Oh, hello! Welcome to my favourite pastime. I’m never happier than when I’m doing a spot of DIY! You name it, I’ve done it. Though that’s actually not true, as SirThomas Beecham once said ‘Try everything once except folk dancing and incest’!
On the DIY front though I have more or less tried everything. From plastering to tiling. Plumbing to electrics. Decorating, sewing, and more. You’ll find it all here.
My garden as you know, needs tending. And that’s an understatement! Having spent almost 10 weeks working on the front of the house at the start of lockdown it’s time to tackle the inevitable that is our back garden. It can no longer be ignored. But with such a dump to transform at first I didn’t know where to start. I was overwhelmed. And so I started with the smallest area there was. A tiny patio area by the outside tap. With a plan in my head to re create a street cafe vibe in Naples. Ever on a budget and with garden furniture being rarer that rocking horse sh*t I decided it needed a pair of benches. I mean how hard can it be to make them? Turns out it’s relatively easy, so here’s an easy DIY on how to make a cheap but stylish Garden Bench. Continue Reading…
This post is sponsored by Schneider Electric. Well what a year we’ve had so far though it seems that many of us are using the extra time on our hands and putting it to good use. Millions of us are getting to grips with DIYs and making home improvements. Our homes are working harder than ever for us and it seems we are doing the same for them in return. In fact a detailed report in the Property Reporter says at least one in ten of us has cracked on with a DIY job or two in the last few months. So much so that DIY stores are bucking the trend and thankfully business is booming. So to celebrate us as nation of DIYer’s this September is National Home Improvement Month and I’ll be working with Schneider Electric on a few home improvements of my own. Continue Reading…
Part of my 2020 wishlist is to improve the kerb appeal of my home. It looks dated. So after spending time repointing all our old Devon stone walls. Which by the way has taken nearly two years to complete factoring in the weather! I am now turning my attention to the front of the house with the aim of improving my homes kerb appeal. To be honest it needs it too. I’ve left all those little tasks far too long. Having painted the front door I’m onto cleaning our driveway. At 23 years old it’s lost its colour. And has weeds a plenty between the pavers as well as numerous stains. So I thought I’d share restoring a block paved driveway with you. An easy how to that doesn’t cost the earth or take that much effort to do either.
Post contains gifted items. Built in 1894 our home needs some outdoor attention every five years or so. Last summer though it quickly became apparent that after living here nearly 23 years some big DIY’s need adding to the ever growing to do list. The front bay windows are looking sad and the paint has bubbled in places, the roof above them is leaking into the dining room, the Devon stone boundary wall (I made a start on repointing this last year) is falling down in places and the front door is cracked and looking rather less than glamorous. So this spring and summer is operation improve the kerb appeal! Though what at first seemed to be a flick over with a paint brush is quickly escalating to a full 2nd exterior renovation. Today I’m sharing with you my how to paint a panelled front door for a perfect finish. Continue Reading…
As part of operation improve the kerb appeal of my home, I thought let’s strip the paint off the window sill, because that’s a good idea! Why of why did I say that?? It turns out that in places the only thing keeping my rotted windows held together is in fact the paint! Removing over 120 years of built up paint was the least of my worries. Beneath what looks like in tact paint was rot! And lots of it too. So after my initial WTF expletives of which there were many. I dug deep telling myself that this is ok. I’ve got this. And do know what? I have. I thought how hard can it be to repair a rotten window. And apart from taking time it turns out that it’s quite simple and affordable too.
