Properly getting set up and settled in a new house - a long process?

[Notcontent]

I have recently moved to a new house. It was in a poor state when I bought it so I had some repairs, painting etc done before I moved in. But I think it will take a long time before we are fully settled in. For example, I don’t have all the furniture I need, missing some curtains/blinds, need some more storage, builder needs to come back to fix a couple of things, etc. Is that normal? Not only is it a matter of money (need to save up!) but arranging things is really time consuming...

I’m afraid this house and the last it took us a decade. We did enjoy both homes meantime though! We

We were a decade last time and are none years in now but, as the previous post said, we very much enjoyed living there in the meantime!

We are 2.5 years in our current house and still have a lot to do. A lot done though and we are very happy living here. Kitchen needs knocking and we want to build an extension. Also still need to build wardrobes in and shelving in downstairs rooms, but we will get there in time,

Ok! I guess it takes time... I think maybe I have watched too many property shows on tv where everything is perfect pretty quickly...

Almost years into our long term ‘renovation home’ and still 2/3rds of it is yet to be completed/started. I really thought we’d be done by now but what with kids/lockdowns/expense it’s taking significantly longer. Certainly nothing like those programmes, oh how I wish it was!

‘Almost 3 years into our long term reno…’ I meant to say

We moved into the new house in February and it still looks like a bomb hit it. There's boxes everywhere as the house was much dirtier and needs more renovation than we thought, so we can't unpack everything.
We've had to replace the kitchen and that's taken 2 months so far and isn't yet finished.
It's going to take years just for it to be liveable, let alone nice and how we want it.
It's wearing me down already as we can't replace things like the disgusting carpets because all the ceilings need plastering and the rooms decorating first - but the carpets stink

We moved when my baby was 3 weeks old ! She’s now 4 months and only starting to fully unpack as it’s been so fill on! I hated the house initially to be honest and it does need some work/ our sofa is too big for the room so we need a new one, needs to be painted etc

However I’ve recently started to not care so much - have made it as homey and relaxing as I can and am starting to realise it’s totally liveable as is and to stop fretting so much ! It will eventually be better

Please try enjoy your house - maybe if you do little things to put your stamp on the place / even just have one space you love that you can relax in

For example our bedroom I’ve made dealt cosy so it’s my sanctuary away from the rest of the house that needs work !!

It takes a while doesn’t it, we moved in feb, and feel settled, but still so much we want to do to make our home feel “ours”. We have done quite a bit already, changed cooker & hob, all new appliances, added a shower, had a garden office built, furniture on order, but still more to do, I expect it will take around a year to get everything done that we want. Our property was all done when we moved, but it’s amazing what you still find to do!

It takes forever. Literally. Once you have finished the last bit, the first bits will need redoing!

Been in our house a year and a bit and have done some bits but still have a way to go. Worked on basics first which was painting. Then discovered taps were old and drippy and toilets didn't flush properly so started working on replacing those. The carpets were old and gross so recently got carpets and flooring done in most of the house. A few niggly bits to get done that need attending to, but not sure what to prioritise. After carpets I thought that's it, no more until kids are adults and can save money to take them on holidays while they are young, then sort house out later...

But still jobs that need doing sooner rather than later! And not even thinking about big jobs of bathrooms and kitchen yet!

House is only 20 years old so thought it would be ok..but turns out when nothing has been replaced in 20 years a lot of things need fixing /replacing!

Break it down into smaller pieces.

Focus on one room at a time. Trying to think of more would make my head explode.

Agree try to do a room at a time, especially if money is an issue!

I’ve been in my house 3 months, made massive progress (rewiring, electrics, new boiler, drain work, plastering, decorating) will probably have nearly finished by September (new bathroom in & decorating hall after)…

BUT:

• there wasn’t THAT much to do (no actual building work)
• it has been a full time job really, I’ve had trades coming in every few days - plasterers, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, handyman, decorator etc
• organising this has distracted me from my job and worn me out … I don’t have kids

I’m really motivated to just get it over, have the cash and want to get it sorted while I’m still WFH… I will have to redo a few bits of decorating though which is annoying as rushing has meant some things not done in right order (eg thermostat came off wall , but I’d already decorated that wall..). I could also have saved by doing a few things myself but that takes time ..

I think in your scenario a couple of years is more common, and working slowly has its pros too (the cons are that you get used to the house and only finish it when you are ready to sell!)

A year for us.

Those property shows have huge teams of workmen and designers working in the background.

Our last house took about 7 years to get how we wanted it and we started from scratch - full re-wire, all new radiators and some plumbing, full re-plaster, new kitchen and that was just the first 6 months!

Been in this house 2.5 years and while it's not all how we'd like it but it's perfectly liveable. If the carpets are that bad can you pull up the edge to see what the floor is like underneath? We found gorgeous parquet in our last house doing that! And in this one we lived with just underlay in the bedroom for over a year.

We've been here two years and I haven't finished decorating yet! I keep having to wait for the holidays, so it can go months without having any work done to it!

6 years here.

Covid and pre-covid staggeringly slow builders didn’t help.

10 years for us. But a lot of that is lack of cash and having babies.

One difficulty is that you might not be sure how you use the space when you first move in. We've ended up moving rooms around in quite in predictable ways.

Thank you!!! I feel better now! I agree that it’s important to enjoy living in the space even if things are not perfect.

Totally normal. Unless you have megabucks and can stay somewhere while you have teams of workers in there, and you can have all your new carpets, curtains, light fittings, furniture etc all delivered straight away of course!!!

Seven years and counting for us. We’ve done a large extension and renovated almost every room though.
It’s always best to live in a place for a good length of time before changing things. You never know where the vacuum will end up living permanently, how the cupboard space will really work, how much light each room gets etc until you’ve lived in a place a while.

I was once advised to get one room fully done so there was somewhere to escape to if the mess elsewhere got you down.
It's true. A very good idea if you can do it. We've done it elsewhere, and it works.
However....
in this doer-upper, only my workroom, hardly a restful room to retreat to, is decent after two years, everything else is half-done or not done, thanks to covid supply/workmen/other problems holding up what we can do ourselves for months, family needing a lot of support, etc. And at times it is very, very depressing.
OTOH, as HintofVintagePink says, we have altered our plans for the better due to living in the place and getting to know how it works. Long term, it will definitely be better for the delays. But some days it is gritty, no doubt about it. Go for the 'get one room nice asap', if you can.

Seven years for us too, one big thing a year, like kitchen , landscaping, bathroom etc, smaller things like lights, painting, wallpaper, furniture, sanding, done fairly continuously, as and when we could be arsed and when we could get someone in, or when we knew what we wished.

Honestly take your time. Never buy something becayse you’re under pressure or need to fill a space. Find something hou love, really love, save up if you need to, and ultimately your home will only be filled with beautiful things you love.

Search on line, look at images of what others have, search sites , run down the rabbit hole of looking at ideas, and when you think “god I absolutely love that”. Then that’s the one to buy. Not the “oh that’s quite nice and will go and it’s affordable ” thing.

We have a new build but it's still going to take us a good couple of years to truly settle in, despite being new there's lots we need to do like painting, inbuilt storage, landscaped garden. We prioritised furniture so functionally the house does most of what we need it to do (barring some more storage required) it's mostly decoration and that's when you really make your mark I guess, I'm a very impatient person but it is what it is!

I LOVE our house though and it very much feels like home.