I can’t quiet believe it has been 1 month since we finally got the keys to our New Build Home. It was a long old ride ( you can read more about it here ), but we got the keys just 2 weeks before Christmas. As with any new build, there are certainly some teething problems. But to throw the big C word ( Christmas ) into the mix, we found ourselves tight for time when it came to the necessities.

So what can you really achieve in 1 month of owning a new build, of which Christmas was in the middle of? Well, it seems rather a lot.

Flooring

One of our biggest additions was of course the flooring. And this absolutely couldn’t wait. We decided to source our own flooring and fitters, aside from what the development offered. We just found the site didn’t have muchhhh choice and we really wanted to put our own stamp and style wherever possible.

We opted for Amtico click smart flooring throughout the downstairs and in our family bathroom and en-suite. Carpets were also laid in all 3 bedrooms, landing and stairs. We are so glad we chose our own flooring and fitters, as we were able to choose style and colour that matched our home better. Plus, we made a saving of over £1500.00 compared to the site quote!

Our flooring took 3 days to complete and was done within 2 days of getting the keys. I was sooo happy that we managed to book our flooring guys ahead, so we could defiantly move in before Christmas.

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Painting

Very little painting has been done here, and what has been done was done in the very first few days of having the keys. Painting our banister was top priority, since no flooring made it that much easier. We are so glad we jumped head first and did this, as its made a world of difference. Next stop, more painting, once all our bedroom furniture is in of course.

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Furniture

Aside from the furniture we had from our apartment, we have made some pretty critical purchases within the first days and weeks of owning our new home!

We found pretty quickly that we didn’t have an awful lot of furniture in the flat and being in a 3 bed house, it looked pretty bare!

One of our early purchases included a gorgeous shelving unit for our lounge. This made a huge difference as it filled a pretty large hole , and meant we could showcase some of our most loved decorative pieces.

We also bagged a new bed and mattress, upgrading from the cramped double to a kingsize. We opted for a ottoman once again, as it offers such huge storage that would otherwise be wasted. We also invested in a better mattress. We were finding we were both suffering on our old mattress, so ensuring we had something that offered comfort and support was so important. To say we both love heading to bed is a understatement – our new mattress is the comfiest thing!

Finally, whilst its not yet here, we have ordered our much needed wardrobes! Our previous, extra tall ones wouldn’t fit in our new abode, so we had to buy new. And with Ikea Pax having a somewhat huge supply issue, we’ve had to wait a bit longer than hoped. But we’ve managed to design something that will hide everything away and make good use of the new space we have!

Lighting

Once again, this was something we managed pretty quickly having purchased many of our lights ahead of moving in. With one slight snag ( we can’t find the beam in the dining room to hang our pendant from ), we have managed to install lighting in the hallway and landing, lounge and downstairs toilet. We just need to find the right lights for our bathroom and bedrooms.

Turf

Who knew having turf laid would make such a huge impact on the inside space too! We very quickly became desperate for some turf, and ahead of when we thought we would. Having Rhodie penned onto our measly patio, it was high on the agenda. Following the advice of our site manager, we had a local company come in just this week and level, top soil and turf our garden.

And what a huge impact its had already!

Rhodie now has somewhere to blow off some steam and ultimately go to the toilet! Just looking out of our patio doors onto green rather than mud, has made a huge difference! Surprisingly, the green has kicked me up the bum and I’m now planning extensively our garden. We have been lucky with the size, and I’m keen to make good use of it!

What’s next?

If you’ve read our 2021 Interior plans for our new home, you will know the list was pretty extensive. But we have already made a small dent in our long list, and well within budget too!

Furniture

Obviously building our wardrobes is high on the agenda, but also finding a accent chair and coffee table for the lounge is a must too. Finishing our master bedroom with soft touches, and key furniture pieces is also high on our list, as having no bedside lights or somewhere to put your midnight drink is getting pretty tedious!

Loft

If you’ve bought new build recently, you will know that you ‘shouldn’t’ put anything in your loft. However, being the rebels me and my husband are, we want to store, just the usual in ours. I mean who has a loft and never puts anything in it! We had thought about getting someone in to do it, but after much research, we are confident we can do this ourselves. Hopefully we will get cracking soon so I can finally put those Christmas decorations away!

Garden

Although the dark evenings are drawing to a close, having some much needed light at the front and back of our house is something we are now turning our attention too. It could well be something we have to get some professional help on, of which we will wait until lock-down has passed.

I am so grateful to finally be in our own home, especially with the latest lock-down. We are in no rush to do everything and more to our home, but we also want to take full advantage of not being able to do an awful lot else. I hope you are enjoying my journey, I would advise checking my instagram too as I tend to share a lot of it on there.

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