A new year list of house plans

Really, the list is never ending, isn't it?

Hello! How are you all? It’s been lovely having some writing down time over the festive season, but it’s also now lovely to be back.

Welcome to new subscribers who have kindly signed up to receive my words, there are quite a few of you now and I’m very grateful for the support. I launched House Chats at the end of last year, so head over and introduce yourself – I would love to know more about you. It’s almost a year since I began this little Substack and I’m excited about where it will go in 2024.

Speaking of, with a new year comes lots of lists. If you’ve read The Home I Made for a little while, you probably won’t be surprised by that. You won’t find any wellness/gym-going/diet lists here though. I’m more interested in house jobs and opportunities to shop for new cushions and the like. My ‘first week of January’ list went something like this (written while likely eating crackers and leftover Stilton and side-eyeing Toffee Pennies):

• Get electrician quote

• Charity shop drop (of things I have finally cleared out of the spare bedroom)

• Hang art print upstairs

• Home insurance renewal (yawn)

• Christmas decs down and back in the loft (I love that start of year clear up, don’t you?)

For my first post of 2024, I had thought about doing something loosely titled ‘Why do things always happen when you least want them to?’ Catchy, no? The thought came after a string of house fails that have stalled things I actually wanted to do and instead we’ve had to react to the oven going kaputt, non-compliant electrics that need sorting pronto and an upstairs bathroom pipe that literally howls when the downstairs loo is flushed. You can laugh, it’s ok. My bank manager probably is.

This all follows a replacement front door after the previous one jammed shut and a garden fence that succumbed to one of the mighty storms we’ve had. This house is 24 years old, which is by no means old, but I think we’ve reached the point of its bones starting to creak. It needs a bit of TLC, not just a facelift.

But instead of a newsletter wallowing in house pity, I’m looking on the bright side.

While not on the timeframe initially imagined, these unexpected works present an opportunity to make changes piece-by-piece where they are most needed. It’s not the room-by-room approach I’d prefer, but that’s life. Things go wrong with houses and ‘fun’ projects get put on hold.

I do have house plans for 2024 though.

We began our bedroom makeover towards the end of last year so that is well underway with new carpet going down imminently and finishing touches being added. I’m on the hunt for bedside tables, which, I’ve discovered, I am pretty particular about (some storage, not bulky, enough room for a lamp, alarm, trinket and book, no oak otherwise it’s all too matchy-matchy). Recommendations very welcome.

New carpet is also going throughout upstairs and on the stairs and landing, so there’s a lot of painting to be done before that. The installation is going to be a beast of a job because, well, we live here and each room is filled with furniture that will need to be juggled to make way for the fitters. We’ve gone for a ‘split-fit’ (a new term I’ve learned) so it’ll be done across two days, a Monday and Thursday, giving us time to turn rooms around in preparation.

The spare bedroom will get a coat of Tahitian Vanilla by Valspar as a warm off-white that can be personalised forthwith. And I’m not 100% sure on what I want for the stairs and landing yet, so it’s the skirting boards only for now. Needless to say, it’ll be a very careful DIY job when I do finally nail my vision and work can begin. I’m pondering wallpaper instead of paint, as it happens.

As well as fixing questionable electrics (hence list item ‘get electrician quote’ above), the wall lights in the dining area are getting an update. They’re currently naff plaster shell designs that I hate (to put it lightly), so they’ll be replaced with a matt black and leather style I’ve found and the outlets repositioned slightly to make way for a dresser.

While a bit disjointed, it’s a list of jobs that will push some rooms closer towards completion and kick start others, which is exciting. The reality of moving house and putting your stamp on the place is that s**t happens and the money only goes so far. I think it pays to remember that, especially when so often faced with beautiful interiors online (and, for me, through my job).

What is it they say, things happen in threes? What with the door, fence, oven, electrics and plumbing, I’m not sure you can apply that to houses. The list of to-dos really is never ending.

What are your 2024 house plans?

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