It’s been a whole year. I cannot believe it. This time last year we had painted the kitchen (we did this on day 1) and spent the first 4 days stripping wallpaper from the bedrooms and painting them. We wanted to get the bedrooms painted as soon as possible. Since then we have done so much and we have so much to do. Here’s a report of our year in before and after shots.

Dining area

The only things we have changed so far, since moving in, is the light fitting and adding curtains. My ideas area to have a different door installed as this one is really difficult to open. I would love some patio doors that open up and so we can bring our new decking area in. If that makes sense. We also need to strip the wallpaper and paint the walls. We have a beautiful dining set from Noa & Nani, it’s the Hever Dining Table and comes with 5 chairs and a bench. We can therefore sit 8 around the table comfortably. Which we quite often do. We are rejigging the furniture around this weekend, so I will have an update on this space for you.

Before (the day we moved in)

Dining room before

After

Dining room after

Living room

As with the dining room we haven’t really changed too much in the living room yet. We stripped the wallpaper off on our first weekend. I have updated the wall lights, curtain pole and curtains. We have got a nice rug and soft furnishings. My ideas are to remove the fireplace and get a faux log burner, I love the idea of having a log burner but they are expensive to install.

Before (the day we moved in)

Living room before

After (excuse the birthday presents and cards)

Living room after

Kitchen

I feel like the kitchen is one of the major areas we have changed. We haven’t done renovation work as such, it’s more decor and cosmetic changes. We painted the yellow walls on Day 1. We have changed the flooring to Luxury Vinyl Tiles and I painted the cupboard doors with Frenchic AL Fresco range, the colour is Cool Beans. We still need to remove the wall tiles (as I despise them) and get new worktops. Lots to do, but it’s all fun.

Before (the day we moved in)

After

Hallway

I laughed when we looked at the hallway, the rug was glued to the carpet so that it wouldn’t move. I get it – but it did make us laugh. We have changed the flooring, this is the same as the kitchen and I have painted all the woodwork. Dazzle me and City Slicker from the Frenchic Al Fresco range. We still need to strip the wallpaper, it’s a big job so we have been saving it. I am going to attempt to paint the door with Frenchic in the Spring too – currently thinking a Sage Green. Very excited.

Before

I had installed the light fitting and curtains in this photo, this was before I painted the bannister.

After

Downstairs toilet

The downstairs toilet had a purple wallpapered pattern with purple tiles around the sink area. We updated the toilet roll holder and towel rail with a modern design and a new toilet seat. It’s amazing how just that can make a difference. I used tile stickers to cover the old designs, this worked well as a quick solution and I painted the walls a green colour. Family vote and green won!

Before

After

Bathroom

This room was one that we made a major change. We knocked down a wall and created one large bathroom as opposed to having a separate toilet and shower room. We kept the shower as it was newly installed. We have literally changed everything except the shower! Painted the walls white, new wall tiles and floor tiles, new toilet and sink suite. Then, the focal point – my rolltop bath. There are more details in my bathroom post (link above).

Before

After

Master bedroom

We are very nearly finished with the master bedroom and I will reveal all in a separate post in a couple of weeks. We have transformed this space by being a little creative on a limited budget. We stripped the wallpapers, changed the flooring using Carpetright Luxury Vinyl Tiles and painted the cupboards with Frenchic. I cannot wait to show off the room properly one year in.

Before

After

Isla’s bedroom

This room looks completely different, you can see more in the bedroom makeover post. We stripped the wallpaper, changed the carpets (which we did ourselves) and got her a new bed with storage.

Before

After

Noah’s bedroom

Noahs bedroom looks really different too, we stripped the wallpaper and painted the walls. We replaced the carpets and are trying to make the best use of the space with furniture.

Before

After

boy

Utility room

This space is currently unchanged. I have no before or after shots really. We are currently looking at floor tiles, to replace the funky 70’s tiles that we can have at the moment. I have a bit of damp on the walls in this room, so we need to treat this with a damp presentation paint. I am up cycling the units in here too so it looks nice. The brown units are useful but not the colour for me!

Before (the day we viewed the house)

Current floor

Back garden

When we moved in our garden had a fish pond, rockery, greenhouse and a pagoda area. All of which we have removed. We have decked the patio areas to cover where the fish pond once was. We still have to patio the area where the rockery was, my ideas are to have a rattan corner sofa in this space as its get the sun in the late afternoons. We have also painted the fences grey.

Before (the day we moved in)

When we got rid of the fish in the pond (February 2019)

After (once we had decked the garden)

This was before we painted the face, it shows the removal of the greenhouse and pagoda.

Front garden

We haven’t done a lot to the front garden, we have taken out some bushes so that we can both park next to each other on the drive way. Instead of behind each other. My ideas are to take away some of the shrubs and make the parking area better and making a real home for the bins.

We still have so much more to do but this is where we are one year in. It’s been an exciting journey and we have done so much more than I thought we would do. I wonder what another one year will look like.

What do you think?

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

4 Comments
  • Ruth Amy Wollerton
    Sunday, February 9, 2020

    Love your house, it’s so gorgeous xxx

  • Sarah Roberts
    Sunday, February 9, 2020

    It looks lovely! so nice adding your own heart and soul to a new home!

  • Carolyn E
    Thursday, March 12, 2020

    That’s amazing – what a transformation in a year! I especially like the tiles in the loo, and the hallway. Hallways are so tricky to make stylish but this is fab!

  • Piano Bulding
    Saturday, July 9, 2022

    Thank you for the post on your blog. Do you provide an RSS feed?