Don't give up hope now!

Some days are tougher than others living in what we call 'home sweet hell hole'! Some days we just surrender and say we're never going to be finished our renovations. Some days we just look around, laugh and wonder how we got ourselves into this mess!?! Other days we are more optimistic. Mixed feelings today which is why I have had a look back through our progress photos for a little bit of encouragement and reassurance that we are getting there...here's a few snaps....it's hard to believe how bad it was to begin with actually (although to be honest parts of it still are, but lets just pretend its all done for now!)

THE SPARE ROOM

Green rug - M&S, white waffle duvet & pillow slips - Dunnes Stores, Petulia & Jeremy bears - Habitat, black & white cushions - Ikea, stripey pillow slips - Oxendales, bed - M&S, hydrengea wallpaper - Villa Nova from Home Couture.

I love this room (possibly because it's the one room thats almost finished!) - the bed is sooo comfy that sometimes we sleep in here pretending we're staying in a hotel for the night! Hydrengeas are one of my all-time favourite flowers so I died and went to heaven when I found this wallpaper. The stripy sheets remind me of our sheets growing up - they're so warm and fluffy too. The black and white cushions might seem a bit odd with the pastel colours but I love the contrast and I'm working on another item for the room which will help bring the clashing together so watch this space!

THE BATHROOM

bathroom suite - B&Q, tiles - Allied tiles, rubber flooring - the rubber floor company

The bathroom was so depressing when we first bought the house. There was no sink and only a really crappy old shower. We had to line the walls of the shower with plastic (which stuck to your bum when showering!) as the tiles on it kept falling down on us. It was definitely the first room that had to be tackled. It looks like there was a nice wooden floor on the original bathroom but it's actually wood effect 'lino' (and it was all over the house!). We love our new rubber flooring - it's perfect for the bathroom with lots of water around and it's warmer on our tootsies than tiles. More about the bathroom on another post.

THE SITTING ROOM

Rug & sofa - habitat, blankie - Dunnes Stores, cushions - Homebase, Debenhams & Ikea, Shutters - Shutters of Ireland

We kissed the ground the sofa delivery man arrived on - it was a long time coming - disasterous bad timing with the habitat closure and all that but we got it in the end. We really do miss shabbytat but luckily had stocked up on lots of goodies before it closed, including this rug. The room furnishings are quite dark so it's fun to add splashes of colour around the room like the cushions and my snuggly blankie. I had dreamed of these shutters for a long time and was so glad to see them installed - I love them to pieces still.