Design Dilemmas

Episode 63: This week we are discussing what to do when there is SO much to do, bringing back original features and garden planning. Plus chic outdoor furniture and easy tile transformations.

Hola and as you read this, I will be en route to a house clearance sale in Pocklington. Yes, yes, you might recall me bemoaning my own huge amount of possessions that need to be at least halved prior to moving, but as usual, I am unable to resist the lure of the discarded, the unwanted and the preloved. Sigh. I have forty - yes, forty - boxes of accumulated glass and tableware in the basement of our rented house that needs to be sent to new homes but that doesn’t stop me. I despair of myself. I know that I’m not alone in this; in fact, if you’re reading Joie De Vivre then I would surmise that you would do the same. But, you know, RIDICULOUS. Anyway, obviously I will report back to you with anything that I find, ha.

In other news, schools are back next week and we are on the last two week home stretch before the end of GCSE’s. Neither Leo nor I can wait. Me, so that I won’t be guilt tripped into ferrying him to school every morning on the basis that apparently, he needs a lift to be able to do his best (utter rubbish, just blatant bribery, plus I always lose my parking space when I return to the drop off parents, ffs). Leo, so that he can lie in bed until midday before playing golf every afternoon for the rest of the Summer.

Or so he thinks. I’ve already instructed his brother to help him get a job at the local farm shop - Leo, at just 16, has never had a job. This is also kind of due to the fact that a) he’s not been old enough to do anything but a paper round, and b) he’s a lockdown child so never reached the end of his Primary education. I’ve always felt a bit like he missed out on all the really fun stuff that comes up with going up to ‘big’ school (proms, school trips, leavers assembly) so I am eternally letting him off to do things with his friends. As a result, I am regularly surrounded by a barrage of abuse from my two older kids shouting things like ‘we weren’t allowed to go out until that time!’, ‘you’ve let him off school for a cough!’ and ‘why is he still getting pocket money?’. Endless.

Anyway, back to the point and this week, we are discussing what to do when you have SO MUCH to do in your house that you don’t know where to start. Plus kitchen tiles - what if you don’t like them, what can you do? We are checking out chic garden furniture that is timeless and non fussy and whether or not we should add back original features if they’ve been removed (plus some ideas on where to find them). And finally, garden planning - how can you get your head around a huge space when you’re not necessarily a garden person?

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