Happy New Year – a nod to the year gone and exciting plans for the future

Happy New Year everyone! I do hope you all enjoyed a wonderful break with family and friends and trust you managed a little me time. January is traditionally a nod to the previous year and a time for setting exciting goals for the new year ahead. I thought in today’s post I would reflect on the first year in our home and entice you to continue the journey with Whitewood and Linen, since 2018 looks to be a new year full of many interesting and I hope inspiring building, DIY and craft projects. Many of which I aim to share both here and through social media. So, as is tradition here on my little blog, grab yourself a cuppa and let’s get going…

We celebrated a year living in our tired bungalow in December. Not long in the great scheme yet long enough to make a few positive changes. Living through a year of changing seasons affords the luxury of watching natural light change and determining which room should sit where in our new build plans. We have selected which rooms work as they are and which need relocating to elsewhere during the build and I’ve even allowed myself the odd paint and textile daydream.

We’ve already had significant successes enabling us to make a mark on the to-do list as we head into the new year. Landscaping a large part of our back garden ahead of the build has afforded a wonderful view we had only in our minds before work began.

We planted a sweet mini orchard way back in a wet and cold February and look forward to a promising if not tiny harvest in this new year. We’ve recently added two fig trees along a boundary fence in the hope of more delicious fruits to join apples and pears.

To see our tired old kitchen’s makeover click here…

This room will become a sizeable utility room in the renovation and build with a new layout and furniture, so for us it was important to create a welcoming kitchen for now without breaking the bank.

We reworked the current tiny utility room to stylishly house white goods and wellies for now…

and we made the rest of the rooms comfy and livable too ahead of the renovation…

And of course last Christmas I received a Christmas present like no other. My beautiful Shepherd’s Hut who has blown me away with her splendid uniqueness. Put simply, she’s a dream come true and she has proved to be a big favourite of yours too. I have a few more exciting additions for Belle in the coming months.

Very soon building work will ramp up as we prepare structural drawings and select materials. If you have ever read this page you will know I have a couple of interior design courses under my belt. It was way back on the first one, I discovered the importance of lighting in a home. In past homes we have always inherited others ideas of socket and pendent placement. I am very excited to determine our own lighting schemes this time. Mr M is rather happy too that our new home may have a few less wires and extension leads hanging around than before.

And over the past year there have been a number of interesting up-cycling projects and a great deal of thrifty styling too. There will be much more to come in the New Year ahead, here on my blog too. I plan a stylish new look as I continue to learn the intricacies of page ranking and SEO for my sins. And then a Facebook launch is on the cards, once I’ve tied the mini M’s down to teach me all they know. I understand from those in the know, interaction on the blog and through social media is imperative if you want to improve your visibility. And I would very much like others to know about Whitewood and Linen. Throughout last year I was delighted to hear of and see, several ideas from this little place of mine inspiring many of you. So if you feel like joining in and leaving a message here on the blog, please do. And on that note, if you have ideas for future posts or ways to improve and grow this space, I am all ears; I do believe no one person has all the answers. Next week I have a delightful and easy up-cycle for you with endless opportunities for its use. Until then, enjoy your week and thank you for being here x