I was allowed giraffe-print...

We painted our bedroom black and blue/grey, our orange headboard no longer matched. Not that I'm sure it every match anything.

I've been toying with the idea of covering it for a while but really had no idea where to start. My mum offered to help so we set out to go shopping. In the fabric shop I was joking about how I wanted black and silver leopard print but Ben would kill me if I got such a thing.

Now, Ben was supposed to join us in fabric shopping but stayed in bed with a hangover. I briefly ran the giraffe print by him via text message. He reluctantly agreed but still seemed unsure. My animal-print-love was taking over...

While Ben and I cooked curry the following evening for my mum and step-dad, they covered the headboard. So I didn't actually get to do the bit I was looking forward to. However, this means I didn't have the chance to muck it up as no doubt I would've done.

So, tah-dah! The newly-covered headboard actually matches now and I feel a little bit happier with the co-ordination of the bedroom. Ben loves it too, you'll be pleased to know.

Before and after: Painting - The computer room

All we've managed to paint so far is the computer room and our bedroom. Everything else will have to wait until we've unpacked. I honestly do not believe how much crap I own.

The computer room


This is the second bedroom, used by the previous owners to house their two boys. The paint was scuffed, the electricity sockets broken, chunks taken out of the plaster and drawings on the walls. It needed painting it looked so grubby.

We decided to go for a relatively neutral colour so we could hang all sorts of geeky dren on the walls. The room started off like this. Cream and grubby.

We chose some Dulux One Coat paint as we are lazy. Egyptian Cotton is the colour. Here's our brilliant cutting in....

And the transformation!

I'm so much happier with how it looks now! It's cleaner, we've filled in any holes in the plaster, we've glossed the skirting boards and fixed the broken socket. Computers are in now on a horrible hand-me-down desk. We are hoping to get Unique Woodwork to build us a pretty corner desk with tons of storage and loads of space for all our techy bits.

The next stage is putting all the geeky stuff on the walls. We have our eyes on Kirk and Spock prints on Etsy.

What I've learned since buying a house

Since buying a house and having to decorate it I've learned a lot about how it feels to be a home ower as well as about DIY. Here are a few things I've learnt in the last two weeks.

• When painting a room work from the top down. Do the ceiling and coving followed by walls then skirting boards.
• You have to gloss a skirting board (no emulsion allowed) and there's lots of sanding involved
• Buy good value gloss that dries quickly
• We need a drill
• I like cleaning a house I own
• Owning a house is exhausting
• Wired networks are exciting
• I like black feature walls and lots of grey
• I LOVE cooking
• I'm better at glossing skirting boards than Ben is
• Painting is much easier when the parents visit and all I have to do is make tea and lunch