The work never stops. Particularly when you keep making work for yourself. I’ve been playing more of the Witcher 3, and been beaten to a pulp by Nioh, but back to reality with a cat.

Sitting on the corner sofa (minor dream/life aspiration), beside our adopted cat (Annie) curled up in a ball, and contemplating the work to be done. Almost everything we’ve done has been cosmetic, but it all takes time. Bit by bit it has become our home, and no longer feels like a bizarre Airbnb that we’ve spent an outrageous amount to hire. Our style is quite different from the previous owners with a mix of traditional and modern. I picked up hex mirrors in a random charity shop visit, and they found an excellent home above the fire. Unfortunately, it was a temporary rehoming.

The section above the fireplace is textured wallpaper, which is fine for cosmetic purposes but terrible for sticking stuff to. Combined with the heat from the fire flue, the panels started to take near fatal dives. On to Plan B, which will involve sticking the panels onto a wooden back and fixing that to the wall. I’m also working on a magnetic spice rack for the kitchen, though there’s a bit of trial and error with the size of neodymium magnets.

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Back when we moved in, mum and dad brought a van full of stuff over from Northern Ireland, including furniture from my grandad’s house (some of which he made himself). This nicely leads on to the next project – updating a pair of vintage bedside tables. I almost dread to use the word upcycling, but I guess that’s what’s going on.

I started by removing the drawer knobs, and sanding down the surfaces to be painted with 240 grit sandpaper to help with paint adherence. Then came a coat of white primer, after masking off some areas to stop the paint spreading too far.

The previous house owners left behind a tonne of paint, so there was plenty of choice. We settled for navy blue with white drawers, with the new drawer knobs yet to be decided.

The tables have had two coats, and there’s one coat to do on the drawers. So far, so good. It really has improved the look of the bedside tables considerably. The finishing touch will be polishing the brass ends of the legs, keeping a little bit of that vintage charm.

Right, now back to Nioh…