We've only had the keys to our house less than two weeks but it feels like we've always owned it. We've not moved in yet and probably won't for a few months as it needs a fair bit of work to spruce it up. But here are some things I've learnt since we excitedly picked up the keys to our house. And sat on the floor surrounded by the smell of cat wee eating fish and chips...
1. It's never quite how you remember
We went to see our house twice before we got the keys yet by the time we walked through those doors I had completely forgotten what it looked it. It seemed smaller than what I remembered. But after that first shock of walking through the door of a home you now own, it's hard to imagine never not owning it. The feeling is probably one of the greatest ones in the world.
2. It's a marathon not a sprint
I'm very impatient by nature so it's very hard that my house is currently looking like a Pinterest wet dream. We knew it needed a far bit of work when we bought it but when I realised that it wasn't going to be looking pristine in a week, it was hard. It's pretty frustrating that it's not looking exactly how I want it to be. But I want to do it right. I don't want to just buy things to 'make do', I'd rather go without for a few months to save up for the things I really want. So I'm just going to suck it up and deal with bare floorboards and paintless walls for a little while longer.
3. Compromising is hard
I have all these bright ideas in my head and thanks to my only child syndrome, I'm pretty prone to wanting my own way. Compromising isn't one of my strongest traits. But I'm learning. We just don't have the budget to have all these things I've envisioned. I'm beginning to hate the 'B' word... Instead of having Farrow & Ball paint all over the house, we've comprised on using it on the feature walls we have planned and Dulux white paint everywhere else. It's the little things like that help to keep the costs down yet still allow you to have what you really want.
4. Reality is very different
You never really know what you buy because it's so hard to really inspect a house when its filled with furniture. You can't really go to someone else's house and start moving things in order to get a good look. Unless of course, you fancy a bop on the nose. We brought this house thinking we had a year to try and get it to what we wanted while living there. It turned out that it was just a bit of a bodge job. The skirting boards were different sizes, the kitchen had seen better days, the bathroom is grotty and the floorboards are uneven. In a way it's a blessing because it means we HAVE to get it sorted now rather than make do.
5. Money gets swallowed up
£3,000 sounds like a lot of money until you take into consideration how much paint costs, plasterers cost, flooring costs and furniture costs. Spoiler. It isn't a lot of money. AT ALL. We're going to concentrate on getting the house in a decent shape rather than think about furniture. So it looks like we will be sitting on camping chairs in the living room until the summer. But all part of the fun eh?
Despite everything, it really is the best thing I have done. I still can't quite get over the fact I now own a house. A HOUSE. I've never adulted so hard...
