Issue 04: July 2025

The hallway’s just about finished, the bathroom’s back on the warpath, and I’m off work for seven glorious, paint-splattered weeks.

We’ve reached that point in the renovation where I say things like, “it’s nearly finished” and then ‘it’ takes another 61438 business days to actually reach completion. The hallway is looking beautiful and I’m honestly a wee bit obsessed with it, but we’re just waiting on the carpet being fitted and then I’ll be posting a full reveal. It’s taken its sweet time but hopefully you all agree it’s worth it! I’m now on my summer holidays, so naturally decided it was the perfect time to rip out the downstairs bathroom and renovate the last renovation and plan a garden revamp, all whilst we wait for planning approval on the family bathroom. Who needs rest?

We’ve also managed a little escape to London this month: it was loud, lovely and absolutely full of people who aren’t renovating Georgian farmhouses. A nice change, really.

Progress Peek:

The hallway took a little longer than we thought to get those finishing touches completed, as we realised a little too late that the gorgeous Georgian sideboard we’d bought was too big. No one tells you, but it’s actually those last bits, like the light fittings, ornaments, furniture and pictures that take a lot of time and even a lot more money than you think. Definitely more than we ever budget for, but we’re learning. The carpet gets fitted next week, so we’ll finally be able to share the finished product with you then!

The downstairs bathroom has also taken a battering. With it only being a super cheap and short-term makeover last year, the tiles had started chipping and it was looking worse for wear. It’s still not a priority room, but with it being the bathroom that guests use, we knew we had to fix it quickly and we set ourselves a 48-hour renovation project… which we gloriously failed. But we’re aiming to get it done within the next week.

We’ve also started tweaking the garden pub. It’s been a great hangout but it was very bare inside and felt ‘back to basics’, so we’ve added some beautiful wall panels which has really elevated the space, making it feel cosier, warmer and just more like a pub and less like a lock-in.

Farmhouse Finds:

Palette pick: Red Wine Chilli by Valspar. This is what we’ve painted the downstairs bathroom panelling in and it looks lovely (on inspo pictures – we only have one coat so it’s not looking lovely yet!) It’s a deep brown burgundy and it really adds a lot of warmth and character to the space, or at least it will when it’s finished next week (fingers crossed.)

A brand I’m loving: The Wall Exchange. These guys very kindly gifted us the wall panels for our mini pub project, and they’re such good quality that we’ve both been really impressed: John for the ease of affixing them to the walls and working with strong materials, and me for the simple way they look on the walls. I may think simply, but dang they’re effective.

In The Details:

It’s been one of those months where we’ve had our hands in about four different projects at once and somehow still found time to wander around London avoiding all responsibilities for a weekend.

We’ve started redoing the downstairs bathroom which I have some mixed feelings about. It’s the bathroom that unexpectedly went viral last year and I received a hell of a lot of hatred for, but we actually loved! Last time, I did it by myself in three days and transformed it from what I felt was quite bland to something bold, maximalist and apparently opinion-inducing. This time, I’m aiming for something similar in terms of being brave with colour but with burgundy rather than navy, and sticking with wallpaper, despite that apparently dividing the internet. I’ll miss the old bathroom as it was my first solo project that I was really proud of, but I did it so quickly that I knew it would never last. We’ve lived happily with it for a year and a half, but the peeling paint on the tiles screamed for a do-over, so that’s where we’re at.

We’ve bought a stone sink from a company called Tikamoon and we’re turning a £20 Facebook Marketplace bedside table into its washstand. The cabinet has been sanded but needs a bit of its insides reconfiguring to fit in the plumbing, so it’s about 80% done. Let me know if you’d like to see how we do it. We’ve also fitted and primed the panelling and given it its first coat of paint, and we’ve bought a new toilet to hopefully transform the entire room into somewhere that feels new, fresh and clean, but also full of personality, character and warmth. Although the 48 hour turnaround became unachievable (mainly due to delayed deliveries, but also due to us having too many things on the go and avoiding crashing out), we’re hopeful and realistic that we can get it done by the end of this week. Fingers crossed it’s just as impactful with maybe a smidgen fewer comments calling for my culling.

Photo of the Month:

A sneaky preview of the hallway in darkness, making me feel like Ebenezer Scrooge wandering through the house by candlelight. I’m so so pleased with how this hallway has turned out, especially if you remember the before and how it was all grey, grey and more grey.

Around The Farmhouse Table:

I asked you guys on my story, “What makes a house feel like a home to you?”

Here’s what some of you said which I thought were lovely:

• “My drawer full of batteries, tape, birthday candles and other rubbish. That’s home!”
• “The people that live in it.”
• “The blanket on my sofa that we use every night when we’re watching tele.”

Looking Ahead:

Next up, it’s the garden. Only small-scale for now, as the big projects like the outdoor kitchen are going to have to wait until next spring, unfortunately. We did some little bits to it last year, including painting planters, digging up some old weeds and buying new outdoor furniture, but it’s in slight need of some loving and we’re hoping to bring it back to life in time for a little summer party we’ve got planned in a few weeks. Think clearing, pruning, a bit of a revamp (on a budget), and hopefully enough dry days to make it all happen. Wish us luck!

Until next month you beautiful bunch,

Shanice 🤍