This is the year I do up my house

This year I am really trying to get back to my once organised self. Living day to day can have its benefits but if you are trying to achieve certain things then it can be difficult and this is where forward planning comes into it’s own.

I’ve been spurred on by the Lloyds Bank Make It Happen in 2014 app on their Facebook page… So this is the year I do up my house, well at the very least my dining room and hopefully I will have made a start on plans for the kitchen and bathroom.

Dining Room

The plan

• Move the kitchen door over into the middle of the kitchen to give us more usable workspace within the kitchen, this will also enable us to place a bookcase where the doorway currently is in the dining room.
• Remove and replace all doors, skirting boards and architrave
• Take up floorboards and access floor joists (we have a spring in our step when we walk), replace where necessary. If floorboards are past their best then replace with tongue and groove flooring boards.
• Re-plaster the entire room
• Paint walls, ceilings, skirting boards, architrave and doors
• Install a blind and curtains
• Decide whether to have carpet or a wooden floor
• Throw a dinner party to show off my newly transformed dining room!

How I am going to make it happen?

• Ask friends and family for recommendations on builders. I feel it is important to get personal recommendations as they are more likely to be honest about any issues they had with them.
  • I have placed a message on my Facebook page to ask my friends and family for recommendations.
• Contact and gain quotes from at least three different building firms to access the average cost of the work involved. This will give me an idea of cost and time frames involved for the work to be completed.
  • Awaiting builders details from friends and family, although I have two builders details that I need to contact to arrange quotes.
• Make decisions about doors, skirting board, architrave and handles that will be used
  • I bulk bought door handles when we renovated our bedrooms last year and would like to use the same doors, skirting board and architrave that we used upstairs to give the house a uniform feel.
• Gather ideas of furniture and accessories I would like within the dining room
  • I have made a dining room mood board with ideas of linens, accessories and furniture I would like to include within the room.

Wish me luck!