make our house a wonderful place to call home with monthly improvements, large or small.

Done:
We built and installed a pot rack yesterday. The ones in the store were well over $100, but we built ours for about $30. It looks great and clears up a lot of clutter!

Coming soon:
We have been without a couch for over two weeks, but it looks like Thursday is going to be the day to get a great deal.

There are two places in particular that I feel would benefit from a little color, maybe tiles or a painting. 1) behind the pot rack, 2) behind the toaster.

The clock needs to be repaired and the glass in John’s lamp needs to be replaced.

We decided to have a couple of skylights in the bedroom roof so we can lie in bed and look at the stars. The builder put up some scaffolding last week and he came today to start the work. It’s the worst snow in years, and he went on the roof, took off about a square metre of tiles, and then said it was too cold and went home…leaving us with a hole in the roof and a blizzard outside.

He says we have a waterproof felting and it will be OK – but I’m not convinced – there’s no tiles on the blimmin’ roof!!!

The roads are no so bad he won’t be able to get up here and cover it up if it starts letting water in. Blimmin’ builders!!!

Although there are still a few bits to do.

We are having shelves put in the bedroom alcoves and putting baskets on the shelves for our clothes – and then sliding mirror doors across the front

Skylights in the bedroom so we can lie in bed and look at the stars

A few snags to sort out that need finishing off from the main works.

It was over a year ago that we first started planning this – but it is much cosier now and we have made much better use of the space we have.

Now to do something woth the outside :)

New work tops are being fitted today – still no working cooker – but at least it is coming along now.

But I think they will be here for a while yet.

Update on work still in progress:

OUTSIDE: sort the drainage and the drive, create a parking zone and have some lighting.
Parking zone and lighting now done. No sure if this has solved the drainage problem but has been a lot better
Landscape the back garden (must find the phone no of that nice Mr Brown who did such a spiffing job of Pemberley);
Got a fence which is NOT after all HP proof as he has proved to be something of an athlete, done a sitting out area and planted a bed. Also got a shed now (Ziida Pemberley HQ)
sort the leaky guttering Builders have attempted a repair to the cowboy job and is better than it was

INSIDE:
HALL: Now done and have a front and back entrance to the house with new doors, a small ‘mash point’ under the stairs with a sink, a big coats cupboard, and new bannisters to the stairs

replace light fitting (broken glass)will be done when hall is refitted Not done – still have the old fitting, but bulders reckon they can get new glass. In the meantime the screws that hold the glass in place have gone missing D’Oh!!

DH OFFICE: Extend into garage Done apart from the floor which is being redone this weekTV ROOM: repair plaster to wall still not done
Have got a new ceiling in here and the whole room needs decorating now. Also are now hving a new floor down and considering having a bookcase built in, but this will mean moving the wall lights.
SNUG: Will be DH home office / dining room now. Now going to have a big window installed (yet more walls knocked out)and move the dining table and chairs in.
KITCHEN: See separate goal on new kitchen. This has all turned into a major project and is currently driving me nuts
UTILITY: This has been turned into a downstairs shower romm accessed off the hall. It is all complete except that the light keeps blowing!! so might need a new light fitting.
HEATING: Done, central heating now installedUPSTAIRS:
BEDROOM: change around the furniture, consider if we can have a different solution to the wardrobes and drawers that is more space saving: We have a master plan, but wiill have to make do until we have some money to do this. still waiting for more money :)

BATHROOM: put up the mirror; create shelf/ storage in easy reach of the bath; Plants; towel bin. done none of this, which is disappointing as it is relatively inexpensive and easy to do. still not done

LOFT/ TANK area: make more accessible storage by putting in shelves or some storage system; check what’s in there and get rid of stuff we are keeping and not using. tank has now gone, washer is now in this area, will fit out better once all the heating etc work has been completed Hmmm, at the moment everythng has been crammed back in, still needs a goood sort out

MY OFFICE: remove superfluous couch and table to create space done
reassess how desk fits once created more space; install more drawers for paperwork instead of it sitting on top of desk. considering now swapping this room with Music room and rethinking both. now swapped, but not finished. Need some more cupboard space

MUSIC ROOM: Create some sheet music storage; replace notice board; re-hang mirror (or get a lighter one so it doesn’t keep falling down); replace settee with bed settee so we can have people stay over (and stop HP from sleeping on it) see above. Going to swap the rooms over and rethink both. rooms swapped but these issues still remain as well as the big pile of stuff in one corner to be sorted out

I shall be glad when we no longer live on a building site and everything is working properly. 3 months later am still living on a building site, and still hoping for it to be finished sooner rather than later.

One week we stripped the peeling paint off of the ceiling and repainted the ceiling and walls. it looks much better, but the furniture is still pretty tattered.

Our house stays a whole lot cleaner now, though. The Fly Lady has helped.

Making a wider entrance from the hall to the office has been an adventure. The builder found a concrete pillar under the plasterwork supporting the upstairs (and our bedroom), so we decided to move the whole doorway further along the wall, and the other side the pillar.

All was going fine until an avalanche of stone fell out the middle. This wall is in between what was the stable (now hall) and cowshed (now office)and was two layers of rough stone filled with rubble (the original wall), and then faced with blocks either side by the previous owners (who did the ‘barn conversion’ over 40 years ago now) and then plastered. They got supports in place before the bedroom collapsed, and left it like that overnight. I dreamt that the whole house had collapsed with us in it!!!

Now the gap has been bricked up, and I am regretting not preparing a time capsule to bury in it ‘Blue Peter’ style. Though there may still be an opportunity when we go through the wall between the office (was cowshed) to garage (was pigsty).

They did find a skeleton in the gap though. A fossillised rat. Ugh!!

Updating my post of about 18 months ago:

OUTSIDE: sort the drainage and the drive, create a parking zone and have some lighting.
Getting quotes for this, but may not go ahead
Landscape the back garden (must find the phone no of that nice Mr Brown who did such a spiffing job of Pemberley);
Done some work with a path and a fencs, and getting a shed soon, and a paved area, but I think this might be long term and incremental, although we could do with having a master plan of where we’re heading
create a sitting out area with possibly a gazebo (or hunting tower??) does a few slabs and shed count?
plan some colourful annuals in the tubs done
sort the leaky guttering Hmmm, had some cowboys fix the guttering and now it;s worse than before Grrrr!!
build an entrance porch at the front.not doing this as will cut out too much natural light

INSIDE:
HALL: use the space better by creating a downstairs shower room (and possibly a galley kitchen so office end can be self contained) Rethought this area completely, it will now be a reception/ greeting area, and lots of doors to other places. open and airy and light. This is phase two coming soon

fit new weatherproof front door done but has to be redone due to contracters making the door open the wrong way (!!), BUT we are utilising this door and creating a door out the back where the window is, so the doors match
replace light fitting (broken glass)will be done when hall is refitted

DH OFFICE: Extend into garage ; relace doors to the outside (or consider if we need doors here at all)Quotes are in, this is phase 3

TV ROOM: sort the intermittent signal (maybe we need a dreaded satellite dish!) done, Got sky!
repair plaster to wall glad I saw this, plasterer is coming this weekend so can ask him to pop a lump on this patch
plaster round the door where it got missed Ooohh and this!!
new rugs not done this yet
get rid of surplus HiFi wires done, cut them off with scissors – simple.

SNUG: Get rid of surplus HiFi wires done – scissors job!
Repair fireplace can’t find anyone to do this, still looking
move clock from hall to here and get it working done, miracuously once it was moved it started working of it’s own accord.

KITCHEN: Consider what is kept where and is it logical; fit more powerpoints; consider new cupboards and deeper work tops;replace cooker with one that is reliable (maybe link to heating plan); replace TV and move this one upstairs
We have a plan – but most of this will have to wait until there is more money available. However cooker seems ot be OK now and we have a service plan for it

UTILITY: if having shower in the hall then remove shower and install large larder fridge; install cupboards where fridges are; box in area under the sink to make a cupboard. completely rethought this, and this is current work, which is converting this room into a downstairs bathroom with a new entrance off the hall and blocking off the doorway to the kitchen. This releases a wall in the kitchen which we now have plumbed ready for moving the sink (long term kitchen plan)

HEATING: research options to install new heating system (maybe go greener and have solar panels…or a windmill in the garden!!). Central heating is being fitted now, we have gone for an oil combi boiler, so not as green as it might have been, but a good deal greener than we were

UPSTAIRS:
BEDROOM: change around the furniture, consider if we can have a different solution to the wardrobes and drawers that is more space saving: We have a master plan, but wiill have to make do until we have some money to do this

BATHROOM: put up the mirror; create shelf/ storage in easy reach of the bath; Plants; towel bin. done none of this, which is disappointing as it is relatively inexpensive and easy to do

LOFT/ TANK area: make more accessible storage by putting in shelves or some storage system; check what’s in there and get rid of stuff we are keeping and not using. tank has now gone, washer is now in this area, will fit out better once all the heating etc work has been completed

MY OFFICE: remove superfluous couch and table to create space done
reassess how desk fits once created more space; install more drawers for paperwork instead of it sitting on top of desk. considering now swapping this room with Music room and rethinking both

MUSIC ROOM: Create some sheet music storage; replace notice board; re-hang mirror (or get a lighter one so it doesn’t keep falling down); replace settee with bed settee so we can have people stay over (and stop HP from sleeping on it) see above. Going to swap the rooms over and rethink both

I shall be glad when we no longer live on a building site and everything is working properly.

Fence is now HP proof hehe!!
Have negotiated with the front door man to buy the wrong front door and fit at at the back, so the doors match. Unfortunately this is added expense but it will look a lot better.
Bathroom walls and floor are being done this weekend (whoever heard of builders working over the bank holiday, just hope they aren’t charging double time!)
Once all that is done then the new heating can be installed and we move onto the hall area.

Kitchen is still a tip – but new fridge is coming on Tuesday. YAY – Ice cubes on demand!!! Essential for BMs

as building work is going on here.

The new bathroom of the hall is progressing, now waiting for the plumber to fit pipes and drains before the walls and floor can be done

Outside work too, going to have a shed, and the new path, gate and fence are all completed

Central heating is going to be fitted. Previously w have survived with electric heaters, Aga in the kitchen and an open fire, but going from room to room has been ‘draughty’. We are purposefully having this done now so it will be up and running by the winter.

New front door was fitted last Thursday – but they have manufactured it and hng it the wrong way around (with the hinges on the left instead of the right). They have admitted their mistake and now have to make a new door. In the meantime we have to make do with this one.

Washer has been installed upstairs (so no more carrying wash baskets of laundry up and downstairs). It still needs a power supply, but is usable with an extension across the landing!

At the moment it is like living on a building site, and the kitchen is a complete mess, but I have the vision of all the improvements gradually coming together so I can bear with it in the short term.