My Flat in Progress: March 2017

Time for another DIY update!

In March my flat took two steps forwards and one step back, as we ticked a whole bunch of DIY jobs off the list but also uncovered some new ones that needed doing - which was, as I'm sure you can imagine, rather frustrating.

We swapped the bright pink blind in the kitchen for some plain but functional curtains, plus voiles for privacy (because if I can see into the kitchens of the houses across the way they can definitely see into mine).

The curtains were a great find, really thick and cheap as chips as they'd been discontinued and heavily discounted. We hung them up quickly without taking the time to properly pull the cords and I am slightly embarrassed to admit that a year later this is a task that remains undone! I shall have to add that to my To Do list.

The purple blind in the spare room got replaced with lovely grey curtains and more voiles (which had been sticking out from below the curtains like this for a whole year until writing this blog post shamed me into finally turning them up)...

 

... and we took down the old curtain track from the living room bay window to give it a good scrub (which it very much needed!) so we could save a few quid and avoid buying a new one.

 

After sanding and filling them in February, we painted the window frames in the living room a lovely fresh gloss white which made them look so good that I still actively enjoy dusting them (this probably makes me a total weirdo, doesn't it?).

Elsewhere we put up new smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, cleaned doors and scrubbed windows, and I got a new (actually waterproof) shower curtain (after discovering, via puddles on the bathroom floor after long showers, that my previously purchased shower curtain was only "water resistant").

Juggling work and life and DIY continued to be a bit chaotic, with the spare bed under a dustsheet...

 

... the landing full of craft supplies...

 

... boxes piling up in my bedroom...

 

... and DIY detritus everywhere.

Running my business was also still an interesting challenge, as my work and my home renovation competed for time, space and daylight. It led to some funny moments though, like the morning when I photographed one project while my dad was sitting on the floor next to me painting skirting boards, each of us carefully trying not to bump into the other!

As well as painting the skirting boards in the living room, we painted over the replastered areas of the living room walls (see February's post for in-progress pics), began painting the wall surrounding the window... and discovered a whole other section of wall in need of some TLC.

Then (most frustratingly) we made the error of saying "all we need to do now is paint the skirting boards and we'll be able to get carpet down in the spare room!" and immediately discovered more plaster in need of repair.

Working on a big project like this - doing a bit here and a bit there and finding new tasks to add to your list along the way - it can sometimes feel like you're not making any progress at all. But slowly, gradually, you're moving towards the finish line... and looking back at these photos makes me realise how far we've come already!

I'll be blogging about the rest of our Spring 2017 progress sometime soon. In the meantime, follow the links to catch up with December & January and February.