The Things I’ve Learnt So Far

Since moving to moving to my rural home in the glorified shed last autumn it’s been quite a learning curve. Settling into my new surroundings and embarking on a renovation project like never before, have each involved many new challenges and lessons.

Spot the heron!

So this is what I’ve learnt so far...

A building or renovation project does not, as rumoured, take twice as long and cost twice as much as expected to complete. It does, in fact, take at least three times as long and cost at least three as much as expected – well, in our case anyway. I’ll let you know if those figures change further. Of course, if we weren’t trying to live in the building at the same time, and could afford an expert team...

Having taken an interest in birds since moving here, I’m now able to identify quite a variety of species on sight, but am yet to master identification by song. With the odd exception, I can rarely identify a bird by its call, though I often wish that I could. The other day I heard a very shrill noise, and was just wondering which bird it belonged to, when my husband walked round the corner pushing a squeaky wheelbarrow! I still have much to learn!

Sadly, a fair amount of rubbish gets washed up with the tides on this stretch of river – but on the bright side we seem to acquire an endless supply of footballs!

In a small village, you may think that people don’t know you or anything about you – but you’re wrong!

Country Crafting

I’ve always loved passing the time engaged in crafts of one kind or another. It’s something I’ve enjoyed ever since I was taught knitting at infant’s school. Yes, we were taught knitting - boys included, they knitted ties, whilst us girls created clothes for our dolls, then we all made dishcloths for our mums!

Over the years I explored various craft methods, both at school (papier-mâché, raffia work, weaving etc) and at home (origami, crochet, embroidery and so on). As the years have progressed, I’ve decided that my favourite crafts are cross-stitch, knitting, crochet, tapestry and small sewing projects. I’m definitely no seamstress and lack the dressmaking skills that my three older sisters were blessed with. The nearest I get to dressmaking is watching ‘The Great British Sewing Bee’ on TV.

Now as we plan how our completed home will look, as it emerges from this strange dwelling currently dubbed ‘the glorified shed’, I’ve started to think what crafty offerings I’ll be able to use to furnish the finished result.

Since arriving here I’ve already run up a handy draught excluder using over-sized pom-poms, and there is a small pile of tapestry cushions courtesy of numerous hours of contented crafting. But which project should I embark on next? Will I even turn my hand to some previously untried activity?

I’ve certainly been spending time compiling a scrapbook of effects, colours, furnishings etc that I dream about adorning our finished home. This has become a work of art (and labour of love) in itself. It certainly holds some tempting ideas, whilst giving us all something to aim for.

Whatever I end up creating, I’m sure to spend many happy hours crafting in my little rural retreat!

Mixed Reactions

When we moved to our ‘glorified shed’ all those months ago, we experienced a whole range of responses from people that we know.

Some family and friends listened to our plans wearing contorted expressions that conveyed an odd mixture of pity and disbelief. Others nodded encouragingly, albeit with a distinct look of scepticism, whilst a rare few got quite excited about the prospect, voicing a wish to do something along similar lines.

Since moving to our new rural location, visitors have been few. There were obviously those so horrified at the prospect of camping out in an old workshop whilst slowly renovating it, that they couldn’t bring themselves to come near. Others have visited, endeavouring to look keen about what we’re doing, but actually adopting a rather shocked expression. However, we have had a couple of visitors that have expressed elation at our new view – which is beautiful, and quite priceless – and a kind of understanding of what we are doing.

Our floor's not quite this good - yet!

Last week I visited the hairdresser and was chatting about our big project. The more I related to her, the more her smile dropped and a look of concern swept over her face. Her burning question seemed to be, “But is it clean?”

Well, of course, when we first arrived it wasn’t ideal. We had to remove numerous cobwebs and a copious amount of dust, but the situation is now much improved! The floor had seen better days, but we’ve now buffed it up to something very manageable – bearing in mind this is all to be replaced in the fullness of time. And of course, we keep abreast of a kind of modified housework whilst competing with the need to do an enormous amount of renovation work. Those that have been brave enough to visit have remarked that it’s all now quite cosy.

To some, it would seem that we are living on another planet, as opposed to just a ride away in the countryside. Or maybe they are worried that we have developed some contagious ‘urge-to-renovate’ disease, from which they may get contaminated.

Despite what some may think we are able to receive visitors, even if they may get asked, “Can you just hold on to that for a minute, while I just knock it in with a hammer?”

The Coming Of Winter

December is only days away and the winter weather is already starting to bite. There have already been a few nights when temperatures have plummeted and an icy chill has crept into our ‘not-quite home’.

Living in a former, draughty workshop, whilst we slowly renovate it to create a new, well-equipped residence has already proved quite an experience. But with winter fast approaching, we are about to face even more of a challenge.

Don't want any of this yet thank you!

Progress is sadly quite slow – life just seems to take over, leaving limited time and resources to attack the project with much speed. However, we have organised our surroundings to incorporate the main features you’d expect to find in any home, just in a rather, shall we say, alternative way.

The windows here are single glazed, metal-framed affairs that have seen better days. Breath on them too hard, and you feel a pane of glass may just fall out. The walls are not particularly insulated – there is much to be done in that department – but at least the odd leak we noticed in the roof has been repaired. We realised early on that the key here is to endeavour to maintain a constant temperature by leaving a few well-placed oil-filled, plug-in radiators ticking away, but even so we definitely feel a nip in the air come night time.

In the evenings, we congregate around the electric, log-effect fire whilst dreaming of the log burner that we hope to install. We have piled extra duvets on the beds and have hot water bottles at the ready. Chilly as we may get, there is a definite order in which we have to perform renovation tasks, to end up with the home that we really want, and we are far from the stage of adding a new heating system.

My latest project has been to buy a scrapbook and fill it with pictures and ideas for colour schemes, fixtures and furnishings etc to give us something more tangible to aim for. Browsing it’s pages gives me a warm glow – which is obviously just what I need right now!

Clearing the Way

Since moving to our new ‘home’, a former workshop that we’re renovating, we’ve made and remade plans time and again.

We have packed, unpacked and repacked boxes several times over, rescuing the things that we most need and storing those that we can live without, for a few more months at least.

We have rearranged our meagre furniture in a variety of ways to eventually settle on a plan that presents us with a variety of ‘rooms’, so that the building is vaguely liveable.

And now the fun, or at least the work, begins.

Reminding myself what a bath looks like

One of the first tasks has been to clear a number of small trees and bushes from behind the building, in order to get to the drainage needed to install a bathroom – our first priority. Although we currently have a small toilet and washbasin arrangement up one end of the building, we make a daily trek to my mother-in-law’s for a shower. The distance may be minimal, but it can still be a pain in bad weather.

We’re now starting to clear out the old office area, which we plan to lovingly reinvent as the new bathroom, which leads me on to one of my favourite parts of this whole project – choosing the fixtures and fittings!

In my head I’m imagining a gorgeous sleek affair, bright and shiny with a touch of luxury. Mind you, if the truth be known, I will just be glad to have a bathroom to call my own, whatever form it takes! Oh, how I revel in that thought!

Until that day, I will focus on my dream bathroom and carry on with the task of preparing the way.