garden | Over The Backyard Fence

For the first time in what seems like months, the Joneses house is relatively dust-free having come through what AJ jokingly calls phase one of our refurbishment/redecoration plans. He has threatened to send me back to work as, since retiring last year, I keep coming up with ideas for the house. He says the words he dreads to hear are “I’ve been thinking…”

Hmm, maybe I have been thinking quite a lot recently, but it’s such fun 🙂

Since August last year we’ve had the bedrooms, landing and hallway redecorated and new carpets fitted. We also decided to do something about the living room floor’s stripped floorboards which had seen better days. With last winter being sooooo cold, we noticed there were several gaps between the boards causing draughts. After much deliberation, we decided to have a new wooden floor laid by local fitters. AJ wanted it laid on the diagonal but I wasn’t too sure. I’m very pleased he managed to persuade me because I love the result.

In the way of things, it left our battered old doors looking very sad, so they were replaced too. All this work was well overdue and mostly the house had been pretty neglected for several years while we were both working.

This week saw completion of the kitchen refurbishment. The kitchen is exactly what I hoped for. We had it completely replaced a few years back, but because we were at work and were unable to supervise the job several things were completed which I hadn’t really wanted. The company who carried out the work went bust shortly after completing our kitchen and we discovered that sub-standard appliances had been fitted which left us with a non-functioning cooker and a sink that looked perpetually grubby despite continued cleaning. Now, thanks to a really great local company, we have new quality appliances, a worktop I am totally in love with, a breakfast bar and extra cupboards. It still needs finishing touches, like window blinds and breakfast stools, but I’m very pleased with it.

Of course, the problem with renovating/redecorating is it soon eats through the bank balance, so I’ve promised AJ to stop thinking for a while so both he and his wallet can recover. I’m not totally ready to be project free though and am planning to start work on the garden next. I want to try my hand at re-laying the patio and have already bought some ready-mix concrete, decorative pebbles and various tools and bits and pieces. Plus, inspired by Kit’s gorgeous and colourful garden, I have a list of bulbs and perennials to plant throughout the garden. All that should keep me busy for a while.

How about you? Do you like refurbishing your home? Hate it? What has been your favourite/least favourite project?