Renovating Our Home
Over a year ago myself and my partner took the plunge into adulthood and bought a beautiful Georgian house in South-East London. At that point we were continuously reminded by all of our friends and family how old houses sap the money and life out of you. I can confirm the money part is true, however, there has been nothing more rewarding than renovating our home and restoring a listed building with so much hidden character.
When we first moved into the property, we knew we only wanted to do every job once, so making it perfect was key. Pinterest became my best friend, whilst Hugh was on first name terms at Screwfix, from picking up a new tool every day. Together we created a vision for each room, meaning once the boring behind the scenes jobs was done, we could focus on creating our Scandi inspired home with lots of greenery!
Photography credit: @ourlondonlistedhome
Useful Tips We Found When Renovating Our Home
Over the past year, we have watched countless YouTube videos, Instagram Reels and TikToks to learn every part of DIY and interior design ourselves. Below are just a handful of our top tips we found whilst renovating our home:
Pot Filler will be your best friend
If you are buying an old property straight lines and level surfaces are near impossible to find. Don’t sweat the small details and a pot of filler is your best friend and covers almost all imperfections.
Plan your plug sockets!
Planning plug socket locations is key before painting or plastering. We learnt the hard way in the living room as we are now limited to where we can have lamps. (Also think ahead for Christmas as don’t forget, you’ll need those flashy lights on the tree
Cheap tools for the win!
Sometimes the cheapest tools can save you the most time, do not hold back on buying templates, jigs or guides as this removes (most of) the stress.
Go crazy for panelling
Panelling can be used to hide a damaged wall and avoids the cost of plastering. We also found that panelling is a great way to insulate and block out sound from the neighbours.
Build your own cupboards
Building your own built-in cupboards can save you thousands of pounds and all you need is IKEA inners and wood. This may be more time consuming but I promise you it’ll be worth it in the end as you can design it to fit the room perfectly.
Photography credit: @ourlondonlistedhome
Help from friends & family
Roping in friends and family to help is an absolute lifesaver. Put some tunes on, pass them the paintbrush and a glass of prosecco and the room will be finished before you know it.
Spend time choosing your paint
Choosing the correct paint colour does not need to be overthought but ensure to view it in all types of light. We also recommend a self-priming paint as it saves you the extra coat.
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Plants make the room feel so much more homely and alive. We find that adding greenery not only adds colour but also creates a relaxing atmosphere that changes throughout the year.
Explore Facebook marketplace for hidden gems
Furniture lead times are extremely long and Facebook marketplace may become your most visited social media platform. We have noticed the lead times for furniture going up and up over the past year so it is often better to look for pre-loved pieces instead.
Photography credit: @ourlondonlistedhome
Best Indoor Plants We Used When Renovating our Home
Plants make the room feel so much more homely and alive. We find that adding greenery not only adds colour but also creates a relaxing atmosphere that changes throughout the year.
Photography credit: @ourlondonlistedhome
Our favourite plants we decorated with when renovating our home are:
1) Fiddle Leaf fig
2) Calathea Orbifolia
3) Fishbone Cactus
And finally, our overarching piece of advice is to accept that it is inevitable you will make mistakes but everything can be fixed. The majority of the time you will be the only person that knows something is not perfect and to the outside eye, it will look amazing. We hope you have found our top tips when renovating our home useful!! If you fancy tackling a DIY project and need any advice at all, then our DM’s are always open to help.
Check out @ourlondonlistedhome on Instagram for more tips and tricks!