As the year draws to a close, we like to look back at all the DIY and renovations we’ve achieved over the last 12 months. It’s been quite a busy year and although we haven’t done any particularly ‘big’ jobs this year, we’ve tackled LOADS of little ones! Including all of this…
DIY Workbench in the Basement
We kickstarted the year by painting the old coal storage room in our basement and then I built a workbench for the room (DIY blog post yet to be written – sorry!!). Having a proper workspace to do DIY has been SO useful and it’s made projects so much easier. It’s definitely something I wished we had done sooner if time/funds had been available!
DIY Sliding Ladder Rail
This was a project we had been planning for years but just never got around to doing, and I don’t know why, because it was such a simple DIY in the end! In our dining room, we have a floor-to-ceiling log store (for use in our log burner, obviously) and no way of easily reaching the top of this stack. So, we decided to create a DIY sliding library ladder rail. It’s on a rail so it can easily be moved in front of the stack when needed to reach the top, or pushed to the side when not needed and we can therefore still access the logs at the bottom. It’s a budget-friendly DIY and I’m really pleased with how it all works!
Sealing the Coal Chute
Another quick DIY we achieved at the beginning of the year was sealing our leaky coal chute. We actually had to do this twice after a plumber thought underneath the cover was home to a water main and destroyed the seal trying to pry the lid back up. Long story, but thankfully it was a quick job on both occasions!
Building Beds at the Allotment
Another job we had on the to-do list for this year was to build some beds at the allotment and I’m pleased to say, we’re at least 80% of the way there! We’ve still got a couple left to do at the front, but it’s looking good so far and has made the allotment much easier to manage.
Toddler-Proofing the Pond
We’ve done a fair bit of work in the garden this year and hopefully next year, we’ll have the garden 100% finished (which will be a first!!). One of the most important jobs in the garden this year though was building a mini-fence around the pond. With a toddler running wild, we need to be safe, for now, and in the future. We also did some maintenance to the pallet seating corner and gave that a fresh coat of paint too.
Removed a Tonne of Concrete
Grant finally removed ALL the remaining concrete in the garden this year, and I could not be happier about it! It means we’ll have more room for grass, which means more room for Dylan to play. We also removed the raised planter made from decking boards, which was now 8 years old and looking a bit tired – and we removed the concrete underneath that too, so we can now plant directly into the ground.
DIY Pond Bridge
And the final update in the garden this year – a DIY arched pond bridge. I know this sounds a bit mad and honestly, it is. But we just had to do it – it’s fun, quirky and as you can see, the dog loves it at least! I’ll share a full DIY when I can.
Repairing an Arched Doorway
The arch above our conservatory door was badly sunken and has slowly gotten worse over the years to the point where it was only held in place by some wood propping it up. We needed to remove the bricks of the arch and essentially rebuild it, meaning this was quite a big job. I’m pleased to say, it’s now finally done and hasn’t fallen down either. Win-win.
DIY House Shaped Toy Storage Unit
With Dylan’s ever-growing toy collection, I decided it was time to build some storage for some of it. This fun house-shaped toy unit was the first ‘big build’ using our new DIY workbench and honestly, it made DIY enjoyable again! Dylan loves this new unit, it’s the perfect height for him and doubles up as a little table for him to play on too. Full DIY of this build can be read here.
DIY Mud Kitchen
Another DIY I made for Dylan was this DIY mud kitchen which we plan to have at the allotment. We haven’t actually given it to him yet as our time at the allotment is generally sparse over winter, so I’ll probably save it till Spring. But I’m certain he’ll love it when he does eventually get to play with it!
DIY Painted Freezer
And the last project of the year – a fairly easy one, painting our new basement freezer and creating a little ‘pantry’ area around it. I’ll be sharing the details of all this in the new year, but you can read about the DIY-painted freezer here.
So like I said, there were no ‘big jobs’ on the list and certainly not much actual home renovating either. But what we have accomplished has been a huge step forward! The garden is especially so close to being done, as is the allotment as well.
I’ll be sharing our plans for the next year soon, until then; Happy New Year – I hope you all have a good one!