We’ve Bought a House! Introducing Our Renovation Project
I can’t quite believe I’m saying this but finally, after years of searching and debating where to live, we’ve bought a house!
While we were toying with the idea of moving into London, I just can’t get away from the fact that I love having the countryside on my doorstep.
So we decided to settle just outside of London where we still have access to the city but we’re also removed from the urban chaos.
Our house renovation
We’ve got a 1930s three bedroom house (if we’d have stayed in London, it would probably have been a two bedroom flat!) and it’s a renovation project.
The house isn’t in a terrible way but it does need an extension, a new bathroom and heavy amounts of decorating and sprucing up.
I’m so excited to get stuck in – I’d like to do as much as we can ourselves in order to save money, although we’ll certainly be leaving some tasks to the professionals.
We’ve been working with an architect on the extension plans and we’ve now decided on a concept.
The extension
The current floor plan includes a sizeable dining room, an old-fashioned conservatory and a rather ugly long, narrow kitchen. It has the kind of lighting you’d find in a hospital.
We plan to make the existing dining room the new kitchen and add in a small utility room. We’ll knock down the conservatory and create a bigger, more open extension that will allow for a dining / entertaining / living space in front of the kitchen.
As it’s north west facing, we’re aiming to let in as much light as possible, with plenty of glass and windows.
Other work
Aside from the extension, we’ll also be sprucing up all the other rooms in the house:
Living room: We’re desperate to install a wood burner but my goodness the cost is high! Still weighing up whether it’s worth the cost – I’ll keep you updated.
Hallway: We need a new bannister and spindles, plus I’d love to install a stair runner. I know they can be a nightmare to clean around the edges but I can’t get past how gorgeous they look.
Bedrooms: Our master bedroom and guest bedroom need fitted wardrobes, which I’m planning to do with IKEA Pax. I’d also love to add some panelling.
Office: The third bedroom is too small to be a bedroom so it’s going to be my office. I’d love a built-in office but I need to work out how to do this without spending a small fortune!
Bathroom: The bathroom is probably the last room we’ll tackle but it does need completely re-doing. It’s usable but incredibly ugly!
Exterior: We’d like to add another parking spot to the front drive which currently has an unnecessary grassy section. The back garden isn’t awful but needs a lot of love – entering my gardening era!
Final words
Stay tuned for our renovation journey! I’ll be sharing updates along the way and please do get in touch on Instagram if you have any ideas or questions.
