5 Moving House Tips

People say that moving house is one of the most stressful things you will ever do - And they aren't wrong.

Moving into our first proper home (a two bed flat) was easy-peasy - We'd gone from a rented apartment where most of the contents were provided, into a blank canvas.

But, if you're anything like me, you might find it very easy to... Accumulate things. Maybe your vice is ornaments or candles, maybe it's cushions. Personally mine is, well, just everything homeware, which at the time seems perfectly logical. It's pretty. It fits in your home. Your style changes and your possessions grow with your home. And then suddenly the time comes to box it all up and pop it somewhere new, and WOW you seem to have bought a lot of things!

So now that we've succesfully gone through two big moves, I thought I'd share a few pointers for moving house, from choosing the removal companies to the unpacking once you're in!

1. Shop around for a removal company

This tip had to come first. I know it seems obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many people just go with the first removal company they see, or the ones with the most online presence. Removal companies hold so much power as they can really make or break your move. These are some of the key things we thought about:

- Level of service. Do you need them to pack your things for you or could you manage that yourselves? Some companies provide packing boxes - work out whether you need these or not. Make these decisions early on, and then start hunting around.

- Details, details. Removal companies will need to know where you're moving to, the size of your home, and a date on which you will be moving. You really need to get this date pencilled in with your removers as soon as you have it - The last thing you want is to be left in the lurch on the day.

- Shop around. We contacted four independent removal guys, each of whom came to scope out our apartment before giving us a quote. It's very important to shop around, in order to gauge an 'average' cost of the move and to know that you're not being ripped off! Don't just go with the cheapest quote - Make sure you have gained a full picture of the work you are agreeing to and if possible, some past jobs the company have done (see reviews on websites etc). You could also ask friends and family if they would recommend a company they have used, for added peace of mind. Once booked, ensure that you have all of the contact details for the company for any emergency updates, and you're set.

2. Start early

You might think you can't begin packing until you've been given a moving date, but why not start sooner? We started packing non-essential items such as things that were up in the loft, and clothes we didn't wear often. We did a few boxes every weekend, and before we knew it we were almost done. When we were given our final date, all we had to do was the last couple of boxes. It made it seem like so much less daunting than trying to do it all a few weeks before moving day.

3. Label it up

One of the things we found most helpful after the move was the way we had labelled the moving boxes. I used a template I found on The Project Girl which were really easy to use and made unpacking easier. When the removal men came to pick up the boxes, they could easily see which box was destined for which room, and on the blank lines we wrote exactly what was in the box, so we could lay a hand on anything we needed. Have lots of marker pens ready for anyone helping you pack, so they can help you label as you go. Trust me, this is one of the best things you'll do!

4. Pack a 'first night' box.

This is a tip you've probably seen mentioned before, and with good reason. This should be the last box that gets put onto the van, and the first one to come out and be immediately unpacked.
Handy items for this box are:
- Kettle, coffee, tea, milk (this one is especially important - to keep the removal men happy!)
- A few mugs and glasses
- Cleaning products
- Accessories for any pets or kiddies that will need feeding that evening
- Towels & toiletries
- Bedding (make up your duvet and pillow before you go, so that when you get to the new house you    can build your bed and just jump on in!
- Paracetamol for achy heads and backs
- A bottle of champagne, to crack open when you finally shut the door on the removal men!
- A radio or speakers for ipod/iphone, to make the move a bit less stressful!
- Pyjamas
- A change of clothes for the next day
You'll be so glad you did this one at the end of a long day when you can't find the teapot and are desperate for a cuppa.

5. Unpack the areas you use the most first

This seems like an obvious one, but it's almost always forgotten - Don't sweat the small stuff! Focus on the essentials. Build the beds and wire in the TV so that you can sit down with a coffee and get an early night before starting to unpack in the morning / at the weekend. You'll probably feel like you want everything to be perfectly in it's place from the moment you get in, but remember there's no hurry! Pace yourselves and it will make for a much happier and more memorable experience for you and your family.


If you're reading this because you're about to move house, I hope you found these tips useful.
Best of luck with your house move!

- Em

Bathroom Choices - Braving the Blue?

Before Christmas we began researching bathroom installation companies, as our bathroom is one of the things that desperately needs doing. We had quotes from several stores but the one we finally went with was Wickes. They seem to get quite a mixed reception, especially online, but we liked the designer and he created a look we really liked. It's a huge decision to make; a bathroom is not something you can just start again with if it doesn't look right! (well you could, if you were rich and frivolous).

We got the call today to say that it will be fitted at the end of this month, and we're so excited! The only problem is, we are really struggling with choosing our paint colour and tiles.

 Right now in the bathroom, the tiles are a crazy aquatic theme with shells, swirls and angry fish. A visiting relative said that they looked like piranhas... Not very welcoming! The walls are mucky cream, and it looks as though the previous owners attempted a few DIY jobs such as the floor tiles and installing a delightful wooden cover for the back of the toilet. It just needs a complete overhaul. We begged the help of Pinterest, and found ourselves leaning towards three distinct looks...


Exhibit A: Moody Dark Blue (with gold / white accents)

I love this look. It's so much more exciting than picking something 'safe', and it might make the small bathroom look bigger. The downside is that, well, it might make it look smaller! And I feel like we might wish we'd gone with something less heavy come the summer months.


Exhibit B: All Things White & Beautiful

Ahhh, the sensible option. Classic clean lines, no fuss, lightens up the space. I do wonder how easy it would be to keep clean, though.


Exhibit C: Spa-like Serenity

Horizonal wood-effect tiling, greenery and taupey paint. Calming and restful.


Decisions, decisions. What do you think - Do you have a brave blue bathroom or is everything white? If so, do you have painters' remorse or are you loving it?

- Em

Removing Woodchip Wallpaper & Before/After

If you haven't heard of woodchip wallpaper, you are not missing out. It's often very tired-looking, dated and infamous in the DIY world for being extremely difficult to remove.
Whilst I'm sure it was once the latest trend in wall decoration, it certainly isn't now, and when we moved in we found the whole living room of our house coated with several layers of the stuff.

We set aside a whole weekend, determined to be rid of it and get some paint up on the walls! 

This kind of job is made much easier by using a steaming tool to cut through the initial layer of the woodchip. We used one from Black & Decker which worked a treat, but you can get them from any good DIY store.

Upon inspection of the wallpaper, we found it to have two distinct layers - The tough, outer layer of woodchip (the white layer in the photo) which had formed a plasticy texture where paint had merged with the woodchip. This was VERY difficult to remove and required quite a bit of elbow grease. Underneath it was a thinner, sticky paper texture, which came away much more easily using the steamer and a wallpaper scraper.

Top layer on the left, bottom on the right.

Daniel VS woodchip!
On the left is bare wall - This is what your wall will look like once the woodchip is completely removed.

We went around the room in a little production line. Dan removed the top layer and I followed behind him with the steamer, removing the second layer. 

Daniel having a well-deserved rest! 

In all, it took around twelve hours - Six hours on the Saturday and six on the Sunday.

The following weekend, once the walls were dry, we scrubbed the walls top to bottom with sugar soap to make sure they were paint-ready, and painted the entire room with bright white builder's paint from Homebase to provide a nice clean base to start from. 

Next, we painted the walls with Chic Shadow from Dulux, which is a lovely warm mid-grey. I really recommend this paint actually, it applied very smoothly and one tin seemed to go a really long way. Top tip when choosing paint colours - Search Pinterest for the specific colour/brand and often you will find images showing what that paint colour looks like in real homes, in different lights and against different furniture than your own. It's so hard to visualise paint colours in real life from looking at a tin of paint or a tester on your wall so this is a good tip!

Another idea for the colour-conscious - On the Dulux website they have a tool where you can choose your preferred paint colour and they will suggest other colours to complement it. They also have a little search engine which helps you work out which paint texture you need (matt, silk, eggshell etc). Fun and great for paint virgins!

Anyway, here's Chic Shadow going onto the walls. Excuse the patchiness, it was still drying.

First coat of Chic Shadow, by Dulux

And the final gorgeous result! 

We love the way it looks and it really has completely modernised the living room. For anyone wanting to remove woodchip from your home, I hope this post hasn't daunted you too much but shown you that while it's not easy, it IS do-able! *satisfied sigh*

The next step will be to add faux-coving around the ceiling edge and laminate flooring to finish it off, but that will be for another post another day!

That's all for now, I hope this post has helped you out or given you some inspiration.
- Em

Kitchen Tile Paint Before & After

It's time to update you on our first exciting little decorating project - The kitchen.

There is a pretty good base to be going along with. The cupboards are white, clean and modern, and not too far from what we would've chosen ourselves. They do seem to have been incorrectly fitted though, with the worktops not connecting correctly and a few dodgy doors, but it's nothing we can't fix. The glaringly obvious problem was the burnt orange tiling... 

*shield your eyes now*

We looked at Pinterest for some style inspiration and came up with these few images that we really liked. We are gray superfans and tend to plaster it everywhere, but I think it looks particularly scrumptious in a kitchen. I've just noticed that all of the images have subway tiles! Sadly, for anyone that has just decked out their entire kitchen/bathroom with them, I think they might have already had their moment in the sun and are on the way out of fashion. I'm still mourning the retirement of the chevron *sob* and am currently in denial about my chevron bedding and cushions...

My parents recently revamped their shower room, which involved painting the tiles. Now, I know I'm a mere decorating amateur, but I didn't even know tile paint was a thing - Apparently it is! So we thought we'd give it a try. At least as a temporary measure, until such time as we are ready to replace the tiles altogether. 

So, without further ado... Here is the first coat finished! 

The room looks cleaner and more modern already. We found that the key was to scrub the tiles thoroughly with a rough brush before we started, so that the paint was being laid onto a clean, flat surface. Nobody wants crusty old toast crumbs poking out from their freshly painted tiles, do they?!

We're really impressed with the paint (I'll add the brand here later for anyone interested) and happy with the results in general. I'll be sure to do an update once we've finished the whole room.

Before I sign off - Can we briefly talk about the incredible cuteness of our teapot kettle?! It's an electric kettle housed within a proper ceramic teapot, so it keeps the warmth in and looks bloody adorable too! I'd never seen one before so I had to snap it up. You can find them here from B&M home department.

That's all for now, I'm already planning our next post which will be about our last home, the apartment. Thanks for reading!

You Had Me At 'Fixer-Upper'

To set the scene, it was a lovely sunny Saturday, and our fourth weekend of house hunting. We already had a full day of house viewings booked, but noticed the listing of a rather scruffy little house on Rightmove. I grimaced at the decor but it was in a nice neighbourhood, so we thought we might as well have a quick peek, just in case. 

We rang the agent who said there hadn't been much interest in the scruffy house, and that we could view in the next hour or so if we liked. When we arrived, the estate agent unlocked the door, turned to us and said, "it's a bit of a fixer-upper..." and as we walked in, our hearts were won. Any home owners reading that last sentence will know exactly what I mean. It's the little flip your stomach does when you walk through the door and, no matter how bland and dark the colour scheme, you can imagine your life there in full technicolour.

Despite the imperfections and it being a 'project house' (or maybe because of that!) we hurriedly made an offer. It has two big bedrooms, two garages, plenty of quirky storage cupboards - and the important part - it's homely. When we found out it had been accepted, we spent the afternoon in an excited, shocked little bubble, and pretty much stayed that way until moving day (22/09/2014).

So here we are - Just about finished with unpacking having been in it for a week - Only one or two suitcases of clothes left to hang in the wardrobe tonight. Once that's done we can start with our plan of attack for the renovation! 

I hope you enjoyed this introductory post, I've got another post up my sleeve tomorrow with the to-do list of all the work that needs to be done... Follow us on Bloglovin or on your Google feed to stay in the loop with the updates!

- Em