This is my second week to join Photo Friday, hosted by DeliciousBaby.com.
This is also the week that I’ve had my first big home improvement project, commissioned and overseen entirely by me. I used to think Americans loved home improvement. Then I moved here.
In the UK, doing up one’s house is a second job for most of the women I know. One friend had bought, fixed up, and sold several houses while still in her 20s. Currently another friend has left the journalism world to focus on her career as a property developer. She’s starting small with local flats, but I expect in five years she’ll be on to apartment buildings and large-scale developments.
It’s normal here to dig out a basement under the entirety of your house; to add a storey or two at the top; to turn a kitchen into an orangery/commercial-style kitchen with children’s lounge area and underfloor heating. All the while coordinating Farrow & Ball paint colours and joinery tradesmen.
Frankly, the whole thing exhausts me. Doing up a house has always seemed like a truly adult pursuit – one I’ve never felt quite grown-up enough to undertake on my own. That’s probably why our kitchen dates back to the Eighties and our ensuite shower room still has carpet and electric blue walls – the equivalent of a wide-lapel Tony Manero suit.
But my need for built-in bookcases has finally overcome my fears. I didn’t undertake this myself (goodness no!). I got quotes, interviewed project managers, made a mood board (I know, I know…). And this week three men came to scribe in some lovely shelves that were specifically made for me.
Like most projects, there are loose ends – a few cracks that need filling, a round hole to be drilled for electrical wires. Still, I find myself giddy with delight and anticipating the moment when I can start using the bookcase. I may not yet be grown-up, but at last I’ll have my collection arranged, floor to picture rail, on the shelves, all the spines perfectly aligned.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, they’ll be painted Lichen.
Ha – I was just going to say that the difference with American women who DIY – is that they get someone else in to do it!
I’m all about getting someone else to do it. Those people who gut their entire house and decide where to place every last electrical outlet? Kudos, but get that away from me!
Oh dear, I don’t DIY. Much to overwhelming for me. Hats off to you.
Sonja – it’s sooo easy.
Step 1: Live here for 10 years.
Step 2: Get fed up with constant clutter. Step 3: Hire someone.
Done and dusted.
I LOVE completed house improvements it’s whilst they’re a work in progress that it grates my nerves.
Nice chippie you got there 😉
Yeah, I tried not to hang around too often, offering cups of tea and back massages…
What’s a mood board? I like home improvement projects…although for that I would need a home of my own as I’m simply renting. Perhaps someday soon!
A mood board is where you collect all those little scraps that inspire you – a paint chip, a picture torn from a magazine, fabric swatches, etc – and use them to create your “colour scheme” or “vision”.
Yeah…
We want pics of the finished product!