House Envy... and Refection!

A couple of weeks ago I was visiting a friend of mine from work, and we were meeting for coffee at her home for the first time.  She lives in a gorgeous, 4 bedroom detached house and despite having 3 children, her house was beautiful and immaculate and new and clean.

I had immediate house envy.

As we chatted and caught up on gossip I couldn't help but glance around the interior of her house and thinking, "wow" - everything was so tidy and perfect-looking. 

Later, as I was driving home, I thought of my own little house.  Our three bedroom mid terrace that we bought two years past, from a little old lady who had lived in it since it was built over 60 years ago.

At first I was feeling a little inadequate that our home isn't beautiful and immaculate and new and clean.

Then I got to thinking ... well, it may not be all of those things - but it is all of these things:  Cosy and welcoming, bright and colourful, relaxed and friendly, homemade ... a home.

We've worked really hard to get our home the way we want it.  It's a constant work in progress - we're limited to the funds we have available to spend and the time we have to give to these sorts of projects.  So I sat back and had a good think about the progress that has been made - and we've achieved an awful lot in the last two years!

Let me share our bathroom as an example.

This was our bathroom when we moved in.  Yes - that really is wallpaper on the walls and the bath panel.  Not to our taste - to say the least!

It had to get worse before it could get better, of course.  Fortunately I have an uncle who is amazing at all sorts of home improvements.  He helped us install the shower (not easy, given the solid brick walls).  We couldn't afford to replace the bathroom suite so we were working with what we had as best we could.

My husband learned about tiling so he could tile the bathroom for us and save us paying a tradesman to complete the work.

We learned a lot as we went along.  Washing my hair in the sink for three weeks whilst this work was completed was testing, to say the least.

But we got there in the end!

A modern, colourful, cheery family bathroom.  Functional, practical - and fun too.  Just what we had wanted.

Sometimes it's good to reflect back on how you got to where you are, don't you think?  I certainly appreciate my home a lot more after my recent reflections!

Best Wishes
Debbie