Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.
I hate DIY. I can barely be bothered to decorate the house. I have times when I really feel like doing it and maximise them as much as I can. The last time I did three rooms in a month. But that feeling only arrives about once every 3 years.
I also have no skills. So taking on any such project would be either a recipe for disaster or a waste of time.
The aim that would suit who I am is to have a newly built modern house, a combination of glass, natural wood, and panels of wall to be painted. No painted skirting boards or door frames. Lino is better with the cats, but maybe a carpet in the bedrooms.
Partly this is because your home needs to be relaxing, somewhere you escape. Not a place where everywhere you look there’s a problem.
We made a big mistake with our current house. Thought we’d just replace the old bathroom and en suite. First quote £13,000. We were stunned. Kitchen £26,000, We did get that done and it included building a utility room. That felt like very good value.
The walls are the hardest we’ve ever had to paint, the plaster is so uneven. The radiators date back to 1994 but the bill to change them is eye watering. Last year we concentrated on changing doors. This year I don’t know. I Just wish we hadn’t bought it.
The house itself is fine. It’s just the cost of doing anything when you have no skills.
The point of this negativity is…
Know who you are. Know what you’re capable of. Recognise which skills you have and don’t have. Find out what things cost. It can be a shock if you haven’t had any building or remodelling work done in the last three years.
Understand the time you have available to do the work, and the energy it will take. And the children who may prefer weekends having fun with you. Those are precious times, don’t waste them on paint.
The best advice I was ever given was by my father, I realised that I ignored it with this house too late.
He says that when he bought our first home he had a choice of two. One was more expensive but in good decorative order. He bought the cheaper one. He said it had cost him far more over the years and made it the more expensive house. Looking back, he would have stretched to the better house.
Okay that’s not always possible financially, like many things it’s easier to say than do depending on your finances. But it doesn’t make it bad advice; it’s worth following if you can.
The most important point though is…
Know yourself. Don’t feel that you should do it yourself. You probably won’t. So…
If you hate DIY, or don’t have the skills or time, make sure you have the money for SEDIFY.
Someone else does it for you!
Deb xx
Deb Hawken - Amorah 