got an old galvanised trough from Kempton Antiques Market and placed it under the dining room window, we've planted it up with lavenders.




The wisteria has bloomed on the front of the house, I don't know how old the vine is or who actually planted it but I love love love it. And it smells amazing. We want to try and train it right across the house over the next few years.






  • Bedroom -

The painting is all finished in here yay! This is the most finished room so far. We still need to sort the fireplace fitting though and cover up that airvent, choose some tiles for the hearth, protect the floors {I think I've decided to keep them bare rather than paint them white, it's more classic for longer term and we'll have lots of white elsewhere upstairs on boards which aren't so wide or nice}. We also need to fit a radiator, hang some curtains and fit the rails in the wardrobes. 










  • Bathroom

We were waiting for a plumber for a couple of weeks to come and fit a new boiler. He came on Tuesday and we now have the said new boiler woohoo. Also there were so so many pipes in this bathroom all around the walls etc. They've now all been removed so that we can maximise space in the bathroom with smaller pipes. Ben's fitting tongue and groove panelling around the whole of the bathroom and will build a cupboard for the boiler. We bought the bath before we even got the house keys, it's from eBay surprise surprise. The fittings will all be antique brass in here and I'm thinking of keeping the panelling light, the floors white as it's a north facing room and then painting the bath a dark colour. We need to decide on tiles for the shower and order a shower screen/tray. 










It's chaos everywhere else upstairs!


Plumbing fittings everywhereee.


  • Garden - 

Nothing drastic has changed in the garden since the last post, I had one afternoon planting some new bits and the grass seed we sowed has come up well although we could do with another box or so. The paths have been finished off and gravelled and we got a new bench. It all still looks very new of course, to me gardens aren't pretty until they're a good couple of years old, established and overflowing with plants. But it will get there in time. We also had permission yesterday to remove some conifer trees yay so we've had tree surgeons round this week to quote to remove them, it will give us a lot more afternoon sun and feel more open when they've gone. We've put an application in to build a summer house, greenhouse and put new fencing around the whole plot. These are jobs which we should just be able to get on with but as it's a listed building and in conservation area, we need permission first which could take around 8 weeks. But to be honest we've got enough going on with the building work inside the house for now to worry about outside too much. I haven't taken anymore photos of the lounge as nothing at all has changed there until we get the floors done, which again can't be done until the upstairs is a bit more finished. Slowly, slowly! We'll get there in time. 






R <3 xx 

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2 comments

  1. That's amazing progress in a further two weeks. I know we spoke last week, but you've come along way and it's a home for life. 😘 Italy is amazing. You will enjoy it and the house will look so different when you return with refreshed energy. X

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