Welcome to my outside spaces. Packed full of DIY’s and How To’s, I’m helping you to make your outdoor spaces as stunning and inviting as your indoor ones.
Our homes should be an extension of our own personalities and that goes for outside too. Let’s make every our homes beautiful, one budget friendly step at a time. And get a healthy dose of vitamin D whilst we are at it.
After Spending what felt like months improving the kerb appeal of the front of the house it’s time to start on the back. The dreaded area that is my back garden. Now I have always said that I would never share my back garden. To say it needs tending is rather an under statement. I mean I have dandelions and bare patches of earth where there should be a lawn. I have more dandelions a plenty coming up through the patio. Three outhouses and a lean to that are falling down. And a back door hanging off! So rather than feeling overwhelmed I have broken the garden down into areas and with a make do and mend attitude I am making a start. And to add a bit of RFW magic I’m adding some DIY Gold Leaf Planters. Continue Reading…
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…
Once upon a time, long long ago I vowed never to share my garden on here or Instagram. Somewhere half way between council tip and car breakers yard it is the bane of my life along with being a constant embarrassment. And believe me it takes a special skill to create this amount of havoc. When the boys were tiny I kept it ticking over. And then somehow it just stopped being used apart from the odd BBQ. Then the dreaded car phase started. They all want a classic and to do them up. Only they didn’t want to tidy up. So I closed the back door only stepping foot into the garden when absolutely necessary, trying to avoid looking left or right at the ever increasing ‘Stig Of The Dump’ vibe. So now I’m putting my brave pants on. Here are my makeover plans for our Victorian walled garden. Continue Reading…
Contains Gifted Item. Now anybody that knows me will almost certainly know that I am a self confessed serial plant killer. I try so hard to keep them alive. I have no idea how I manage it but ultimately on the whole they die. Usually within a couple of weeks. You may also know/not know my love of all things Italian. The country, the language, the effortless style of the population and OMG, the food. From pizza to pasta, risotto and everything in between. I would quite happily only eat Italian food for the rest of my life. So you can imagine one of the key ingredients that is always available in my kitchen is Basil. Every week I buy a new pot from the Supermarket and every week I throw one away. And that got me thinking, how to make supermarket basil last longer and keep it alive??? Continue Reading…
Kerb Appeal – 10 Ways to Improve the Appearance of Your Home. The common saying, ‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ cannot be said of our homes. The one thing we definitely do when house hunting is make a decision almost instantly based on the outside of a property. How a house looks from the outside not only tends to let us know how well looked after it is but it also gives clues to the inside and its treasures. Kerb appeal coined by many an estate agent over the years isn’t something mythical or unobtainable. If you follow these 10 simple and affordable steps you too can improve the appearance of your home and it’s kerb appeal. Continue Reading…
