2018 was pretty easy-going in terms of home renovating. We did a fair bit of work, don’t get me wrong, but it was all casual with no single room being the focus of the year and no major destruction unfolded. Compared to 2016 and 2017 which included living without a kitchen for 18-months, the last year has been an actual BREEZE.
1. Fitting a New Kitchen at the In-Laws!
Technically, we’ve already started this project and in the last 12 months we’ve renovated two cupboards turning one into a pantry and the other into a laundry ‘room’. (Post coming soon). In the last couple of weeks, we’ve even arranged for a wall to be knocked down (yep, days before Christmas – are we mad?!), and had a nice new (secondhand) oven to be installed. OK, I’m a bit behind blogging all this – but we’re well into this project already! In 2019 we’ll be installing a whole new kitchen for them and probably redecorating the adjoining dining room too. It’s first up on our list for 2019, so watch this space!
2. Finishing the Living Room
This room STILL needs finishing despite having started it almost 10-months ago. The electrics in here need sorting, alcove units need building either side of the chimney, and those amazing original Victorian shutters also need restoring. So many little jobs we’ve been putting off. We need this room DONE before we move on with the house, so this is also up on our list of priorities for 2019!
3. Replace the Conservatory Window/Door Combo
Windows and doors are freaking expensive but this is something that has needed to be done since we moved in, almost 5-years ago. Currently, we have an odd mix of uPVC double glazing and rotten wood single glazing side-by-side. It’s weird. And it’s ugly.
We’ll be tearing the whole lot out and opting for one big double-glazed French door. Ideally, we’d like to buy second hand though, so this project does depend on being able to physically source a door. We have 12-months to find one though, so I’m quietly confident! Once this is done, the conservatory will be very almost finished – I just need to find a more suitable home for the lawnmower and treadmill *sigh*.
4. Begin Renovating the Basement
Last and biggest of all, we’ll be starting work in the basement(!!!!). Yep, I’m CRAZY EXCITED about this and it’s going to be a pretty big project, to say the least! Currently, we have zero electric down there and it’s basically a dusty dirty hole at the bottom of the house. Transforming this into something spectacular isn’t going to be quick nor easy. But it’s an amazing space with so much potential and was one of the major factors for us buying this over-budget house.
With three rooms to do-up down here, we plan on turning one into a ‘man cave’, another into a DIY workshop and finally one into an office space. We’d also REALLY like to add a small toilet, but we’ll have to see about that one. It’s gonna be hard work, dusty work and a whole new experience we’ve never done before, but I’m super excited to start causing chaos down here!
I’ll do a full ‘floor tour’ of the space soon, but here’s some little sneak peeks…
So that’s it, just four points this year, albeit four fairly big ones. We still have zero budget, of course, so apart from the in-laws’ kitchen (which of course, they’re paying for!) we’ll be working paycheque to paycheque as usual, so expect slow progress. But, I can’t wait to share it all with you!
And all will be coming soooooon…
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