Well I guess this is growing up... 

I moved in with Martyn this week two years ago into a rented house and I never thought that my life would change so quickly in such a short space of time. Martyn proposed in December and the new year was a blur of house viewings, making an offer and waiting nervously to find out if we were able to get a mortgage on the house we both loved. With no chain for both myself and Martyn and for the sellers the whole house buying process went very quickly. I would say that the whole process took no longer than 6 weeks and I was very unprepared for the big move, we were packing up the old house a couple of weeks after we got the keys for the new place. 

There was quite a bit of work to do on the house when we moved in as there always is with old houses. My mum and Martyn gave the whole house a lick of white paint and a good clean before we moved in (I make tea and point out bits that have been missed). Some rooms were missing skirting board, lots of things were a bit wonky and previous owners had been a bit slap dash in their approach to painting, tiling and general level of finishing so we have been rectifying some of that. The features like the original doors, picture rails, tiled hallway and fireplaces made me fall in love with this house but old houses are also drafty and need a lot of repairs so the next year will be spent getting the house up to modern standards as far as energy efficiency and safety are concerned and the roof needs some attention.

The hallway has had a relatively small amount of work done. It's had a fresh lick of paint on the walls and woodwork and a new fuse box to make the electrics safe but that's about it. I want to clean the floor tiles properly and restore them to their former glory. This will require some industrial strength cleaner and some sealing wax and a lot of elbow grease. I also want to have a picture gallery going up the stairs and the outside of the house needs some paint and a jet wash.

The living room is probably the most completed room in the house so far. We had a new carpet fitted before we moved all the furniture in, fixed the fireplace to the wall and gave the walls, woodwork and radiators a few coats of brilliant white. The only thing left to do in the living room is find a coffee table and paint the chimney breast a pale grey colour (Maybe F&B cornforth white). You can see a 'before' photo here. I am feeling very proud of the home that Martyn and I are building together and I'm looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the house once it is complete.

I'll share some photos of the dining room, kitchen and the bedrooms later in the week and if anyone would find it useful I may write a simple guide to buying your first house/what you can expect when buying your first house.