Life lately...

So, nearly another month passed...I never guessed it would be taking me this long to be posting any progress around this little Victorian house. But, when one is juggling a full-time job, things seem to take a little longer than anticipated.

There has been some action, albeit small and incomplete...

I've been enjoying the budleija in the garden (as evidenced above) - however, that is the last of these blooms that I'll enjoy this year, as I dug it out of the garden today. Budleija's can grow up to 6-7m and it was in a really inconvenient place in the garden, so out it went...

Speaking of the garden, some other changes have also been occurring...

The horrible blue shed at the bottom of the garden is now a much more subtle shade. In the photo above on the right the door is still blue, but that has now also been painted. Some of the larger shrubs have been removed. I still have two more to dig out, and then I can move into  re-planting mode.

The hall cupboard has also had a temporary makeover...

The dreadfully dirty and filled with cobwebs space has had a coat of white paint and some new shelves installed. You just need to close your eyes to the hot-water tank and copper pipes. When I eventually get the boiler replaced, this water tank will become obsolete - and at that point the hall cupboard can have a proper makeover. But, at least I am no longer averse to storing my linen in there.

It has even been 'prettied' with some lavender that I cut from the front garden and dried...

I had an excellent electrician spend the day here a few weeks ago. Not only did he confirm that my wiring is in fairly decent shape (hurrah!), but he also installed a range of light-fittings for me. The previous owners had taken all of their fittings with them just leaving a bulb and flex.

Now I have three flush-mount chandeliers in-situ (sitting room, dining room and bedroom). These were £60 each from BHS - which I thought was a bit of a bargain. The electrician will be coming back in a few weeks to fit the lights in the bathroom and replace the front porch lantern.

The kitchen will be the first room to receive a proper makeover - albeit it temporary. Eventually, I plan to extend the kitchen out further into the garden, but in the mean time it will be receiving new paint, tiles, light and a new sink and tap. I'm gradually extending my diy skills. Recently, I've been learning how to remove backsplash tiles. The orange/red/mustard/pink glass mosaic tiles are on their way out...

And finally, I have a new friend. She has been a regular visitor ever since I moved in. So much so that I originally thought she might have been lost. As it turns out, she belongs to a neighbour two doors up from me. However, it appears that she just likes to make herself at home in everyone's house.

Introducing Harper...

House tour - the before...

It has now been 4 weeks since I completed on the house and have finally found time to take some photos in its 'before' state. These photos just make me realise how much work I have to do over the next year, but even with the week away in Edinburgh, some activity has been occurring.

So far I have:

• Finally booked a roofer to repair the chimneys (this is a requirement of the mortgage company) - that will be occurring in early August.
• Had a builder come to quote for some of the internal work (and garage repairs), but am still awaiting the quote back from him.
• Had the tv aerial reinstated.
• Suffered two weeks without a phone line and very patchy internet - though that problem was solved this morning (it took this long as the telephone engineers only work Mon-Fri during business hours...which is not particularly conducive when one works full-time).
• Arranged for an electrician to visit next week to start replacing the light fittings, and re-site some of the electrical sockets.
• Arranged for a quote for installation of shutters in the main bedroom and bathroom.

Various paint samples have also been ordered so that I can start painting as soon as the building repairs/electrical work has been completed. The previous owners made some 'interesting' choices with colours as you will see from the photos.

Anyway, here is the house in its current state...

Sitting room - I am just turning a blind eye to the fact that my duck-egg blue sofa clashes horribly with the olive green walls...

Dining room - this is one of the closed up chimney breasts that has some damp issues

The very bijou kitchen - it was like tetris fitting in my kitchenware (as three of the cupboards in this photo are actually the refrigerator, the washing machine and the boiler). The longer-term plan will be to knock through the back wall and extend the kitchen further into the garden.

The hall - both the yellow walls and the striped carpet will be going in time

The main bedroom (complete with mis-matched bed linen and temporary curtain arrangements). There are issues with this chimney also - I'll be reinstating a fire place (when I hear back from the builder...)

There is a second bedroom as well, but that is currently full of boxes that are yet to be unpacked. 

Bathroom - fixtures are in reasonable condition, but the blue walls will be going asap

The back garden - complete with some very overgrown shrubs.

Most of the work I've done to date has been in the garden. Some of these shrubs have already been pulled out and the hedge trimmed. Most of the rest of the shrubs will also be coming out in order to place proper garden borders, and planting more in scale with the size of the garden. The garden shed will also be changing colour.

So, this is the starting point - hopefully, things will start to noticeably change over the coming months...