43 Things in A Year

It’s been a year since we officially become the owners of our new house (though only about 10 months since we moved).

While the house was only about a dozen years old, it was pretty run down and neglected after being a rental all its life. So we bought it knowing it needed lots of TLC.

I really wanted this post to be called “a hundred things in a year” but try as I might I couldn’t make the list that long!

Forget what you see on the home reno and decorating shows, it all takes a lot longer than you think it will: talking to an architect specialising in home renovations; coordinating tradies; choosing patterns, styles and colours; waiting for stock to arrive; measuring up; keeping an eye on the budget. Let’s just say it’s not for the faint-hearted!

It still feels like we have a loooong way to go (especially when you compare it to my plans for the new house when we first moved in!) but here’s a list of 43 things we’ve achieved in the past twelve months, in no particular order.

1 – Got a tiler to replace a couple of broken floor tiles in the kitchen.

2 – Had the interior walls of the house painted in a colour called “Calcium” – a pale grey – with ceilings and trim in white.

3 – Ordered and installed catnet to enclose the downstairs patio.

4 – Got split system air conditioners installed in the master bedroom;

5 – My office;

6 – And our son’s bedroom.

7 – The house had bare bulbs throughout, so we got some light fittings;

8 – And while we were at it, we replaced all the old light bulbs with more energy efficient ones.

9 – We bought and hung block out curtains in the master bedroom (which faces east).

10 – We had a cabinet maker in to do some modifications in the kitchen to make it more usable, including a double door pantry (yippee!).

11 – Once we’d chosen the laminate we wanted, we also got him to instal an entertainment unit in the pool room;

12 – As well as a long desk, along one whole wall of my office.

13 – The carpets throughout have been replaced (we chose the one at the bottom of the pic below).

14 – We bought some wallpaper from Bunnings in a lovely linen texture, in a rose gold shade (with a hint of sparkle!) – seen here on their website;

15 – And had it hung on the wall where my desk was to be installed;

16 – As well as above the new entertainment unit (still need to finish putting the handles on, LOL).

17 – We had some extra power points installed.

18 – We removed the big round water tank at the back of the house (which we want to replace in the very near future with a more compact one).

19 – Outside, the husbear has been busy building a retaining wall at the back;

20 – And we recently had about ten truckloads of fill brought in to level out the slope of the backyard (next job: a load of topsoil and then turf!).

21 – We replaced all three of the toilets as they were in pretty bad shape.

22 – The husbear installed sunveil shades (which roll down) on the sliding glass doors in my office;

23 – As well as on the floor length kitchen window;

24 – And the downstairs sliding glass door.

25 – Although Miss Fleur liked looking out the glass panel beside the front door, we got sick of people staring in when they knocked at the door, so we have installed frosted glass instead for privacy.

26 – We replaced the (rusty!) toilet roll holders in all three bathrooms;

27 – As well as the towel rails.

28 – The husbear installed a mirrored cabinet in our ensuite.

29 – And we had to replace the exhaust fans in two of the bathrooms.

30 – Not long after we moved in, the neighbours got all the bamboo at the side chopped down, and then had all the stumps removed to ensure it didn’t return.  While it was definitely getting out of hand, getting rid of the bamboo also meant we lost the privacy on our deck so we installed some shade cloth.

31 – We bought and installed slimline grey venetian blinds in most of the windows (except the ones I’ve already mentioned).

32 – The husbear took out the shelf under the kitchen sink as it was half rotted anyway, and now we keep our rubbish bins there instead (which stops a certain little kitty from bin-diving and dragging rubbish all over the house).

33 – We’ve pruned all the trees in front of the house;

34 – As well as the overhanging branches from the neighbour’s place;

35 – Gernied the mold off the fence;

36 – And planted some low plants along the fence line.

37 – We moved the letter box to a more convenient spot.

38 – The husbear installed a decorative screen in the wall cutout that separates the entry from the stairs.

39 – We replaced all the door handles throughout the house with more modern ones.

40 – We’ve hung up our wedding portrait in our bedroom;

41 – And a decorative round shelf in the kitchen/dining area.

42 – We’ve also had a much nicer tap installed in the kitchen.

43 – And we’ve bought the fabric for the pelmets which the husbear is in the middle of making.

Still on the list and hopefully happening soon:

• getting the exterior of the house painted (but we are struggling to choose colours);
• having a patio built out the back in the L shape that is formed by the house and the garage;
• laying timber look flooring in the walk in wardrobe and walk in linen cupboard
• and about a hundred other things.

We had big plans to buy some new furniture but have really struggled to find anything we both like that doesn’t cost the earth, so that is taking a lot longer than we originally thought.

Thankfully most of the basics are now in place, so we can start adding those fun decorative touches.

It might feel like slow going, but what a difference twelve months has made!