To do: the list to end all lists

For all of you who love a good to do list – here’s our mega to do list for our new house. This will be a good way for us to track progress through the renovation and remind us all off the things we need to plan as the project progresses.

I am not a fan of lists generally and keep most things to-do and appointments in my head, but being married to someone of a more rational/ scientific mindset means that breakfast times are spent with questions about all the things to do and the order in which we’re doing them. So this is what the plan is – for now.  Things will naturally develop over time and as the renovation takes shape we’ll change our minds to fit in with the time frame, our budget and the style of the house.  But for now here is what we talk about at breakfast.

– The Front Garden –

• Get some advice from a gardener/ tree surgeon about all the trees around and on the property to check there is no risk of harm to the house.
• Cut the grass and trim all the foliage around the pathway and front wall.
• Cut back the trees to increase the light and view at the front of the house.
• Mulch and plant the planting beds along the front lawn.
• Repaint all exterior woodwork on front door.
• Consider re-doing or recovering the walkway from the front gate to front door.
• Add pot pots around front of house (using my parent’s home for inspiration).
• Replace the exterior up-lighting.

– The Porch –

• Strip and repaint the porch.
• Repaint the inner door and replace locks and door hardware.
• Clean up the hanging lantern.
• Add a new door mat and ‘landing strip’ area for mail and shoes.

– The Hall –

• Remove the old carpet from the hallway and stairs.
• Remove wallpaper on walls and replaster.
• Remove woodchip wallpaper on the ceilings and replaster.
• Remove the kitchen sliding door.
• Sand and varnish the floorboards and the stairs.
• Add a stair runner.
• Add rugs.
• Replace the second light fixture.
• Paint walls, ceilings and skirting boards.
• Hang pictures/ paintings.
• Add sideboard or table near entrance way.

– The Living Room –

• Remove the old carpet.
• Remove the curtains and net curtains.
• Rewire electrics.
• Remove wallpaper on walls and replaster.
• Sand and varnish the floorboards.
• Paint walls, ceilings and skirting boards.
• Add a wood burning stove.
• Add furniture.
• Add floor rugs.
• Hang pictures/ paintings.

– The Dining Room / Office –

• Remove all the leftover furniture & gift to charity.
• Remove the old carpet.
• Remove the curtains.
• Remove wallpaper on walls and replaster.
• Remove woodchip wallpaper on ceiling and replaster.
• Add extra sockets for all Stuart’s gizmos.
• Add central light (it is currently just loose wires!)
• Sand and varnish the floorboards.
• Paint walls, ceilings and skirting boards.
• Add furniture.

– The Kitchen –

• Strip all the wood panelling and tiling.
• Remove kitchen fittings.
• Remove the curtains.
• Full kitchen renovation.
• Consider flooring options – maybe tile since there is a lot of wood action going on elsewhere.
• Replace / refresh the kitchen door and external door.
• Replace two windows with double glazing.
• Add blinds/ curtains?
• Choose light fixtures – this ceiling is lower than for the rest of the house so we can’t replicate our current pendant lighting but I am not a fan of strip lighting.

– The Master Bedroom –

• Remove all the leftover furniture & gift to charity.
• Remove the old carpet.
• Remove the curtains.
• Remove wallpaper on walls and replaster.
• Remove woodchip wallpaper on ceiling and replaster.
• Replace light fixture.
• Sand and varnish the floorboards.
• Paint walls, ceilings and skirting boards.
• Add furniture, curtains etc.

– Dressing room / spare bedroom –

•  Remove bed, furnishing, and light shade moonlighting as Casper the friendly ghost.
• Demolish the built in wardrobe that creates a wardrobe into the master bedroom.
• Open up the joining door to create a walk through dressing room.
• We’ve got large wardrobes by are considering something built –in.

– Guest Room –

• Get rid of curtains, built in wardrobes and psychedelic carpet.
• Remove wallpaper on walls and replaster.
• Remove woodchip wallpaper on ceiling and replaster.
• Replace light fixture.
• Sand and varnish the floorboards.
• Paint walls, ceilings and skirting boards.
• Add furniture, curtains etc. Maybe get a king bed for this room?

–  Second Guest Room –

• Get rid of curtains, wardrobes, bed and purple rug.
• Remove wallpaper on walls and replaster.
• Remove woodchip wallpaper on ceiling and replaster.
• Replace light fixture.
• Sand and varnish the floorboards.
• Paint walls, ceilings and skirting boards.
• Add furniture, curtains etc.

– The Bathroom –

• Completely redo the bathroom as pink tiles with lines are not our style.
• Rearrange the footprint to see if we can insert a super large shower and iron cast freestanding bath. I hear the floor might also need reinforced.
• Make sure the neighbours can’t see in (!) – wooden blinds?

-Upstairs Hallway –

• Rip up the old carpet (is this sounding all very familiar?)
• Maybe new door knobs or even new doors down the line? Most aren’t in great shape and need repainted.
• Make sure the roofer makes the roof water tight then replaster ceiling.
• Get stained glass window cleaned up. Check that it’s watertight.
• Remove the wallpaper (7 metres high in some places!)
• Remove the door to nowhere and add shelving?

– Pool Room / Old office space –

• This is where Stuart’s dreams come true. Knocked through it will be a huge long room with plenty of storage space. There are only two small windows so we’ll need to add excellent lighting in here as well as new radiators.
• So what are we going to do?….. Create a media room!
• Remove wall between rooms.
• Strip and replaster wallpaper on ceiling and walls.
• Paint walls, ceilings and skirting boards.
• Get a massive sectional sofa, put in Stuart’s tv and a fridge – media room complete.

– The Garage –

• Replace garage doors
• Finish the interior of the garage and create storage areas.

– Laundry Area in Garage –

• Install replacement sink area.
• New appliances
• New counter and cabinets & clothes sorting area.

– General Whole House Ideas –

• Replace electrical wiring
• Replace central heating system including all pipes, radiators and boiler.
• Upgrade bulbs to LEDs to save energy
• Replace light switches and socket covers.
• Replace doors?
• Get someone to inspect all the chimneys for soundness.

– The Back Garden –

• Get my parents over for some expert gardening advice
• Take it from there!

So take a moment to spare a thought for Stuart who is unwittingly in his second renovation project in 14 months. Last July we renovated our first flat and although it was painful at times the results were worth it – but as an unfortunate side effect.  I caught the renovation bug. I have committed to staying here long term (for the sake of Stuart’s sanity!) so I better enjoy every second of the process. I hope you enjoy the process as we cross out each item on the list. We’re not going to tackle it ourselves for the most part but like with our old flat we’ll be very involved in the design process and project managing.

We’re dealing with engineers, builders, plumbers, roofers and all the rest this week to get some quotes. We hope to instruct the builders by late this week and early next week to tackle all the heavy work.