If your house is "nice" inside how did you get it that way

[Designless]

Do you know lots of good workmen, did you get lucky calling them in, are you really good at stuff yourself?

I've only ever lived with chaotic stuff that's in various states of disrepair. If I get a new kitchen the hall needs plastering and the bathroom is falling apart and it's an endless cycle. I've never lived somewhere that's just all nice and fresh.

Teach me your ways!!!

I live alone and I'm quite careful. Although I'm a keen cook, my kitchen - including the kickboards - still look fairly new. I'm sure it would be different if I had children and pets!

@GreenCaterpillarOnALeafthrow in a mechanic and you’re living my dream. Praying my sons go into trades!

(I only have sons before I sound sexist!)

DS loves his cars and trucks so I’m hoping in a few years he will take it up so I can have a complete set of useful men. Then I will be unstoppable.

You have to prioritise your house. Spend the money AND time on whatever room needs doing, and not spend it on another holiday etc. It's an investment not just in your house, but you and your family's wellbeing - feeling happy about being "at home".

Plus money and a network of handymen of course (or you teach yourself skills from YouTube). But being prepared to spend the time (and money if you have it) is key.

What's the difference between hairy pets and furry ones please?

I spent a lot on bathroom fittings and I've been very disappointed with the quality and I'm not convinced cheaper ones would have performed any worse.

Love YouTube but also love my local paint shop - Brewers, from the staff and fellow customers who quite often are professional decorators, I've had great advice.

Just finished renovation - large Georgian 4 bed - redid kitchen, 2 bathrooms , hall, utility and beds. Spent a lot but it was in our budget and we bought furniture mostly from antique auctions and Facebook marketplace with modern soft furnishings. I found a brilliant upholsterer and I upcycled a number of pieces - Frenchic black is amazing for modernizing old pieces- we sourced good tradesmen, didn't quibble about prices as they were reasonable and paid immediately we received the invoices. We also tipped a bit which meant they come back at short notice ( things go wrong in old houses - A LOT). We used a company that did everything for the bathrooms - cost a bit but they coordinated all the tradesmen and did a stunning job.

Brilliant builders, stripping right back to the brick and rebuilding, an interior designer and, to paraphrase Blackadder III, flipping great wadges of cash.

I learnt DIY by watching my dad as a kid. Do one room at a time and take your time, don’t overwhelm yourself. I watch plenty of tutorials on youtube & tiktok too if I get stuck.

Judging price to pay for quality over for example paying for nice design is tricky

Or a lot of spare time - our house is quite nice and everything done, it took us 10 years though 😭

Finding quality goods is tricky full stop - even brands that have previously been known for quality can downgrade their quality standards - it's not exactly something they'll shout about.

Just remembered an old saying which is pertinent to house improvements/jobs -
It can be CHEAP, QUICK or GOOD, but never all 3

Oh I know it’s more luck than anything - as out bathroom sink shows - although since I rarely wear glasses in the bathroom it’s not a problem

not the best solution I guess !

My DH can do pretty much anything.

I’m good at DIY and have good tools. Eg I have 8 drills accumulated over the years. I did an engineering degree and PhD. I measure once, twice, three times and sit on things and sleep on them. I think them through carefully. Eg we have taken on an allotment. We needed a shed, we looked at positions on the plot, size, ground, water, shade etc it changed position 4 times. Paving slabs marking it out.
Once we had the size we looked at sheds - we fancied a lovely one which was £1500 great reviews. But it’s an allotment £1500 just for the shed - nope! We looked at plastic we looked at different wood sheds we read reviews it was a project. Which way do we want the door, open towards us but left or right. Did we want a window or not. The shed base is finished today it goes up tomorrow. 4 days to dig it out (it’s off the plot) after we cleared away the huge overgrown brambles that weren’t part of our plot but the allotment society - were so impressed with our clearing of a shitty allotment they said absolutely build your shed there it’s a waste area. We got permission in writing got people to double check its position and that they were happy. Dug it out. Chicken wire down x3 layers, anti weed matting, grids, pea gravel - it is beautifully level - how much in total £100 for grids £30 for gravel and £240 for our shed so £370 and £10 in paint. The bench that was free off a local Facebook group and I’ve sanded it and painted it a matching colour in the meanwhile. In the two months from start of allotment to now - we have collected 40 free patio slabs enough to do around the shed (again got permission) so where there were brambles and a huge dumping site of broken glass. We now have compost bins, shed, patio with hammock, guttering on shed (free) into a free water butt. Any way this isn’t about my allotment - but we take the same approach to the house.

The house like us is a living breathing thing and needs care and maintenance. DH and I attached have a Filofax called the Book of Doom - it’s split into 5 sections - garden, allotment, inside house, outside house and garage. Do jobs on rainy day inside eg out shelf up in bathroom and touch up paint. There is stuff we skim on cost eg shelf above the tiles in the kids bathroom was £4 from B and M and took 10 minutes to put up. Other stuff eg I don’t know off the top of my head - we had some made to measure shelves in an alcove in the lounge and we wanted really nice floating shelves. We paid someone to do it - took 3 months but we have solid oak beautiful shelves and they aren’t going anywhere in our lifetime. He is a local carpenter and he was good really good. We love them. The decking - local great company in and it’s fab - I’m paranoid about rats and he knew this and no rats is getting in there £1500 for a huge enormous decking. We know how to care for things it will need sanding and pressure washing and staining - we know it will last 10 years a then need to be redone.

Our house is like a pet.

Found a very good builder after about 2 years of looking for a very good builder and have probably single handedly paid to put his kids through uni. Absolutely no regrets! I’m not handy enough and didn’t want to use my free time doing diy

We knocked the house down and did a complete rebuild

so everything is new

i think it’s probably the only way to have a house that is perfect in every room

we were also lucky enough to have an interior designer, and lots of trades on site. It didn’t all go swimmingly but now it’s done it’s stunning but still homely and cozy

I married a tradesman! He’s a welder by trade but works as a joiner! There is very little he can’t do including plumbing & tiling! Only thing he won’t do is electrical work but luckily we both work for the same maintenance company so we just host one of our electricians to come to our house! So, in the respect we’re very lucky! I however am shit at interior design so we let my sister do that sort of planning!

We have one child and he’s been brought up to respect his and our things and he does and I can’t stand clutter!

I would like a worktop and kitchen sink with taps installed,
But unable to find someone to do it.

We waited until we could afford to have the downstairs done, and that includes kitchen, bathroom, living room, all floors and appliances, skylight in the bathroom that opens out. The upstairs still needs doing but I’m not sure we want to bother with it anymore.

We have spent a fair bit of money!! In reality for us, it’s a mixture of things: previous owners kept and restored all original features (lead light windows, French polished banister etc); we know decent trades and use them where necessary; I’m really good at decorating so I’ve done a fair few rooms myself; my husband appreciates interiors and will always work with me / offer opinions, and our children are well-trained so everywhere stays clean, tidy and well looked after!

Time, planning, asking neighbours to recommend good tradesmen, money, patience, being prepared to live in the middle of a building site, more planning, more money, more time... I could go on.