The important lessons with Ash Hall
The fourth and final blog post in the series focusses on the most important lesson we’ve learnt so far; Look after yourself and each other.
Remember, you’re not on The Block and Foreman Keith isn’t berating you on national television (and you’re not throwing that paint brush from blog 1 at him), so just take it slow. If your back hurts, just stop. Don’t push yourself beyond your limits to get a task finished because you will inevitably rush it and it will look flawed. Plus, if you’re painting there’s a high chance your tears will dilute the paint and your walls will end up white-washed. Speaking from personal experience, don’t ask.
(Originally our front door opened up into the living room, with a hallway running along side it)
(So we moved the front door and closed in the hallway, creating a more homely, more finished space)
If you start to argue with your partner, it’s time for tools down. That’s a hard and fast rule in our house. You can easily come back to the work tomorrow and almost any mistake can be fixed, but feelings are a little more fragile and when hurt, can’t quite be mended with expansion foam or putty filler like a hole in the wall can.
(The original outdoor entertaining area)
(Balustrading removed, area re-paved, bricks rendered and a few licks of paint later)
Renovating is messy and stressful and time consuming, but it’s also a hell of a lot of fun. There’s nothing quite like finally walking around your fully finished house with a glass of champagne in one hand and a camera roll full of ‘before’ photos in the other, and soaking in all that you have achieved. Every time we do this I say I’ll never do it again, but every time I learn new lessons and we get better and better at it, and inevitably the @reno_rookies_ are drawn to yet another mission brown fixer upper. I hope the lessons I’ve learned help to keep your paint undiluted, your budget on track and your passion strong. Good luck renovator, we all need it.
(Our friend was selling her house and her backyard was an aesthetic crime scene)
(This was one of the first decks we ever built together)
