We were super excited when we managed to get on the property ladder in 2019 and knew our house wouldn't be forever, but we thought we would be there to begin raising our child. But during COVID-19 we knew it was a time for change!
We viewed a little two-bed, open-plan Victorian terrace in 2019, and knew it was perfect for our first home. It had recently been completely renovated so it didn't need much work, a lick of paint in each room and it was ready to go. The developer deliberately left it plain white for us to move in.
I loved that little house, it did us so well. We made it our own, it's where Keanu (the spaniel) moved in, we got to build up enough good furniture to start us in a bigger house, and it was in a lovely neighbourhood.
During COVID, Pete was furloughed and I worked from home. Now, I am honest and have always enjoyed my own space! This got tricky, I would work at one end of the dining room on Zoom, whilst Pete sat meters away reading a book or watching TV in the lounge. The guest room became a laundry room, and our accumulation of 'stuff' was quickly outgrowing our little two-bed. The stairs were almost vertical and you couldn't see the garden from inside the house.
We decided that for us, it wasn't the right place to raise a child. We wanted more space, and a house more suited to family life.
During COVID there was the stamp duty holiday which sparked our move as it made it affordable. We were incredibly lucky and our amazing estate agents sold our house in 3 days! This allowed us to buy a house we had always wanted. It was in need of modernising and we wanted to make every room our own, and that we did. Turning it from house to home.
Almost every decision we made surrounded our hypothetical future child, and that is tricky when you don't know what age they will be. When we found our three-bed Victorian terrace (at the very top of our budget) we bought it that morning! We could see the back garden from the house, and the conservatory (now playroom) opened up onto the patio. The downstairs is open plan enough that we can see most rooms, but there are doors to close it off for a cosy night in with a film.
After a 4-month wait, we moved in. This was August 2021, we are now April 2023, so we knew we were a good way off finding a child. (We had 2 or 3 unexpected delays so we weren't thinking it would be as long.)
When we moved we had 'the middle bedroom', I really struggled to call it 'the kid's room'. Adoption is so full of uncertainty I have found it really hard to ever know for a fact it would happen. Even with Moose at home now, I sometimes worry he won't stay forever. Until that adoption order is in my hand I won't believe it, I don't think.
We started sorting out the house pretty instantly, I remember making the first call to our adoption agency whilst painting our bedroom walls.
With each decision we made, we tried to think ahead. the dining room was painted in durable and washable paint, the kid's room was painted a neutral blue-grey and the bathroom was brightened up to make for more pleasant washing experiences!
The garden has really gone on a journey! Last year we wanted to host a housewarming garden party, which we did, so we painted the deck, hung gorgeous lights, and got the outdoor furniture in place. Less than 8 months on the decking has been ripped out, the area covered in bark and an 8ft trampoline planked right where I used to sit on a summer's evening!
Here you can see a before, two gorgeous middle pictures, and how it looks now, pre-bark being laid.
If anyone has found how to make a trampoline look pretty do let me know! And the grass always takes a hit over winter, it's growing back already!
Inside the house, the biggest change we made was adding an upstairs toilet into the guest room. I was sure I didn't want a typical ensuite as I wanted this to be
accessible from all bedrooms. So we actually extended the hall into the room, made a small toilet room coming off the side of it, and shrunk the third bedroom slightly. For us, it still had to fit a double bed so we can have guests over even when we had a child.
We fitted a SaniFlow toilet as we had no plumbing upstairs, and it's working really well for us. Definitely makes a huge difference to Moose, as he can go there before and in pyjamas and after getting dressed in the morning. It is one of the two rooms I went more 'out there' with decor, and is now commonly known as the monkey toilet! The wallpaper, I literally love and it's from World of Wallpaper.
I am quite a house-proud person, and as much as I love Moose, I always knew I didn't want toys in every room of the house, all the time. We have made the
conservatory his main play space. We moved a rug in there, to make a softer floor, and then went with good old IKEA TROFAST drawers to store all of his toys. I remember having these in my room as a teen.
I have used chalk pens to brighten these up and to label the boxes. I know this is how a lot of reception classes run, where everything is labelled and children can help themselves. We want to encourage Moose's independence and he is allowed 90% of the toys out when he wants. We keep arts and crafts for when we are all involved! But this setup really allows that. He can go through there, pull out the drawer and play away.
It also means tidying up is easy for him and he knows where everything goes. On occasion we also bring a box of toys into the living room, however, I love that they don't live in there. It means that after Moose has gone to bed, we still have a space we can chill out, it's not cluttered, it doesn't have brightly coloured toys everywhere and doesn't look messy!
It is so important through the whole adoption journey to protect yourselves, and your relationship. I think, for me, making this house perfect our family has had this at the heart of it. We have removed blind cords for safety, put sticky pads on corners where Moose might hit his head, and made lots of spaces for him to play, make a mess and fully suit his needs. But also prioritising our spaces too - our bedroom, keeping that clean, tidy and fresh. The living room, easily being able to reset to an adult space.
The main child-related change we made to the living room is that we added a gorgeous Totter + Tumble rug. Which is like a padded, wipe-clean mat, but designed like a gorgeous rug, rather than a play mat. And it is perfect for playing on the floor and knowing Moose can roll around, bump his head etc and we don't have to worry has been a lifesaver! This company was recommended to us by friends, and I would highly recommend it for a room where any young child plays.
Adoption consumes your life, I am more than okay with my child consuming my life, but the process, not so much! It feels selfish prioritising you sometimes, but I have learned on this journey, you'd burn out if you didn't.
I have a blog on Moose's bedroom specifically here and I will be making one on his sensory room soon.
I love our family home, it works perfectly for us. And trust me, everything is always done on a budget. I love IKEA, I love a charity shop, Facebook marketplace, and doing as much as I can myself or calling in favours from friends. It's amazing what bold wallpaper can do or a cheap lick of paint!
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