Prosperous soul in the making

savingholmes

I managed a lunchtime dog walk today. I watched leaves float down like confetti

Tahlullah.H

It is strange how people always feel they know what is best for you.

A whole new world is opening up.  I am certain you can explore and decide what to do for yourself without inference or approval from others.  Enjoy saying no.

Fortune_Smiles

Loving hearing about all these plans SH - they sound wonderful.  Yes you absolutely should be able to arrange your own space to suit yourself.  Houses aren't just an investment - they are our homes, for living our lives in.  I am still super excited about my art nook and can't wait until the dust settles here (lliterally) and I can spend more time up there.

Enjoy your plotting and planning.

Fortune x

EssexHebridean

Ahh your enthusiasm for taking the house from "our house" to "My house" is just brilliant - lovely to read! Agree about not wanting folk to tell you what you should do - if they were just making sure you were away of issues like the sink, then that would be different, but I dislike being told that I "should" or "shouldn't" do things at the best of times - instantly makes me want to do the opposite. same applies to people who say "Oh but you must..." read X book, or visit X place - it's the reason why my first ever visit to the British Museum was when I was 45...

Sunshine_girl2

SH loving all your plans for making the house more for you . Brings back memories of my Ex DH moving out 18 yrs ago this week . He had been a stay at home dad for years , I had to go food shopping for the 1st time in years and I hadn't got a clue what to buy , he had always done that and the cooking but not much more . Now when I look back I realise how far I have come on my own and my home is my sanctuary now . Exciting times for you . My friend has a glass top work desk and she loves it , I like yours very much . 

MovingForwards

Your home, set it up to work for you and not a potential future owner. 

With every post you're growing, showing a clear direction and radiating positivity. It's really good to read and you're so going to thrive in a few weeks!

EssexHebridean

MovingForwards said:

Your home, set it up to work for you and not a potential future owner. 

With every post you're growing, showing a clear direction and radiating positivity. It's really good to read and you're so going to thrive in a few weeks!

This - it always irritates me (probably unreasonably!) when people are constantly doing things to their family home purely with a view to improving the future value rather than making it the place that suits and works best for them to live in - if it's a property that is an investment, then fair enough, but a family home should be comfortable, and nurturing, and a place of safety for those that  live in it, surely! 

lucielle

Soooo much going on, love it.  Planning the rooms to suit you and whatever the future holds.  Like the sound of the garden room.
L

savingholmes

Tahlullah.H said:

It is strange how people always feel they know what is best for you.

A whole new world is opening up.  I am certain you can explore and decide what to do for yourself without inference or approval from others.  Enjoy saying no.

I like it Tahlullah - I think we're both on the same wavelength. Yes - I'm really pleased to have made an investment in my art - £80 - for a height adjustable desk RRP £190. I am trying to value my art more and stop feeling guilty when I spend on art related stuff. Once I've worked through my current to do list of 30+ items (not including the ones for work) - then at some point I want to check out galleries and ways of selling my art. I have an 3tsy account - I just need to take the radical step of using it to sell as well as buy - similar for Bay!!

Fortune_Smiles said:

Loving hearing about all these plans SH - they sound wonderful.  Yes you absolutely should be able to arrange your own space to suit yourself.  Houses aren't just an investment - they are our homes, for living our lives in.  I am still super excited about my art nook and can't wait until the dust settles here (lliterally) and I can spend more time up there.

Enjoy your plotting and planning.

Fortune x

I look forward to reading more about your art projects and seeing your pictures. You're gifted. It also encourages me to see others using their talents. EssexHebridean said:

Ahh your enthusiasm for taking the house from "our house" to "My house" is just brilliant - lovely to read! Agree about not wanting folk to tell you what you should do - if they were just making sure you were away of issues like the sink, then that would be different, but I dislike being told that I "should" or "shouldn't" do things at the best of times - instantly makes me want to do the opposite. 

I think I have definitely found my tribe. I can be contrary too!! Before I decided on divorce I had been exploring trying to rent somewhere as an art studio. That would have cost me hundreds a month indefinitely. Putting a sink in the room - particularly if it backed onto the kitchen sink would be relatively inexpensive and would make the space more usable as an art studio - which would mean that the kitchen could be more 'guest ready'. It's big enough to eat in. Otherwise I plan to put my new height adjustable desk in the bay window in the kitchen and put plastic on the floor to protect it but it is likely to make the kitchen look constantly messy if I have art on the go. It is also where the cat food and water are - meaning I risk cat hair in my paintings. If I put a sink in the other room I could avoid the pet hair risk - most of the year at least. 

At some point I'd also like to experiment with other techniques like epoxy for which a dehumidifier would be handy. That would also be more practical if it was not in the kitchen. My kitchen and lounge have doors with windows in - we changed out the original doors. The current study/dining room/ potential art studio doesn't. The negative is there's slightly less light than would be had if the door had windows - the positive is - if it were an art studio - it would be easier to shut the door and screen out the mess left behind. Acrylic pouring is super messy!

I can't afford to do everything at once - but the case for putting in a sink / using the existing study as an art studio is pretty strong.

savingholmes

Sunshine_girl2 said:

SH loving all your plans for making the house more for you . Brings back memories of my Ex DH moving out 18 yrs ago this week... Now when I look back I realise how far I have come on my own and my home is my sanctuary now . Exciting times for you . My friend has a glass top work desk and she loves it , I like yours very much . 

Thanks for sharing. It's nice to hear people's success stories. I have had a glass top on a desk before - it can be really handy - particularly for people like me who spill things a lot. Very easy to clean. The black one is super pretty.

EssexHebridean said:

MovingForwards said:

Your home, set it up to work for you and not a potential future owner. 

With every post you're growing, showing a clear direction and radiating positivity. It's really good to read and you're so going to thrive in a few weeks!

This - it always irritates me (probably unreasonably!) when people are constantly doing things to their family home purely with a view to improving the future value rather than making it the place that suits and works best for them to live in - if it's a property that is an investment, then fair enough, but a family home should be comfortable, and nurturing, and a place of safety for those that  live in it, surely! 

Thanks MF and EH. I agree homes should be about our needs - not some nebulous future person that might buy the house. It's important to always have a strong vision of the future - it helps me ignore any steaming cow pats that are in the way of me getting there!! It will be worth it in the end.

lucielle said:

Soooo much going on, love it.  Planning the rooms to suit you and whatever the future holds.  Like the sound of the garden room.
L

Thanks Lucielle. I think making sure I make the most of the views of the garden is essential. My yellow mahonia is currently flowering and it's beautiful looking out from that window. It also has immediate views of an acer, a smoke bush and a gleditsia sunburst tree that has leaves rather like it sounds... In spring it has a purple flowering azalea and a pink spiky flowering plant - persicaria within easy view - plus my purple slate from last year's garden project.

I'm definitely leaning towards making the shed more of a summer house. I could put my (plastic) rattan sofa in there over the winter - with the seat cushions - and then if anyone wants to come over but be more ventilated that could work well. I will be able to enjoy my stained glass style windows from the inside as well as out.

I am feeling really positive about the prospective changes. I will try and take some before pictures of what it looked like with Ex's stuff stripped out and after of how it looks when I've rearranged things how I want them. I will share what I can as long as it's not too identifying...