[This is a collaborative post]
Last year was a year for DIY in our flat. I have mentioned before, that we have actually lived here for 16 years and we have changed our flat a lot in that time. The decor was feeling a bit dated and the flooring had had a lot of wear and tear over the years.
It was certainly time for an update.
We replaced the laminate flooring downstairs changing it from dark brown to pale grey. This has made a huge difference and the room looks much lighter now. I have repainted the walls downstairs featuring a midnight blue colour mineral paint on the end walls and I even revamped an old cabinet which was being dumped and our second hand table and chairs has also been upcycled with pebble grey mineral paint and a Moroccan tile effect top.
Over Easter the bathroom renovation started. This was a big job in a very small room and it involved Lee pulling up the floor boards, which were damp and smelly and replacing those with a marine plywood then re-tiling and replacing the bath, toilet, sink and shower and laying a Karndean floor. This is still a work in progress, the walls need finishing as does the ceiling and the old radiator needs to be removed and the new one needs to be plumbed in.
Our eldest daughter finally had her room redecorated with a silver brick-effect wallpaper, white paint and a gallery wall. The poor girl had waited almost a year with ugly looking walls that had had the wallpaper ripped off months before.
Phew!
So, what's next?
Well, obviously the bathroom needs to be finished - our main issue is time. We are both busy working all week and often at the weekends, so we need to dedicate a couple of days to finishing it off. Plus some of the jobs that need doing are specialised so we will need some help.
Th windows were replaced before we moved in but the window sills are old wooden ones, it would be great to replace them with a new window board just to get a smarter look.
The landing is looking very shabby, we used a second-hand laminate flooring that we got via Freecycle a few years ago, some of the laminate had warped so it doesn't sit well and has large ridges sticking up. it would be great to follow the grey flooring throughout the upstairs but this is something we will need to try and save towards.
Two of our children share a room and we would love to choose a nice feature wallpaper for the ends walls and repaint their bedroom just so they can stamp their own style on it. They both have similar tastes thankfully but we will probably go for a neutral colour paint and a bold wall which they can put up posters of their choice on.
We are gradually getting there people, once we feel happy with how it is looking we would love to look into selling and see if we can upgrade and get that much needed extra bedroom.