• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Kerry Knight | Beaten Green

Kerry Knight Interior Design

  • THE FREE STUFF
  • HOME STYLE QUIZ
  • HOME STYLE KIT
  • THE TEAM
  • PROJECTS

Do it yourself; The DIY Cottage renovation

30 September 2016 by Kerry 2 Comments

As an independent designer, I'm lucky to have a fair amount creative freedom when it comes to where I source my furnishings and I often push the limit on this and buy from auctions, small cottage businesses and independent suppliers just to create something unique.

This is especially true when creating something for myself and my family. I love to re-use anything I can, to save on resources, both financially and ecologically. I've been working on my house these last few months, stripping stained, peeling wall paper that had been stuck on old-plaster walls for around 30 years. I've been painting kitchen cabinets, floorboards, doors and furniture and roping in some very useful family members for the more skilled work of tiling, and plastering.  

These 'before' pictures were the state our home on moving-in day. When most people pop champagne corks and toast to their new, hopefully empty, hopefully cleaned home, this time last year we were clearing out rubbish, furniture and dirt that had been left behind. It was so bad that it was a few nights before I plucked up the courage to move in....

Yes, those are towels on an airer in the bathroom and no, none of this belonged to us. Half our belongings were still in the lorry having been driven away to unpack after the weekend and half had been neatly stacked in the living room.

So it was with great effort and a hearty sense of achievement that the cottage was pulled together in just under 12 months to a respectable enough standard to holiday let. There are still some jobs to do and some pictures to put up and some beams to paint and some guttering to fix and some windows to top-coat etc etc etc...............but I am delighted with the results so far.

Needless to say, next time I think I will leave the paintbrush in the packet and ask the professionals to pay a visit. I have total respect for the building trade, its a hard hard job!


Want to stay in touch the easy way? DesignNotes are twice monthly emails full of interior inspiration, design ideas, style tips, blog post links and course updates. If that sounds good, pop your details below.

Yes please!


 

 

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Related

Filed Under: My Story

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Steph says

    25 February 2019 at 10:34 PM

    Kerry, your new website is amazing! Really proud of you, love. You work so hard and are very good at what you do. See you soon xxx love love

    Reply
    • Kerry says

      26 February 2019 at 9:36 AM

      Thank you for such lovely words of support Steph xx

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Before Footer

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Alchemy Home & Wellness
  • Homing Instinct
  • Project Home
  • My Stories
  • My Soulful Home
  • Contact me

Copyright © 2025 · Wellness Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in