The last few months of my life have been pretty hectic and unsettled on the home front. With all my old flatmates departing and a new home for me on the horizon, I packed my life up in December and moved out between Christmas and New year. Not one of my brightest ideas in terms of timing mind you! But thanks to my family and friends, and two very helpful removal men I got there in the end. About a year ago my Uncle bought a flat in Glasgow, a total 'do-er up-er' as they say, to rent out to me when he moved to Singapore (which just happened a couple of weeks ago) So the plan was for me to move back home for the month of January 2015, as he put the final touches to the building work that has taken that full year to complete. The flat was an absolute mess, so he ripped absolutely everything back to the bare bones and started again. I've only shared one 'before' picture in this post, but I'll need to get my hands on the rest, because the difference in what he walked into and what he finished up with is absolutely jaw dropping. I moved in at the start of February, and it's taken up until now for me to properly get unpacked and settled. All I can tell you is that it's one of the most satisfying feelings in the world. So here is a photo tour of my little humble abode...
My living room has a tiny little office just off to the side, which is proving to be the perfect wee hidey hole for all my paperwork, tools, makeup etc. Almost like a second bedroom with a desk and a carpet that I can disappear into and get some work done. If I were a man I would definitely be calling it my man cave!
More Than Home Insurance got in touch to ask me what my favourite contents of my new home were, and I would definitely need to round it up and say my fireplace, and everything that sits on it! My Uncle built it using reclaimed wood and the rudder of an old fishing boat. Resting on top are a pair of antlers which he found while hillwalking up north, my collection of crystals, a gold foil print with one of my favourite quotes by Dottie Rocks, and two lovely Olique Candles. I've got lots of other bits and pieces dotted around the flat which have major sentimental as well as monetary value, which is why contents insurance is so important even if you're just renting like I am. The joys of being a grown up eh!
Remember my babe of a pal Teri from a few posts back? Well Olique is a new candle company run by her brother and his girlfriend. I'd smelled a few when I last stayed over at Teri's house and they were lovely, so I ordered myself a Lemongrass & Green Tea, and a Patchouli Musk & Oudh Woods. I'm a candle fiend as you can see from the little collection illuminating my fireplace. The Lemongrass one is so clean and fresh, and I normally light it during the day when I've been doing the housework. The Patchouli one is a lot more dark and mysterious, so it's perfect in the evening when you're settling down to watch a film with the lights dimmed. I've had these for a couple of weeks now, burning one or both every day, and they're still not even half done! Olique are offering £5 off if you pop in 'AYDEN' at the checkout. I've already got my eyes on the Champagne & Rose Lemonade, and the Pomegranate and Spiced Black Pepper. Both sound almost good enough to eat.
This is the view from my bedroom door looking into the hall, and as you can see before it was a bit of a mess! Walls stripped back to the pipes and brick work. At this point the flooring had been laid down and the bathroom was almost finished. On that note, here's ma' bathroom!
You'll notice that the cats are following me about in most of these pictures. The both of them always want to be involved in no matter what I'm doing around the house. Recently whenever I've had a guest over and been giving them a tour, Dexter and Binx will literally follow us into every room and jump onto any possible surface. Almost as if they're like 'hey, this is our place too!' My Uncle built this platform up to the bath, and to be honest did pretty much everything else in the flat in terms of construction, electrics, tiling, flooring, painting... he comes from a theatre production background so is pretty good at putting his hand to almost anything. He's a bit of a perfectionist like me too, which probably added to the fact that this project took a year to complete. He was also living in London for the whole duration, so was flying up every weekend and taking weeks off work here and there where he could.
Another little favourite is this King Grumpy Cat print I have framed, hanging just above the loo. They do call it the throne after all haha.
The kitchen in my old flat was absolutely tiny (and didn't even have any windows) so this one is absolutely huge in comparison! I've not properly utilised that space in the corner but I think at some point I'd like to get a sofa and tv in there. My living room is nice and cosy but I've found that I spend a lot of time in the kitchen when having people over. The sun comes shining through those big windows during the day and it's absolutely lovely.
Last but not least, my bedroom! Probably the room I'm the least happy with at the moment which still needs a bit of work done. I need to get a curtain rail up and ditch the shabby chic dust sheet I have hanging as a curtain. My wardrobe is on the opposite side, which you can't see in the picture, but I think I will probably give the furniture a shuffle at some point soon because something doesn't feel quite right. Let's call it a work in progress.
Here's Uncle Greig, Gary, Pete and myself at my flat warming last Saturday night. It was so nice to finally get to show all my friends the flat, have some drunken singing and dancing, and I also got some lovely cards and gifts. I honestly forgot that people do that for you when you move into a new home :) For the record, at one point there were around 20 people in my kitchen and it was still a pretty comfortable fit. What is it about people gathering in the kitchen at parties eh? I can't thank my Uncle Chris enough for the blood, sweat and tears he put into this place. I promise I will take the best care of it while he starts his new life in Singapore, and a visit out there to see him in August once I finish this job is definitely on the cards! I feel so content and settled in my new home, and almost like I'm starting a new chapter of my life. One that I could not be more excited for ♥
