Oooohhh a ‘The Interiors’ category tag right here on VDM – that’s a bit exciting isn’t it? It’s long overdue seeing as I moved out of the parental quarters almost two years ago, but having moved into fully-furnished rented accommodation I haven’t felt like getting too crafty around the home. However, with it looking like we’ll be here for the foreseeable future I’ve decided to get things going in the home department and feeling a bit more cosy round these parts so I thought I’d bring you along for the journey. Even if it is two years too late…
Much in the same vein as Sunday’s post (homely posts won’t always be this frequent – I blame my recent IKEA trip), this one goes out to people who are also a little restricted in the space department. Now we’re lucky enough that this flat comes with about one square metre of outdoor space in the form of a balcony. It’s so small that my Mum didn’t even realise we had one until about two weeks ago and to this date it’s only been used for drying washing (though that function was scuppered after a pair of my pants blew away onto a neighbours bush) and a failed BBQ attempt last summer where we both stood in a fug of thick smoke for about two minutes before throwing water over it and cooking our sausages in the oven. It’s fair to say that we haven’t made the most of it. But in time for the coming warmer months I wanted that to change and so partook in a three part makeover…
1. CLEAN. Who knew such a small space could get so dirty. The first step was to clear it and remove the BBQ fail and the two random plant pots that were housing some dead species when we moved in that we had repurposed for our charred meat mission. Let’s just say I lost count of how many spiders I found. Then the all-purpose cleaner did some overtime, I got to work on the balcony doors and gave the decking a little sweep before it was ready to be made all fancy.
2. DRESS. I didn’t want it to look too cluttered, so stuck to just the essentials. I went for two bushes that sit either side of the doors, two garden chairs that fold-up and down (very handy) and will also count as extra seating when we have guests and a lantern that although looks very cute I can guarantee that we’ll never use (ok so maybe it wasn’t just the essentials). All from IKEA obvs and I think came in at around £40 for the lot. Bargain.
3. ENJOY. It’s been about two weeks since the change took place and so far we’ve both sat out there for a spot of book reading on three occasions. Not bad. I even sat out there once on my own in the rain for a bit of fresh air. It’s no longer a place for my pants to dry or spiders to cosy up in the deserted BBQ – it’s like it’s own little living space (emphasis on the ‘little’).
Next stop. Storage. Any pointers will be much appreciated – Mark is quite the hoarder…
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