House Tour - Before!

A little while ago I promised a bit of a "before" tour of our new house...well get ready, here it comes!

As you can imagine since moving in it's been eat, sleep, breathe house for me! I have already started planning colour schemes and curtains, ordered a few new bits of furniture and have set the husband to work on a some little jobs, but as you will see, we were lucky enough to have a good blank canvas to start with, even though most of it is the dreaded magnolia! Some of the rooms need more doing to them than others, so I will be making either a Product Board or a Room Edit for each room to show you how useful a plan can be. The Room Edit is my new product for 2018, and is a lite version of the original packages, for rooms that need a little freshen up or a helping hand to complete, rather than a full makeover. Stay tuned for more details on this new package and its launch on the website very soon.

Let's start the tour!

Hallway -

I think some fun can be had with colour in this hallway! A fresh coat of paint and a few finishing touches, not a lot needs doing here.

Living Room -

There are some really nice original features in this room - ceiling rose, picture rail, mouldings, skirting boards and large south facing window. Needs painting (magnolia at the moment!) and a window treatment. And new lights are a must!

Dining Room -

This room is definitely going to be the biggest challenge. It REALLY needs painting. It is north facing, it does have a window and a large patio window to the left of the fire, but it is a dark room and the dark red feature wall does not do it any favours, as well as making it feel in my opinion, like a pub! It also needs new curtains and blinds which will help the light situation and as in the living room, new lights. The cupboard is an original feature of the house, so we are keeping this, not entirely sure what we are doing with it yet but needs a little TLC internally. This room leads through to the kitchen, so it is in danger of becoming a walk-through if it is not used correctly.

Utility -

Nice as it is but I'm tempted to go a bit wild with colour in here as it is a tiny space! It is at the top of the stairs that lead down to the kitchen, which may need a hand rail.

Kitchen -

Having a kitchen in the basement is proving fun and has a lovely exposed stone wall. It has been finished really nicely, so it may have a fresh coat of paint at some point, maybe some tiles but a few finishing touches like some blinds is all it really needs for now. It also has a pantry!

Stairs and landing -

The stairs leading from the ground floor hallway take you to a small landing with a glazed door that leads across a bridge to the garden! There is also the main landing. All magnolia, so needs painting and I think it is crying out for some wow-factor lighting. All of the rooms need some artwork for the walls, but the plan for this space is to have a bit of a gallery feel, with plenty of frames and collections of imagery.

Bathroom -

Just like the kitchen, the bathroom has been finished nicely. Very little needs doing in here initially so this is probably the bottom of the list for any re-design as it is totally functioning. New tiles would be nice rather than the plain white.

Guest Room -

Like the dining room below it, this is north facing and a little dark, but has a nice large window in need of a new blind. I don't care for the colour, mixture of magnolia and a pale green feature wall. It has a built in wardrobe but this currently does not make the most of its size and will require new doors. Nice original fireplace in this room.

Master Bedroom -

Another lovely original fireplace, skirting boards and window, the same as the lounge. Not a bad view to wake up to as well. Magnolia again! A replacement radiator would be great (this room and the landing are the only two which aren't column radiators). As the window is set in an alcove, a window treatment that does not block any light is required. The broken wall mounted TV has already gone, it was down within minutes of arriving!

Attic -

Another set of stairs lead up to the converted attic which is already being used as the Pink Couch studio because, look at that light! We will also have a futon up here, so some blinds will be needed on the Velux, but other than the coat of paint to get rid of more magnolia, this room needs very little attention.

And that's it! Ideas for the house started even before we moved in. It is really important to make plans and lists so that you know what needs immediate attention and what doesn't. I have started painting swatches for new wall colours (always on large pieces of paper, never straight on to the wall, don't make more work for yourself!) and tier on tier shutters have been ordered for the master bedroom and living room, which will be installed next month. I will be sharing the boards I make for all the rooms and some before and after shots so keep your eyes peeled for updates! If you have just moved house or are starting a renovation or redecoration, check out the available design packages on the website which can help get your ideas ready for your project.