As of the end of March, we had lived in our home in Shrewsbury for 2 years and while we haven’t actually done as much work to our home as I’d have liked this year due to world events, I wanted to chat about the things we have managed to complete that have had the biggest impact on how we use our home up to this point.

fireplace in victorian living room with parquet floor and brass accents

It’s tough trying to decide your priorities when you first start a renovation project. Our home is on two floors, we have four bedrooms (two of which are used as offices/dressing rooms), a family bathroom and a tiny ‘jack n’ jill’ room upstairs (used as my vanity area), a living room, dining room, kitchen, utility (what was the old kitchen) and mudroom downstairs, a rather large unfinished cellar and a decent sized unfinished loft and of course hallways and a stairwell. Then there are the front and back of the house and a decent sized back garden.

When we moved in, there wasn’t an inch of this house that didn’t need attention. And well, we don’t have endless budgets or time on our hands so we’re just trying to get done what we can as we go. This was always going to be a long-term project for us and as nice as it might be to fantasise about moving out for 6 months, getting all the work done and moving into a totally renovated property, that’s just not an option for us.

And to be honest, I’m not sure that’s what I’d want anyway. I do enjoy the process and taking time making decisions. I will get excited by one project and then get distracted and start planning the next. I change my mind almost daily as to what we should work on and what needs doing.

pale green kitchen with boxed in extractor

So despite what you may see on my blog or over on my Instagram feed, there are still a LOT of areas that need attention with varying degrees of work involved. On my current hitlist is the mudroom, the hallway, my office and Wayne’s office and of course, the plans for converting our old kitchen into a utility room and a bathroom. There’s no way we’ll get all that done over the next few months but one can plan and dream!!

Anyway, I wanted to explain all that because clearly we aren’t done yet so talking about my favourite renovations at this early stage implies we are nearing the end and we certainly aren’t even close to that. But there are a few things that we’ve done so far that I am SO happy we have tackled over the last couple of years we’ve lived here so I figured it might be helpful to chat about those in case you are staring down a really long renovation project yourself.

Moving the Kitchen

sage green kitchen with wood parquet flooring and open shelves

Of course, this is going to be number one on the list. Borrowing just a tiny bit of space from outside and moving the kitchen from one side of the house to the other was absolutely the best thing for us to start off with. Previously on this side of the house was the utility room and a tiny horrible bathroom and we realised rather early on that bizarrely, the utility room had the best views of the garden and the existing kitchen had the worst.

gold tap over white ceramic sink in kitchen with marble effect worktop

It was a huge project lasting many months last year (we started in March 2019, finished in September 2019) but being able to look out onto the garden from this new vantage point made us wonder why it’d never been done before.

Installing Parquet Flooring 

living room with burgundy and pink sofas with parquet floors and gold accents

Changing the flooring throughout these rooms which were a mixture of carpet and vinyl gave the whole house a fresh clean look and unified it with the beautiful original parquet that was in the hallway. While the parquet in the hallway still needs attention (we need to sand it down, patch some areas and re-seal it), I love how much warmth it adds to the house.

dining room in Victorian home with gold marble table and velvet chairs with large fringed ceiling light in pink

I think flooring is such an important step and it’s always best to do it early on in your renovation as it’s not the kind of thing that’s easy to do after the fact. While the kitchen was still waiting to be installed, we tackled the living room flooring and I don’t regret striking while the iron was hot even though it meant the entire downstairs at the time was in upheaval. Totally worth it.

Getting Window Shutters for the Two Bay Windows

dining room with grey chairs and marble table

I’ve always been a little in love with bay windows and moving into this house with three of them (living room, dining room and the master bedroom) was a dream come true. But figuring out how to dress bay windows is always a little tricky – do you go with tracks, three-piece curtain poles, roman blinds, normal blinds, full-length curtains, window film, something else? Choosing to go for window shutters in both of these spaces took all that decision making away.

corner view of living room with pink and burgundy sofa in victorian home

I love the clean look of them, I love how easy it is to adjust them to let in more light or to close the blinds on the bottom to allow for more privacy. I love how well they work with the age of the property. I want to get another one for the bay in our bedroom upstairs now! (The only thing I don’t love is how difficult I find it to take decent pictures of them! ;))

Adding a Roof Light

kitchen with large skylight in pale green and gold with parquet floors

I’m back to the kitchen again and considering the kitchen faces north, putting a huge roof light in the ceiling during the building work is right up there with the best decisions we’ve made so far. It means that the kitchen is always a bright lovely space, even on the rainiest dullest days. In fact, it probably gets the best light in the whole house.

I initially wanted the entire wall and ceiling to be glass and sadly, our building regulations wouldn’t allow it (and looking back, we probably wouldn’t have been able to afford it!) so we opted for the biggest window and biggest roof light we could get away with. It’s a decision that I will never regret because it opens up the whole space and makes it feel bright and airy.

Reinstating the Plaster Cornicing in the Dining Room

Despite my builder saying he thought they wouldn’t need to touch it, when they removed the wall between the kitchen and dining room, the cornice in the dining room on that wall was sadly destroyed with Acrow props having to be run straight through. The plasterwork on the ceiling crumbled and we debated whether to save money by not having it reinstated.

reinstating plaster cornice in ceiling of victorian home

The debate didn’t last long. I desperately wanted to hang on to the history of this house and the original plaster cornicing was a part of that. We were put in touch with a retired plaster cast expert who painstakingly recreated the original cornice using the same methods they would have used 130 years ago. 

open plan kitchen diner

He did such a beautiful job and we’re now hoping we can get him back to do another small portion near the window that’s was badly affected by water damage.

Painting the Fireplace

And last but not least, when we first moved in, I was absolutely sure we would be ripping the entire existing fireplace out to replace it. I hated the orangey tiled hearth, the fireplace tiles that had long been painted over with a greeny-gold paint and I didn’t particularly like the surround either. As a stopgap, I figured I’d throw some paint at it and see if it made it a bit easier to live with until we had the funds for a full replacement.

While you may not consider this a renovation in the strictest sense, choosing to paint our fireplace because we didn’t have the means at the time to completely replace it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

victorian fire place with ornate mirror and parquet flooring

I detailed the products I used to bring our old fireplace back to life in this post but I couldn’t have been happier with the result. It’s amazing how much a bit of elbow grease and a lick of paint really transformed the whole look and feel of the room. I have no intention of replacing it any time soon (if ever). I just can’t help but think of the money we’ve saved and I’m so glad I decided to try painting it before we did anything further. I love it now!

So while we haven’t gotten as far as we may have liked to on this house, those are six of the things I’m so so pleased we’ve already managed to accomplish and decisions I have never regretted making. I’d love to know what renovation decisions you’ve tackled in your own home you love? Do let me know in the comments below!


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Swoon Worthy
fireplace in victorian living room with parquet floor and brass accents
pale green kitchen with boxed in extractor
sage green kitchen with wood parquet flooring and open shelves
gold tap over white ceramic sink in kitchen with marble effect worktop
living room with burgundy and pink sofas with parquet floors and gold accents
dining room in Victorian home with gold marble table and velvet chairs with large fringed ceiling light in pink
dining room with grey chairs and marble table
corner view of living room with pink and burgundy sofa in victorian home
kitchen with large skylight in pale green and gold with parquet floors
reinstating plaster cornice in ceiling of victorian home
open plan kitchen diner
victorian fire place with ornate mirror and parquet flooring
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My little neglected makeup/dressing room has had a glow up 🥰

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My new rug can't compete with that belly.

Rug is from @laredoute_uk (not an ad) not that anyone cares 😅

#kitchendesign
I've really loved making these pretty reusable Christmas crackers! I'm still in the process of finding cute bits for filling them but they'll definitely be a centrepiece for my table this year!🎄💕

Suggestions for what to fill them with coming soon!

(By the way, I'm not a skilled seamstress so I'm sure my techniques can be improved but just sharing what worked for me 🤗😅)

Let me know if this is something you'd try? ❤️

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On 22 October 2022, I married my best friend! I can't believe it's been a whole year (and one day) I've been calling @2nilup my husband 🥰 We've been together for 15 years now and I simply can't and wouldn't want to imagine my life without him ❤️ 

#youandmeagainsttheworld #2222 

Photography: @violajayphotography 
Flowers: @primroseavenuefloral 
Dress: @camillawithlove
DIY REFILLABLE CHRISTMAS CRACKERS 🎄🎉

I've been thinking about making refillable crackers for so many years now - I just hate the waste the disposal ones create! So I'm so excited I've finally gotten around to starting this project!

I will be sharing more details on how to make them as well as ideas for what to fill them with too so stay tuned for more but in the meantime, what do you think? 

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Just wanted to introduce my latest plant baby in my dining room 🪴

It's from @botanique_shrewsbury and it's a Peparomia (I am probably pronouncing it wrong, I keep wanting to say
GUEST BEDROOM REVEAL 🌟

I decided on a whim, 2 weeks before we were expecting visiting family, that our guest bedroom was in desperate need of a refresh.

Well there's nothing like an impending deadline to light a 🔥 under my 🍑 and I managed to clear out the clutter, repaint the woodwork, ceilings and walls and hang wallpaper as well as restyle the room in one week 😅 (Meisha was zero help 😼)

I'm calling it Boho Vintage Victorian Grandma 😆

This wasn't sponsored in any way but the wallpaper and bedding is from @lauraashleyuk and the paint is @earthbornpaints Peach Baby - everything else I already had!

What do you think of the new look? ❤️

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#bedroommakeover
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🔥JOIN US ROUND THE FIRE PIT! 🔥

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Thanks to @homefireuk they've made the whole process incredibly easy and enjoyable with their Handy Firepit Bundle which include 2 bags of kindling, 2 bags of natural firestarters and 3 large bags of kiln-dried logs 🪵 for a really great price! 

No more standing around waiting for things to light properly or billowing smoke from wet wood, everything burns beautifully! ☺️ We literally sat around this for hours as the logs last so long, long after the sun set, just chatting and enjoying ourselves! 🥰🍻🔥

Do you love a good firepit in the summer?

#homefire #readytoburn #smokelessbyhomefire #heartofyourhome #logsbyhomefire #summerideas #firepit #gardenideas
San Sebastian photo dump - just a tiny selection 😄

We have had such a fabulous holiday to Basque Country - our first 4 days spent in the beautiful city of San Sebastian, land of pintxos, stunning architecture and some damn good wine.

#sansebastian #travelgram #photodump
A little kitchen reshuffle today so I thought I'd share 🥰

It's been 4 years since we created this space and it's still one of my favourites ♥️

#kitchendesign #kitchendecor #kitcheninspiration #kitchenideas #openshelvingkitchen #kitchenstyling
Ad 🩷 Before and after Deck makeover! 🩷

This little decked patio was looking worse for wear after a wet winter but @frenchicpaint came to the rescue with their beautiful Dusty Blush Alfresco Paint, perfect for all your outdoor projects!

The deck has been a few colours over the past few years but this is definitely the most fun and gives the whole space such a tropical vibe - even in Shrewsbury! 🏝️ 🦩🍹😄

The paint has incredible coverage and was so nice to use - I loved the tools they provided too, especially the oval brush which got into all the nooks and crannies easily!

Let me know what you think of the new colour! 

#frenchicpaint #beforeandafter #deckmakeover #gardeninspiration #gardeninspo #outdoorproject
So on a whim I decided to paint the bedroom pink yesterday 😅🩷

This room has been neglected for so long as I've wanted to fully redecorate for about 3 years now but there are always other bigger priorities or a lack of time/energy/money so I keep putting it off 🙃🙃🙃 (tell me I'm not the only one) but happily this didn't cost a penny as I used what I already had although it did take me the best part of a day!

I went through my paint stash and found that I had extra @coatpaints Percy from when I did the living room early last year -- well I'm not one to let something this good go to waste (honestly this paint is absolutely wonderful to work with and has amazing coverage) and my goodness it's just so pretty in here 🥰 I also moved my pink curtains from my office into here and the whole room just glows!

I might actually be able to live with the mural a little longer until the room gets the attention it deserves! Let me know if you like the change ♥️

*For those who are wondering, it used to be white walls and I had grey curtains! 😅

#swoonworthy #bedroomdecor #bedroommakeover #bedroomdesign #pinkpinkpink #pinkinteriors
A little photo dump from my recent living room shoot because I still love to dig into the details of a still photo 😄💕

#swoonworthy #swoonworthyscents #livingroominspo #livingroomdesign #photodump
ad How to De-stress at Home in 6 Simple Steps 😊

April has been #stressawarenessmonth and so I've teamed up with the wonderful @frenchbedroom to share a few simple tips in creating a cosy sanctuary at home!

One of my favourite ways to add a feeling of comfort and relaxation is with glorious touchable textures and the stunning Mulberry Silk ruffled cushion from French Bedroom not only looks spectacular but feels incredible too! Pairing this with other feel-good fabrics will add depth to your design and will beg you to sink in and unwind 😍

French Bedroom are also now stocking my own home fragrance brand @swoonworthyscents candles, adding another element of calm with scent to your home. I chose No 02 Sunday Morning for my living room with rejuvenating Jasmine and refreshing pine and lemon notes 🥰

Check out my latest blog post for more tips on creating a relaxing sanctuary in your home via the link in my bio!

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Who needs pancakes when you can have Lemon Drizzle Cake with Lemoncello glaze?! 😉🍋

I've had such a craving for this cake for a while so figured I'd make it today! This is a recipe from @bbcgoodfood and it's rather gorgeous 🥰

#baking #lemondrizzle #lemoncake #bakewithlove #shrovetuesday
Are you lucky enough to be owned by a cat? 🐈🐾

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Finally managed to get the gallery wall completed in our hallway!

I couldn't have been happier with @violajayphotography capturing our little intimate wedding in October and knew as soon as I saw the photos I had to print them for our home! I admit, I've never been one to hang photos but it's probably because all we ever had after 14 years together was selfies 😂🤷🏽‍♀️ I'm so pleased we finally have some lovely shots of us together 🥰

Do you have photos of you/your partner/your family up around your home?? 🤔

#gallerywall #autumnwedding #hallwaydesign #hallwayinspo
✨These little vintage copper pans needed some TLC! ✨

After searching for a while for vintage copper pans, I found these on eBay - they looked quite grim on the ad but I knew they could be shined up nicely! A little @barkeepersfriend later (not an ad!) and I'm loving how they look in my kitchen 🥰

Let me know if you like the new addition ❤️

#kitcheninspo #kitchendesign #vintagestyle #kitchenstyling
Oh hey living room, nice to have you back ☺️

I always feel very ready to remove the excess of Christmas decor pretty much as soon as the 26th arrives but I've been later than usual this Twixmas as we've both been unwell the last couple weeks 🤦🏽‍♀️ Nevertheless, I've managed to get things packed away and I styled this little faux arrangement today for my coffee table so ya know, small victories 😄🙌🏽

#livingroom #livingroominspo #fauxflowers #coffeetabledecor