It’s a refreshing video to discuss snagging and regrets it gives people a insight into things that could not work in their houses, however most of these are easily remedied. Grout, bannisters, doors are all fairly simple DIY jobs and with a little time and relatively low money can be sorted
Thank you yes we are lucky we didn’t have any serious regrets! We will change and fix most of them over time I hope- bar things like the bath etc. Thank you for watching :)
Thank you for sharing your renovation journey. For the stairs, there are items called Dust Corners that are small triangles of metal you would install (it's just one nail) where the tread, riser and skirt board join to prevent a build-up of dust. They were common in older houses but I think they would work quite nicely in your lovely home.
Garden plants are like paint colours, sometimes the best move is to admit you chose the wrong one and replace it. I suggest you do that tree research you wish you'd done before and choose a new tree. You can also add privacy by putting a trellis and climber or potted shrub near where you actually sit rather than at the fence line and then a smaller one can provide more privacy quickly.
Thanks so much lovely! And yes I wish we had done a little more research- while I like ours I am not sure they will be ones we keep forever and ever. x
No regret but one of the ‘must haves’ on a house was mature trees. I like a private backyard and I don’t want to see my neighbors or feel exposed. I can’t change the landscaping of a house quickly, easily or even very affordably so that was a must.
We also painted our banister, looked exactly the same as yours. We used Farrow and Ball Estate Eggshell in Wevet. I just re-do the handrail and the bottom main posts every six months or so and this keeps it looking new.
Hi, love the video! I was hoping I could help you with the kitchen grout situation. 1. A steamer really helps clean the grout lines in the high traffic areas. 2. You can remove and redo the grout with a grout removal tool. It looks like a screw driver with a triangle shaped tip. Once it's redon, make sure to use a really high quality sealer, they can be pretty expensive, but it's well worth the price. 3. You can also use a grout stain after a thorough clean. Whenever I do tiling in kitchens or high traffic areas, I like to incorporate a darker color. Unfortunately no matter how much you seal the grout, it will eventually discolor. A darker color helps to hide the discoloration, and having a stain makes it easier to touch up down the road. There are probably a thousand other things you can do, but these have worked great for me. I wish you the best, and hopefully one of these help you 😚
When choosing paint the next go round, choose a gloss. Choosing a white colour is beautiful; simply choose a sheen with more ability to stand up to day to day life. A wet rag with cleaning solution (even a simple soap and water from the sink) will do wonders. My partner and I moved into a house where the previous owners seem to have chosen Anything Else In Life rather than cleaning. A good couple of scrubby swipes with a hot soapy cloth brought our gloss trim back to gorgeous! Good luck, and you have a new subscriber from the US!!!
It's always best to remove the varnish from the woodwork before you paint it. Undercoat and then top coat. This would have prevented it from chipping off so easily, hope that helps.
The white stair millwork brightens the area & it can be maintained with some effort at minimal expense. You can sand the hand rails and newel posts. Use a door and trim alkyd paint (glossy) in white or light grey for contrast. Give it a few days to dry then polyurethane top coat for durability if you like the look of the paint. Only metal stands up to years of children's hands and metal handrails aren't cozy. Even varnished wood shows wear and dirt and has to be refreshed.
I’m so glad I found this video! Subscribed and memorising all info! Our grout did exactly the same. We bought a steam cleaner, scrubbed it and sealed it and it’s been perfect ever since. We do have to steam mop the floor. We went for a gloss tile. I have regretted it every day since it was down 🙈
For your grout - a mix of bleach and water in a spray bottle. Possibly 1/2 and 1/2 or stronger. Spray and leave for 10 mins or so and clean off with water. I do this every coup;emir months and it brightens the grout.
Golden hop is a gorgeous fast climber for trellis to provide privacy. Very fast hedge is dogwood which can be trained as a floating hedge by encouraging growth from a small number of ground branches so u don’t lose ground space. Curly willow tree is fantastic for privacy n grows fast but will need tree surgeon every 5 years to control height
Have to agree with you over the French connection sofas. I had to finally sell mine as the cushion pads kept moving forward and my back suffered a lot. Apparently they have improved this with newer models. Also I have the same issue on my stair carpet and we are replacing it by putting the kardean flooring as on the ground floor on just the riser part of the stairs and just carpeting the treds, just an idea for you. Love your styling.
Thanks so much! It’s a shame about the sofas. We can’t afford or justify to replace ours yet but I wish I’d researched them a bit more. They aren’t the comfiest either.
Thanks for the tips - super-useful! Everyone has regrets with their home improvements - it's normal. For what it's worth, we wish we had a smaller bath. We opted for the bigger-than-standard size bath and it takes sooo much water to fill it, and we're on a water meter 😣
Interesting video Katie! I imagine everyone has some regret about things they've done or bought for their home, I definitely have! Your hair is absolutely gorgeous BTW! Xx
I'm in the process of painting our stairs too. Use diamond hard garage floor paint on the newel posts and main contact areas. It stands up to the wear and tear, and the garage floor paint withstands the grease from hands (that's what it's causing the paint to break down on the newel post) better than most other paints. It also is more resistant to chipping.
ooh thank you Steph I will definitely try Diamond paint. I want to keep it white but just need something a bit more hard wearing on the posts I think. It's been fine everywhere else. x
Thanks lovely! I think I will paint ours white again cause I do like the way it looks, from what others have said i think I just need to maintain it more and repaint it often x
I painted just the spindles white and left the handrails and the newel post (?) black. I had to put primer on the black parts because it was originally stained!
Pink stuff does wonders on grout. Honestly, just done mine and my white grout had gone brown. I did gently use a toothbrush and then left it to dry. Mopped after.
Oh gosh we have those DFS French connection sofas, forever sorting the sagging cushions and whenever u get up the cushion moves forward because its not attached to the back cushion, i love the legs on them tho and general style, glad im not the only one!❤️
Thanks for you honest retrospective, I’m about to start a renovation and I think it’s important to prioritise comfort, function and practicality over fashion and style. Style will come and go but at least you’ll still have function. Also making slow considered decision and understanding how a space works before renovation.
Great video!!! Loved this. You could add a striped carpet to your stairs and landing? We have one and it’s lovely, so hard wearing, looks fresh and modern, doesn’t show dust. Maybe add a darker colour paint eg grey to your main spindle and the hand rails on your stairs, but keep the rest white? For your garden privacy, I would add some closely planted bamboo plants (in long containers as the roots can go crazy) in between your trees. You can buy bamboo plants that are already very tall and would be higher than your fence and they’re pretty cheap. Instant privacy & greenery 👍 and they look beautiful too, especially with some fairy lights dotted through. We are going to do this once our kitchen extension on built to screen off our nextdoor neighbours xx
Katie Ellison you’re welcome! I’m no gardening expert (I’ve just been reading a lot lately about screening plants ahead of our extension project), but I believe as long as the bamboo is planted in any sort of container, rather than straight in the ground near your house, then the roots will stay controlled. We will be planting ours out of the pots directly into rectangular raised planters. Your kitchen is lovely by the way! Can’t wait to have ours started & finished 😊 Xx
Here is one of my regrets. I purchased beautiful wood Venetian blinds for every window in our huge three story house. They were as expensive as a new car. It was only later that I realized how much the blinds stopped light from coming in, even when completely open. I will always choose light over window treatments in the future.
My biggest regret in my home was the carpet in the sitting room. I hated it from day 1, it was too light in colour and shows up every mark. My hubby says it has to stay and a year and a half later I still hate it but it's still down. I want to put wood down, but my hubby says it's too cold. We can't agree so the carpet will have to stay for ever, haha! We also have the same problem with the grout with similar looking tiles to yours. It's tough when you spend a lot of money and then find these problems after! It happens to everyone I think, trial and error :) xx
I definitely think everyone has something they have done in their home that didn't work out quite as effective as you would have hoped for! I don't make a habit of renovating houses so I was bound to not get it completely right! x
@@katie_ellison I sometimes think that the ideas in my head don't always work out as I imagine haha. Also living with the changes for a while can show you where mistakes were made. (expensive to change though) :) xx
We have floating stairs (so no handrail) which means the kids hold on to the wall when they go up or down. You can see the handprints all the way up the staircase 😬. xx Andrea
Hi thank you for this I was wondering if you lived in the house while getting the work done? Just sand the door a little and you should be fine. Check in your local deco shop. Love your bathroom
Watched the extension as I may be doing the same thing in a house. The dark edges to a carpet are simply dust that has settled for ages and not been vacuumed up. You should vac every corner/edge with the crevice tool from day one. ;)
clean your grout with a white sponge. It takes number of sponges but it doesn't remove the grout. When the room is finished you can always seal the grout. Supposedly you should be sealing your tile floor every six months
Great video. We have the French connection sofas and we love them. We find them super comfy. We had them for 4 years and sold them and bought them again in grey! The new ones have changed slighting in the design with extra foam and padding. We have never had any issues but I rotate the cushions at least every week and I don’t have young children.
We have always had white gloss banisters growing up as kids and they’ve never really marked. I know gloss isn’t everyone’s taste but it’s always stayed looking good and easy to wipe x
just came across your channel and i am obsessed! As someone who wants to do the same thing you did in the future (buy a house and renovate it top to bottom) is the reason that it took you 3 years to do because of costs (i.e. pausing the renovations to save money) or simply because thats just how long the works would physically take. Also at the risk of sounding too intrusive, can i ask how much the whole house renovations cost? you have such an amazing eye to detail!
Katie, tree wise... 🌳... you could still change them. People will buy trees that are in the ground like yours. There are loads of plants people have dug up for sale on Facebook. You can then replace with new ones that are bigger/better growing!
For the stairs, i have the exact same problem. I’m going for a warmer tone next time. I have a greyish blue and all you can see are those brownish marks in the middles from the traffic. I think next time ill choose a nice beigey brown.
You could try to improve the look & comfort levels of your sofa with new cushions. We have just moved into a fixer upper & decided to defer replacing our tired old IKEA sofa until we have the family room fully redone. My husband ordered custom cushions from GB Foam Direct, they were really inexpensive & have made a huge difference! It's so much more comfortable now & looks significantly better. I'm wishing we'd done it sooner 😆
My biggest regret is my choice of floor tiles in my new kitchen. In fact my kitchen looks very similar to yours with dark units and large island. But I chose wood effect ceramic tiles as I have underfloor heating. The tiles look really good when wet after mopping over them, but as soon as they dry they are so dull and matt that they in fact look dusty all the time. To top it all, it's very hard to find non matt wood effect ceramic or Porcelain tiles, a bit of shine would have been nice.
As far as the trees go, do you have a tree available called Arborvitae where you live? It’s a conical shaped evergreen that grows fast and tall and provides a natural screen. Google them, there are different types. I wouldn’t feel a bit bad about taking out the slow growing trees you planted, although I’m sure they’ll be pretty some decades from now. 😂
Love your house, Katie. You have beautiful taste! But it was interesting to hear about some of the issues you’ve had. Also, my husband’s a tiler, so I’ll ask him about the grout in your kitchen! 👍🏻 x
Love your vids and they motivate us to renovate our house. But as first time buyers it will be a few years down the line. For the garden privacy, will bamboo trees be an option? As you have raised bed, you don't need to worry too much about whether the bamboo is spreading or clumping. The former varieties grow thicker and taller within a few years.
Well I do the corners of our stairs like this every so often and it gets the dirt right out. I use a wet microfibre cloth. Makes the carpet look lovely and clean x
Use a squeegee on your stairs/carpets to get into the corners and edges. It’s great. Not something to do all the time as I think it can lift some pile but it’s great for every now and then.
We have the exact same colour French connection sofas from DFS but instead of two sofas we went for one bigger/longer “L” shape. We’ve had it for 18 months and ours too has bobbled but not to saggy. Ours gets stains/marks on it from 3 kids spilling stuff. I can get them off with fabric/carpet cleaner though. I find them quite comfy too. Ours just seem to be taking a battering from the kids (7, 6, 1).
I think that's the thing isn't it? They will always take a battering when they have young children so they are never going to look like they did in the show room. I do find ours quite comfy, just not as comfy as ones where you sort of snuggle into them. L Shape sounds nice cause then you can stretch your legs out. I love the look of them still. x
Our white painted staircase looks exactly the same, it gets so grubby and grimey. Wish we had left it wood as it was quite light and would have matched our doors which are like yours (we also should have varnished ours straight away but didn’t 😂😭). We nearly bought a sofa we loved, then saw a great tip to search on second hand selling sites to see how the sofa looks after time. It looked horrendous so we got a different one! X
That's such a good hint about the sofas not sure why I didn't think of that! I wonder if I could completely strip ours back- I'd be a bit scared to try though! x
Katie, thank you so much for this video. I am so glad I came across this video. I have just bought my first home and you have covered exactly what I am looking at doing. Do you happen to have a video on how you did the staircase spindles? You said it took a long time to replace them but I am wondering how you attached them. I just can't figure it out haha. We have old spindles that are far too spaced apart especially with a little one about to be moving around so I was hoping to rip out the old ones and place in new ones while keeping the handrail and main frame. Thank you again so much you have really helped me decide what to do in my home.
Your cleaning issues seem like they’re a result from simply not using a sealer - but on everything! Repaint & the use polyurethane on the spindle on your stairs. Have your tile professionally cleaned & sealed. Scotch guard for carpets & sofas! Easy peasy!
Thank you! I had a brace 2 years ago and as part of the treatment they whitened them. I haven’t done it since it just lasts a long time. It was one of those ones where you put the gel in over night in a retainer. I want to say it was by Phillips.
Thank you! We got them from a local timbers merchant but the doors are manufactured by a company called XL joinery. If you type XL joinery cottage door into google loads of places stock them. x
Hi, you can replace the foam in the cushions if you have a zipper to remove the material. Also I was surprised that in your bathroom the small size of the sink plus the fact that the mirror is over the tub was not an issue. Do you fertilize your trees? Would you consider maybe removing one tree and installing a larger one. My husband and I have built two houses and renovated five and there are always some regrets. I wish I had put a larger window in my living room because it is a very dark space but it is not possible now.
We have an en-suite that we store all our bath products but to be honest we don’t have loads as I’m not one for clutter so the sink is just fine. The mirror over the bath has been enforced with silicone as well, plus many screws so we can ever see if it starts to give way, but it’s never had a problem and we’ve had it up two years. Thanks for letting me know about the sofa cushions that might be something to consider. I think it’s only natural to have regrets isn’t it? Doesn’t mean you aren’t thrilled with the space you’ve created, just that there are things you’d do differently next time. 👍🏻👍🏻
It's really unfortunate that your contractors didn't inform you that there is a special kind of grout that is recommended for wet areas (kitchens & bathrooms). These grouts are pre-mixed and are stain ands crack resistant. They are more of a bonding grout and because they are more than just colored sand they don''t wash out over time with water.
Ah fab thank you! I find as well that sort of stretching out the material a bit makes them look a bit nicer so they don't look baggy when you aren't on them if that makes sense? I do still like the sofas, but I must admit to being a little disappointed by the way they look after a couple of years. x
I can relate to the carpet issues. We went with some limited carpeting in a few areas but it’s wearing after 5 years and I don’t like the color. 😕 About the stairs.....Can you strip the paint from the staircase and just leave the natural wood color (seal it of course)? Or would that be too dark of a color? ~Krislynner
Hi Katie, really enjoyed your video. We (by we I mean Matt 😂) have been decorating our hall stairs & landing its been painted white witch looks lovely clean & fresh. Matt has taken up the stair carpet we are really keen to have wooden stairs but the stairs aren’t in great condition so we will have them covered to jazz them up 😀. I must say I thought i was the only person to have stuck in dust/fluff on the stairs/ landing I assume the dust fairy only visit our house 😆😆😄. It’s definitely a long term project renovation the house we are still looking at having an extension & new kitchen which I am discovering isn’t as easy as it seems, watching all these Reno programs on tv makes it look so easy 😌. I know we will get there in time. Is your flooring downstairs real wood or laminate? 😊 Karen & Matt x
Hi Karen, yes ours get really dusty but then again I'm not great at keeping on top of it so that is probably why as well. Our flooring is Karndean flooring which is kind of like a slightly more laminate (at least I think it is)- it's great, they sort of heat up glue and stick it down but it comes in loads of shades and colours. x
I really am pleased you did this video. We are currently doing an extension and a whole house renovation. We are spending a considerable amount of money and of course want to get things right. I was just wondering what size bath did you go for as this has been niggling at me about getting a smaller bath rather than a larger one? x
I’m not sure what the bath size is and I’m not at home, we are on holiday. I can measure it once I’m home, but just gone on to the website and the company is no longer trading! X
I definitely do sometimes I think. I love Instagram and interior magazines, and love interiors in general so often I go for how something looks. I definitely did this with our sofas. And no huge regrets, just little ones I wish we’d changed slightly. On the whole we are thrilled with everything we’ve done so far! X
Hi, I had the same problem with my stairs too. I decided to paint them liquorice, its a dark brown black and makes such an impact even though my hallway is small too. I painted the bannisters and the sides too.looks amazing
We’re about to renovate our kitchen and I’m so stressed about making a mistake because it’s such a big cost. If anyone has any kitchen advice please help! 😩
We had our bathroom renovated and got a large bath because my husband is tall. I regret it. It takes ages to fill up and when I’m lying in it I can’t touch the end of the bath so I’m forever trying to stay afloat! Not relaxing at all.
Of course I got them from a local timbers merchant but the manufacturer is XL Joinery- if you type XL joinery doors into google so many places do them. x
I think those trees are small enough that you could remove them and sell them. If you want privacy ask at the garden centre for fast growing and fuller trees. Birches are beautiful but not great for privacy even when fully grown because they aren't really full left trees
Great video always find these videos interesting, I'm nosey 😂, we have silver/grey grout in our bathrooms that wasn't done properly that is doing the same it looks so dirty now, so if you find a way to sort it pleeeeease let me know X
My grout is dark and it turned milky looking after a while. I am looking into a product called Mapei (grout refresher) and it is sold in many colors. Sold on amazon .
As a contractor I learned long ago that grout is porous and will easily absorb stains. There are products that can be mixed with grout when installing it. But for your situation you can clean the grout really well (use a good abrasive cleaner or steam clean). After it’s completely dry, you can paint in the sealant on just the grout lines. Good luck and I think your home is beautiful!!!
I am so glad im not the only one with renovation regrets 😒😒😂😂 i enjoyed this
It’s a refreshing video to discuss snagging and regrets it gives people a insight into things that could not work in their houses, however most of these are easily remedied. Grout, bannisters, doors are all fairly simple DIY jobs and with a little time and relatively low money can be sorted
Thank you yes we are lucky we didn’t have any serious regrets! We will change and fix most of them over time I hope- bar things like the bath etc. Thank you for watching :)
Thank you for sharing your renovation journey. For the stairs, there are items called Dust Corners that are small triangles of metal you would install (it's just one nail) where the tread, riser and skirt board join to prevent a build-up of dust. They were common in older houses but I think they would work quite nicely in your lovely home.
Yes that’s what I was going to suggest too
Love this video!! We just sold our home so I think I’ll film a video just like this one! Thanks for the inspiration!
Ooh that’s a great idea! Good luck with your house move if you haven’t done it already! :)
I think you should paint your stairs black, it will help to modernize it. And the black will tie in with your kitchen :)
I was thinking this too.
Black woodwork is hard always looks dusty in high traffic areas. Would be a nightmare to be constantly dustingeach rail.
Moriah Pulowski I disagree lolol
Garden plants are like paint colours, sometimes the best move is to admit you chose the wrong one and replace it. I suggest you do that tree research you wish you'd done before and choose a new tree. You can also add privacy by putting a trellis and climber or potted shrub near where you actually sit rather than at the fence line and then a smaller one can provide more privacy quickly.
Thanks so much for the advice Allison! I think you are right.
I definitely invested more in the sofas (buy cheap, buy twice!) & it was worth it. Great video again Kate & loving that you’ve gone back to blond x
Thanks so much lovely! And yes I wish we had done a little more research- while I like ours I am not sure they will be ones we keep forever and ever. x
Love how the family bathroom came out!
No regret but one of the ‘must haves’ on a house was mature trees. I like a private backyard and I don’t want to see my neighbors or feel exposed. I can’t change the landscaping of a house quickly, easily or even very affordably so that was a must.
I definitely think you are right! I wish we had gone for more mature trees now.
We also painted our banister, looked exactly the same as yours. We used Farrow and Ball Estate Eggshell in Wevet. I just re-do the handrail and the bottom main posts every six months or so and this keeps it looking new.
That’s a good idea! I think I need to do that a bit more, I naively just thought it would stand the test of time! X
Hi, love the video! I was hoping I could help you with the kitchen grout situation. 1. A steamer really helps clean the grout lines in the high traffic areas. 2. You can remove and redo the grout with a grout removal tool. It looks like a screw driver with a triangle shaped tip. Once it's redon, make sure to use a really high quality sealer, they can be pretty expensive, but it's well worth the price. 3. You can also use a grout stain after a thorough clean. Whenever I do tiling in kitchens or high traffic areas, I like to incorporate a darker color. Unfortunately no matter how much you seal the grout, it will eventually discolor. A darker color helps to hide the discoloration, and having a stain makes it easier to touch up down the road. There are probably a thousand other things you can do, but these have worked great for me. I wish you the best, and hopefully one of these help you 😚
I don't have kids but a slice of damp looah with a little washing up liquid is pretty good for nooks and crannies in carpet
What a refreshing video!! I always think I'm the only one who regrets home design decisions! :)
No definitely no just you. I think it's only natural to have a few regrets or things that haven't quite worked out the way you wanted them too.
Ellison9p0lll9
When choosing paint the next go round, choose a gloss. Choosing a white colour is beautiful; simply choose a sheen with more ability to stand up to day to day life. A wet rag with cleaning solution (even a simple soap and water from the sink) will do wonders.
My partner and I moved into a house where the previous owners seem to have chosen Anything Else In Life rather than cleaning. A good couple of scrubby swipes with a hot soapy cloth brought our gloss trim back to gorgeous!
Good luck, and you have a new subscriber from the US!!!
Paint the top rail black. Make sure you sand it well and use a tight gripping primmer made for cabinetry. I would use a matte or satin black.
That’s a good idea! I think a black or dark grey might look really nice x
@@katie_ellison glad you like it. I have some other ideas for you if you want to pm me.
Paint a polyurethane varnish over the white paint on the staircase to make it more hardwearing.
It's always best to remove the varnish from the woodwork before you paint it. Undercoat and then top coat. This would have prevented it from chipping off so easily, hope that helps.
The white stair millwork brightens the area & it can be maintained with some effort at minimal expense. You can sand the hand rails and newel posts. Use a door and trim alkyd paint (glossy) in white or light grey for contrast. Give it a few days to dry then polyurethane top coat for durability if you like the look of the paint. Only metal stands up to years of children's hands and metal handrails aren't cozy. Even varnished wood shows wear and dirt and has to be refreshed.
@@gladtobefreeagain7375 gtt
@@gladtobefreeagain7375 t6gt
I’m so glad I found this video! Subscribed and memorising all info!
Our grout did exactly the same. We bought a steam cleaner, scrubbed it and sealed it and it’s been perfect ever since. We do have to steam mop the floor. We went for a gloss tile. I have regretted it every day since it was down 🙈
Thanks so much for subscribing Bec! I might have to try with a steam cleaner, I think my mum has one I could borrow. Then I must get it sealed.
For your grout - a mix of bleach and water in a spray bottle. Possibly 1/2 and 1/2 or stronger. Spray and leave for 10 mins or so and clean off with water. I do this every coup;emir months and it brightens the grout.
Ah perfect thank you so much for the advice, that's brilliant.
Golden hop is a gorgeous fast climber for trellis to provide privacy. Very fast hedge is dogwood which can be trained as a floating hedge by encouraging growth from a small number of ground branches so u don’t lose ground space. Curly willow tree is fantastic for privacy n grows fast but will need tree surgeon every 5 years to control height
Ah thank you so much for your advice!
I love to listen to you.. I have always loved your accent and the way you keep things simple while explaining things to us ..
Have to agree with you over the French connection sofas. I had to finally sell mine as the cushion pads kept moving forward and my back suffered a lot. Apparently they have improved this with newer models. Also I have the same issue on my stair carpet and we are replacing it by putting the kardean flooring as on the ground floor on just the riser part of the stairs and just carpeting the treds, just an idea for you. Love your styling.
Thanks so much! It’s a shame about the sofas. We can’t afford or justify to replace ours yet but I wish I’d researched them a bit more. They aren’t the comfiest either.
The little window squidgy is great for getting the dust from carpets. You can get them for like £1 in IKEA xx
Ooh what a great tip! I actually have one of those at home anyway from when I tried to clean one of our rugs! Thank you x
Yes that’s my suggestion too ! Works a treat x
Thanks for the tips - super-useful! Everyone has regrets with their home improvements - it's normal. For what it's worth, we wish we had a smaller bath. We opted for the bigger-than-standard size bath and it takes sooo much water to fill it, and we're on a water meter 😣
That’s one good thing isn’t it that it doesn’t take as much water to fill it! I always find it interesting what people have done to their homes! X
I never use my tub because it’s too big (6’)- takes way too much water and then cools off faster too. Wish I selected a standard size.
A sun sail shade could be great for creating more privacy ☺️ Or other forms of sun shading.
That's a great idea, I will look into that - thank you :)
Interesting video Katie! I imagine everyone has some regret about things they've done or bought for their home, I definitely have! Your hair is absolutely gorgeous BTW! Xx
Thanks so much Debbie! And yes I would say so, unless you are an expert house renovation there are bound to be some trial and errors along the way! x
What a beautiful home you have and I love your hair!
Thank you so much! :) x
I'm in the process of painting our stairs too. Use diamond hard garage floor paint on the newel posts and main contact areas. It stands up to the wear and tear, and the garage floor paint withstands the grease from hands (that's what it's causing the paint to break down on the newel post) better than most other paints. It also is more resistant to chipping.
ooh thank you Steph I will definitely try Diamond paint. I want to keep it white but just need something a bit more hard wearing on the posts I think. It's been fine everywhere else. x
I’m thinking of painting my banister white, it’s currently a light wood but the kids hand prints put me of, your hair is so lovely xx
Thanks lovely! I think I will paint ours white again cause I do like the way it looks, from what others have said i think I just need to maintain it more and repaint it often x
I painted just the spindles white and left the handrails and the newel post (?) black. I had to put primer on the black parts because it was originally stained!
Pink stuff does wonders on grout. Honestly, just done mine and my white grout had gone brown. I did gently use a toothbrush and then left it to dry. Mopped after.
Ah perfect thank you!x
Oh gosh we have those DFS French connection sofas, forever sorting the sagging cushions and whenever u get up the cushion moves forward because its not attached to the back cushion, i love the legs on them tho and general style, glad im not the only one!❤️
Hahaha yes ours does that as well! But I still do like them, I love the way they look! x
Thanks for you honest retrospective, I’m about to start a renovation and I think it’s important to prioritise comfort, function and practicality over fashion and style. Style will come and go but at least you’ll still have function. Also making slow considered decision and understanding how a space works before renovation.
Thank you for watching :)
Great video!!! Loved this. You could add a striped carpet to your stairs and landing? We have one and it’s lovely, so hard wearing, looks fresh and modern, doesn’t show dust. Maybe add a darker colour paint eg grey to your main spindle and the hand rails on your stairs, but keep the rest white?
For your garden privacy, I would add some closely planted bamboo plants (in long containers as the roots can go crazy) in between your trees. You can buy bamboo plants that are already very tall and would be higher than your fence and they’re pretty cheap. Instant privacy & greenery 👍 and they look beautiful too, especially with some fairy lights dotted through. We are going to do this once our kitchen extension on built to screen off our nextdoor neighbours xx
Hi Victoria thanks so much for the advice. So would you actually plant the bamboo in the planters we already have or just keep them in pots? x
Katie Ellison you’re welcome! I’m no gardening expert (I’ve just been reading a lot lately about screening plants ahead of our extension project), but I believe as long as the bamboo is planted in any sort of container, rather than straight in the ground near your house, then the roots will stay controlled. We will be planting ours out of the pots directly into rectangular raised planters. Your kitchen is lovely by the way! Can’t wait to have ours started & finished 😊 Xx
If you have a shark hoover get the car detailing attachment works wonders on the stairs or indeed any little spaces
I haven’t! Do you like the sharks? We will need to get a new hoover eventually but I’ve always had Dyson x
Here is one of my regrets. I purchased beautiful wood Venetian blinds for every window in our huge three story house. They were as expensive as a new car. It was only later that I realized how much the blinds stopped light from coming in, even when completely open. I will always choose light over window treatments in the future.
My biggest regret in my home was the carpet in the sitting room. I hated it from day 1, it was too light in colour and shows up every mark. My hubby says it has to stay and a year and a half later I still hate it but it's still down. I want to put wood down, but my hubby says it's too cold. We can't agree so the carpet will have to stay for ever, haha! We also have the same problem with the grout with similar looking tiles to yours. It's tough when you spend a lot of money and then find these problems after! It happens to everyone I think, trial and error :) xx
I definitely think everyone has something they have done in their home that didn't work out quite as effective as you would have hoped for! I don't make a habit of renovating houses so I was bound to not get it completely right! x
@@katie_ellison I sometimes think that the ideas in my head don't always work out as I imagine haha. Also living with the changes for a while can show you where mistakes were made. (expensive to change though) :) xx
We have floating stairs (so no handrail) which means the kids hold on to the wall when they go up or down. You can see the handprints all the way up the staircase 😬. xx Andrea
Ah yes we have just wall on the other side and the kids put their fingers all over it so we have marks too x
Hi thank you for this I was wondering if you lived in the house while getting the work done? Just sand the door a little and you should be fine. Check in your local deco shop.
Love your bathroom
completely off subject but I wanted to say your hair looks amazing
Thanks so much Lisa! :) x
Watched the extension as I may be doing the same thing in a house. The dark edges to a carpet are simply dust that has settled for ages and not been vacuumed up. You should vac every corner/edge with the crevice tool from day one. ;)
clean your grout with a white sponge. It takes number of sponges but it doesn't remove the grout. When the room is finished you can always seal the grout. Supposedly you should be sealing your tile floor every six months
Thanks for the advice!
Thank you for sharing . it helps me alot. thank you so much!
Great video. We have the French connection sofas and we love them. We find them super comfy. We had them for 4 years and sold them and bought them again in grey! The new ones have changed slighting in the design with extra foam and padding. We have never had any issues but I rotate the cushions at least every week and I don’t have young children.
We have always had white gloss banisters growing up as kids and they’ve never really marked. I know gloss isn’t everyone’s taste but it’s always stayed looking good and easy to wipe x
I wonder if I went too matt with ours! x
just came across your channel and i am obsessed! As someone who wants to do the same thing you did in the future (buy a house and renovate it top to bottom) is the reason that it took you 3 years to do because of costs (i.e. pausing the renovations to save money) or simply because thats just how long the works would physically take. Also at the risk of sounding too intrusive, can i ask how much the whole house renovations cost? you have such an amazing eye to detail!
Yes mainly a cost thing really and not wanting to do too many things in one go! :)
Try using sugar soap wipes on the doors, our dining table is unfinished oak and I use them on the table to remove any marks
Ah perfect thanks so much for the advice! x
Katie, tree wise... 🌳... you could still change them. People will buy trees that are in the ground like yours. There are loads of plants people have dug up for sale on Facebook. You can then replace with new ones that are bigger/better growing!
Thanks Karen! Maybe we should think about changing them for some slightly bigger ones. Although I’ve sort of got used to it now x
For the stairs, i have the exact same problem. I’m going for a warmer tone next time. I have a greyish blue and all you can see are those brownish marks in the middles from the traffic. I think next time ill choose a nice beigey brown.
*Great job ! Thank you for your honesty 🤗👍🏻*
Thank you )
You could try to improve the look & comfort levels of your sofa with new cushions.
We have just moved into a fixer upper & decided to defer replacing our tired old IKEA sofa until we have the family room fully redone.
My husband ordered custom cushions from GB Foam Direct, they were really inexpensive & have made a huge difference! It's so much more comfortable now & looks significantly better. I'm wishing we'd done it sooner 😆
Ah fab thanks so much for the advice.
My biggest regret is my choice of floor tiles in my new kitchen.
In fact my kitchen looks very similar to yours with dark units and large island. But I chose wood effect ceramic tiles as I have underfloor heating. The tiles look really good when wet after mopping over them, but as soon as they dry they are so dull and matt that they in fact look dusty all the time. To top it all, it's very hard to find non matt wood effect ceramic or Porcelain tiles, a bit of shine would have been nice.
m29ele I think you can seal them with a more glossy finish ☺️
Oh that sounds like a shame! It's so hard to get it right with flooring I think.
As far as the trees go, do you have a tree available called Arborvitae where you live? It’s a conical shaped evergreen that grows fast and tall and provides a natural screen. Google them, there are different types. I wouldn’t feel a bit bad about taking out the slow growing trees you planted, although I’m sure they’ll be pretty some decades from now. 😂
Love your house, Katie. You have beautiful taste! But it was interesting to hear about some of the issues you’ve had. Also, my husband’s a tiler, so I’ll ask him about the grout in your kitchen! 👍🏻 x
Thank you lovely! Yes I’d love to hear what he says about the kitchen tiles, I’m so confused by it! X
Love your vids and they motivate us to renovate our house. But as first time buyers it will be a few years down the line. For the garden privacy, will bamboo trees be an option? As you have raised bed, you don't need to worry too much about whether the bamboo is spreading or clumping. The former varieties grow thicker and taller within a few years.
A few people have said bamboo I think that is definitely one to think about. Thank you :) x
White after 2 1/2 years is normal to be needing some refreshment painting ;-)
Thank you! I think I have realised that after making this- I think I will just repaint again white :)
Sand the doors down a bit and rub them with kitchen table oil and it will save the doors and make them look fantastic without using varnish or paint.
Perfect thank you for the advice.
Wet a cloth and 'wipe' the carpet on the stairs gets all the dust out x
Even in the real hard to reach places? Ok I’ll give that a go thank you x
Well I do the corners of our stairs like this every so often and it gets the dirt right out. I use a wet microfibre cloth. Makes the carpet look lovely and clean x
Use a squeegee on your stairs/carpets to get into the corners and edges. It’s great. Not something to do all the time as I think it can lift some pile but it’s great for every now and then.
Thank you! I am definitely going to try this! x
We have the exact same colour French connection sofas from DFS but instead of two sofas we went for one bigger/longer “L” shape. We’ve had it for 18 months and ours too has bobbled but not to saggy. Ours gets stains/marks on it from 3 kids spilling stuff. I can get them off with fabric/carpet cleaner though. I find them quite comfy too. Ours just seem to be taking a battering from the kids (7, 6, 1).
I think that's the thing isn't it? They will always take a battering when they have young children so they are never going to look like they did in the show room. I do find ours quite comfy, just not as comfy as ones where you sort of snuggle into them. L Shape sounds nice cause then you can stretch your legs out. I love the look of them still. x
Love these renovation videos, they’re so inspiring. Your style is very similar to my own. The house and garden look great. Have a great week x
Thank you so much Marianne! Have a good week too x
Our white painted staircase looks exactly the same, it gets so grubby and grimey. Wish we had left it wood as it was quite light and would have matched our doors which are like yours (we also should have varnished ours straight away but didn’t 😂😭). We nearly bought a sofa we loved, then saw a great tip to search on second hand selling sites to see how the sofa looks after time. It looked horrendous so we got a different one! X
That's such a good hint about the sofas not sure why I didn't think of that! I wonder if I could completely strip ours back- I'd be a bit scared to try though! x
For the stairs the Shark hand vacuume. It will change ur life!!
I had a Dyson handheld and it was awful... do you find Shark are good hoovers? X
@@katie_ellison the little hand held is perfect for stairs!! I love it like my children! 😉
Second the shark vacuum!
Laurel / Bay will give you a thick evergreen screen.
love the idea of this and the other video!! this was great xx
Thanks so much. x
This is a good one ,, thanks for this xx honesty really helps others 👀 . House is beautiful
Your back garden is so lovely 😍
Thank you! 😊
Katie, thank you so much for this video. I am so glad I came across this video. I have just bought my first home and you have covered exactly what I am looking at doing.
Do you happen to have a video on how you did the staircase spindles? You said it took a long time to replace them but I am wondering how you attached them.
I just can't figure it out haha.
We have old spindles that are far too spaced apart especially with a little one about to be moving around so I was hoping to rip out the old ones and place in new ones while keeping the handrail and main frame.
Thank you again so much you have really helped me decide what to do in my home.
Your cleaning issues seem like they’re a result from simply not using a sealer - but on everything!
Repaint & the use polyurethane on the spindle on your stairs.
Have your tile professionally cleaned & sealed.
Scotch guard for carpets & sofas!
Easy peasy!
We are getting the doors this weekend so will bare in mind to treat them tfs x
Ah yay hope it all goes well :) x
Try priming before painting
The trees are an easy swap. For a few 100 you can buy massive trees. Just do one at a time.
Brilliant video. Thank you. Your teeth look so white. Would you be able to recommend any whitening treatments, by any chance? Thanks.
Thank you! I had a brace 2 years ago and as part of the treatment they whitened them. I haven’t done it since it just lasts a long time. It was one of those ones where you put the gel in over night in a retainer. I want to say it was by Phillips.
Brilliant video... Where did you get your doors from? please
Thank you! We got them from a local timbers merchant but the doors are manufactured by a company called XL joinery. If you type XL joinery cottage door into google loads of places stock them. x
I liked the video for future references love the look of your whole house
Thank you :)
Hi, you can replace the foam in the cushions if you have a zipper to remove the material. Also I was surprised that in your bathroom the small size of the sink plus the fact that the mirror is over the tub was not an issue. Do you fertilize your trees? Would you consider maybe removing one tree and installing a larger one. My husband and I have built two houses and renovated five and there are always some regrets. I wish I had put a larger window in my living room because it is a very dark space but it is not possible now.
We have an en-suite that we store all our bath products but to be honest we don’t have loads as I’m not one for clutter so the sink is just fine. The mirror over the bath has been enforced with silicone as well, plus many screws so we can ever see if it starts to give way, but it’s never had a problem and we’ve had it up two years. Thanks for letting me know about the sofa cushions that might be something to consider. I think it’s only natural to have regrets isn’t it? Doesn’t mean you aren’t thrilled with the space you’ve created, just that there are things you’d do differently next time. 👍🏻👍🏻
Your home is soooo nice, your bathroom is actually gorgeous! where do you get you wire quote signs? x
Thanks so much Izzy! I get them from a lady on Instagram called @morethan_just - she’s brilliant! X
Love your kitchen
Thank you :)
It's really unfortunate that your contractors didn't inform you that there is a special kind of grout that is recommended for wet areas (kitchens & bathrooms). These grouts are pre-mixed and are stain ands crack resistant. They are more of a bonding grout and because they are more than just colored sand they don''t wash out over time with water.
Thank you! I wish they had told us that!
Love this tfs.
Thank you :)
We have the same sofas. I find by flipping the seat cushions over once a week ish this helps with the baggy bit of the cover if makes sense
Ah fab thank you! I find as well that sort of stretching out the material a bit makes them look a bit nicer so they don't look baggy when you aren't on them if that makes sense? I do still like the sofas, but I must admit to being a little disappointed by the way they look after a couple of years. x
From experience the best carpet for stairs is wool something with 80%.
Ah really! Thank you. x
Garden..- how about a pergola and putting roses, vine, wisteria or clematis...?
I can relate to the carpet issues. We went with some limited carpeting in a few areas but it’s wearing after 5 years and I don’t like the color. 😕 About the stairs.....Can you strip the paint from the staircase and just leave the natural wood color (seal it of course)? Or would that be too dark of a color? ~Krislynner
I don’t even know what condition the stairs are in to be honest... I think it would probably be too dark a colour! X
Masking tape on edges of carpet to get dust off is pretty effective!
Ah perfect thanks so much for the tip! x
Very helpful!!
2 coats of zinser paint on the stairs, not normal paint
Hi Katie, really enjoyed your video. We (by we I mean Matt 😂) have been decorating our hall stairs & landing its been painted white witch looks lovely clean & fresh. Matt has taken up the stair carpet we are really keen to have wooden stairs but the stairs aren’t in great condition so we will have them covered to jazz them up 😀. I must say I thought i was the only person to have stuck in dust/fluff on the stairs/ landing I assume the dust fairy only visit our house 😆😆😄. It’s definitely a long term project renovation the house we are still looking at having an extension & new kitchen which I am discovering isn’t as easy as it seems, watching all these Reno programs on tv makes it look so easy 😌. I know we will get there in time.
Is your flooring downstairs real wood or laminate? 😊 Karen & Matt x
Hi Karen, yes ours get really dusty but then again I'm not great at keeping on top of it so that is probably why as well. Our flooring is Karndean flooring which is kind of like a slightly more laminate (at least I think it is)- it's great, they sort of heat up glue and stick it down but it comes in loads of shades and colours. x
Katie Ellison I’m not a good at keeping up with all the house work either 🥴. Thanks for advise on flooring xx
Use dryer sheets on the crevices it pulls the dust our
Ah perfect thanks for the tip!
I really am pleased you did this video. We are currently doing an extension and a whole house renovation. We are spending a considerable amount of money and of course want to get things right. I was just wondering what size bath did you go for as this has been niggling at me about getting a smaller bath rather than a larger one? x
I’m not sure what the bath size is and I’m not at home, we are on holiday. I can measure it once I’m home, but just gone on to the website and the company is no longer trading! X
Seems you choose style over substance sometimes!..but no huge regrets. I find these videos really interesting 🙂
I definitely do sometimes I think. I love Instagram and interior magazines, and love interiors in general so often I go for how something looks. I definitely did this with our sofas. And no huge regrets, just little ones I wish we’d changed slightly. On the whole we are thrilled with everything we’ve done so far! X
Hi, I had the same problem with my stairs too. I decided to paint them liquorice, its a dark brown black and makes such an impact even though my hallway is small too. I painted the bannisters and the sides too.looks amazing
That sounds lovely! I do love a dark stair case- maybe I should be more adventurous! x
Lovely home 😍
Thank you :)
We’re about to renovate our kitchen and I’m so stressed about making a mistake because it’s such a big cost. If anyone has any kitchen advice please help! 😩
Ah bless you lovely! I am no expert at all but if I can help at all let me know, I can offer some advice. x
We had our bathroom renovated and got a large bath because my husband is tall. I regret it. It takes ages to fill up and when I’m lying in it I can’t touch the end of the bath so I’m forever trying to stay afloat! Not relaxing at all.
Ha it's funny how we both regret the same thing but the opposite way round! x
I love your internal doors, would you mind if I asked what they are called and where you sourced them? Thanks!
Of course I got them from a local timbers merchant but the manufacturer is XL Joinery- if you type XL joinery doors into google so many places do them. x
I think those trees are small enough that you could remove them and sell them. If you want privacy ask at the garden centre for fast growing and fuller trees. Birches are beautiful but not great for privacy even when fully grown because they aren't really full left trees
I definitely think we have made a bit of a mistake with them- we might have to sell them and try for some new ones! x
Have those carpets professionally cleaned annually!!
Hi Katie, what is the wood of the kabinet in the corner of your living room? I love that look. Is that a certain stain?
TIA
It's not too late replace the trees.
Great video always find these videos interesting, I'm nosey 😂, we have silver/grey grout in our bathrooms that wasn't done properly that is doing the same it looks so dirty now, so if you find a way to sort it pleeeeease let me know X
I will let you know! I am sure there can be something that can be done, I just don’t know what 😆😆😆
My grout is dark and it turned milky looking after a while. I am looking into a product called Mapei (grout refresher) and it is sold in many colors. Sold on amazon .
As a contractor I learned long ago that grout is porous and will easily absorb stains. There are products that can be mixed with grout when installing it. But for your situation you can clean the grout really well (use a good abrasive cleaner or steam clean). After it’s completely dry, you can paint in the sealant on just the grout lines. Good luck and I think your home is beautiful!!!