As we near the end of the major renovations on our house (don't worry I think I will always be tweaking and changing bits and pieces around) all the major building work has been completed mostly by my amazing husband, I decided to create a page on this blog to document how far we have come. One of my biggest regrets was not taking more photographs on the day we moved in but at the time I was too busy dealing with exhausted removal men, traumatised friends (more on that one later), screaming twins, sulking ten year old and a shocked husband. There are some photos to show the before but really they do not do justice to the horror of the inside of this house that had been lived in for ten years by an elderly, infirm lady. Prior to her a family had lived here for over 40 years. Very little had been changed internally from the 1930's. We actually loved the original features that still remained like the heavy wooden doors complete with brass handles and original keys! Although filthy and black with age we could really appreciate their beauty.

Every room except the kitchen and the bathroom had a fireplace in it. We are not talking discreet Victorian types tucked away in a corner either. These were HUGE take a look at us, ugly fireplaces. I am sad to say the only one that remains is in the living room. We just could not live with them. They dominated the space and were really not in keeping with the rooms also taking up valuable wall space. Anyway more of all this later.

Here are the few pictures I did manage to take on the day we moved into our house.

Boxes, boxes and more boxes. Piled up in every room. This is the kitchen as it was.

The dining room. You couldn't actually get it there. We had so much furniture, moving from a large house to a much smaller one. My husband put our lovely family photo portrait on the wall thinking it would cheer me up. I promptly burst into tears with exhaustion and sadness at all that we had lost and left behind.

Another view of the dining room.

and another ! What were we going to do with all our sofas ! We had four from the old house. It was hell that night, I can remember not even being able to think or talk at this stage. I just wanted to sleep and wake to find it had all been a horrible nightmare.

Our bedroom. It was Summer, look how dark it is outside and still no bed put together for hubby and I to sleep on. This was taken about 10pm.

Jacob's bedroom. He refused to stay in the house the night we moved in. Our great friends who helped us that day had to take him home with them. I do wonder the extent of what had happened to us in such a small amount of time and the huge changes to his life he had to undergo how they have affected him. I like to think they have made him a stronger, kinder more understanding person. I do hope so.

The doorway of the twins room.

They were the only ones who had a good nights sleep on that first night. I can remember sitting in that blue chair nursing them in the early hours with tears streaming down my face and feeling lonelier and sadder than I had ever felt before in my life.

I am happy to say that seven years on, life is much different. We have come through so much together and have worked so hard to make this house a real home. Follow our story on The House Renovation Page.

More soon xx