Reclaiming My Space

28th Nov 2025 | Suzi Tench

My home hasn’t really felt like my own in such a long time. Not since my ex-husband moved in, and certainly not after he moved his “friends” in after they lost their house. (See this post for more on that). When my ex-husband moved in with me, he arrived with so much stuff…tools, dart boards, furniture, clothes, the list goes on. And while I was prepared to compromise and make space for his stuff, I wasn’t expecting all the clutter and mess that came with it. To say he was untidy is an understatement. My things got reduced and moved, and before I knew it, there was hardly any of me left in my house. And to make matters worse, I could hardly move for his crap taking over every available space.

When his “friends” moved in, they brought their own baggage, and it seemed that, day by day, while I was at work, they were adding more and more of their things to my home. They bought a MASSIVE pouffe/storage thing into my home, packed it with a load of their crap (which never got looked at), and it was sooo heavy that I couldn’t move it. That thing was plonked, unceremoniously, in the middle of my living area and was in the way every damn day. That was frustrating enough. Then I found that they had bought up most of their kitchen stuff too, plates, cutlery, saucepans, all the fucking kitchen gadgets known to man, glasses, mugs, all sorts of crap. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I didn’t own plates or anything. They shoved all my things to the back of cupboards and drawers and dumped their stuff in front of and on top of all the worktops, even using the oven as extra storage space. The most absurd thing was the collection of packets of herbs and spices and sauces, the ones you get from Hello Fresh when you order meals through them…soooo many unopened, out-of-date packets that were kept in a huge basket and shoved on top of the wall cupboards and never used. Space was so tight in the kitchen that I couldn’t even prepare myself cheese on toast for breakfast due to a lack of countertop space and the oven being used as an extra cupboard. On top of that, opening the cutlery draw proved difficult as it was RAMMED full of 174 different knives, forks and spoons, (not counting mine) and when you opened the drawer they would catch, well, my ones would and i discovered that they were getting bent up and misshapen too as no one seemed to be able to open the drawers carefully.

If that wasn’t bad enough, my Dysons (I had 2 that my parents had given me) disappeared. I couldn’t clean or tidy properly (too much clutter and no space, hardly any of it belonging to me), I couldn’t get to my shelving units to dust, and if I could, there was no space to take my things off and put them safely whilst I dusted. I couldn’t mop because there was no visible floor to manoeuvre the mop around effectively.

I’m ashamed to say that after they (his “friends”) left after 7 months, things didn’t get much better in terms of cleanliness. By that point, my mental health was spiralling pretty badly, I didn’t have the energy to do much other than exist, and most things just didn’t get done. My “husband” didn’t care enough to help out, not that he ever had. He always saw cleaning and household tasks as “Pink Jobs” so just left it to me to get on with everything, and if I didn’t do it, then he wouldn’t either. To make matters worse, he wouldn’t ever tidy up his own belongings, and the house was littered with tools and other heavy/bulky items of his that were hard to move, so that made cleaning just as difficult as when his “friends” were staying. I had nowhere to put his stuff in the house, though there were sheds and an outhouse, not to mention a summerhouse where they could live. If I dared to move things, then I’d have an earful about how he couldn’t find anything and how it was my fault. Asking him to put his things away was just as bad and I’d have excuse after excuse ranging from “I’ll do it later”, “I need them out because I’m going to use them later” (which NEVER happened), or “I can’t put them in the shed/summerhouse/outside because they might get stolen”. I gave up and just lived with it.

Once he was out of the house and I got the keys back, I started moving and packing up all his things. My house started to feel brighter and fresher. The air quality changed, and the atmosphere just felt so different, more positive, freer, lighter. I was able to see the floors again. My friend bought me a Hetty Hoover. I was able to hoover the carpets and floors, the skirting boards, under the sofa, and all those little places dust and dirt like to hide. I mopped the floors using washing-up liquid, then bleach, then more washing-up liquid, then disinfectant. It took nearly 30 buckets of soap and water to get the grime up and the water to rinse away run clear.

I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed the kitchen and hallway linoleum with a brush, which was stained, grimy, and grey-looking. It now looks bright and fresh, and the white within the pattern is now visible again! I then went to town on the bathroom, bleaching and scrubbing everything to within an inch of its life. There is textured, anti-slip flooring in the bathroom, and I again scrubbed that clean. I took the seat off the toilet and soaked and scrubbed that in the bath.

I dismantled shitty, broken furniture that had taken up so much space in the bedroom. Gone now are a massive wardrobe, 2 sets of drawers, the massive, stupidly oversized super king bed he had insisted on that was waaayyyyy too big for the room and was stained with his sick. Every single inch of the carpet was hoovered, the windows cleaned, the window sills dusted and wiped. I replaced the broken furniture with a new Kallax Unit, which I made from a flat pack myself. I reinstated my dressing table and mirror back into the room, removed the old (broken) TV from the wall, and removed shelves from the built-in wardrobes, turning that space into another hanging space for clothing.

I started to redecorate. I had been wanting to redecorate downstairs for years and had chosen the wallpaper and the paint colours that I wanted. He had promised me that he would help decorate, but it never came to fruition; the paper and paint remained in the shop, and no decorating was ever done. As much as I liked the wallpaper and colours I had chosen, I decided not to go with that – too many bad memories of asking and asking and wanting and never getting it done, it felt weird and tainted. I came up with new ideas and colour schemes. I decided on a new wallpaper (this one from B&Q/I Love Wallpaper) and a white, lime green and black colour scheme. I spent weeks and weeks slowly decorating, and the room is nearly finished!(I can’t wait to share some photos in another blog post!).

My next plan is to re-decorate the dining area, again, going with a white, lime green and black scheme with the same wallpaper. The rooms are knocked through and separated by an archway, so it makes sense to decorate with the same theme. After that, I will be removing the carpets. I only have carpet going up the stairs, along the landing and in the bedrooms. Though they are clean, there are soo many stains on them, and they are looking worn and tired. The bedroom and landing carpets have been installed over the laminate, which, I think, is making the carpets smell funny as the airflow is blocked. I’ll be removing the laminate too, seeing what the original floors are like and hopefully, be able to sand and varnish that. Then I’ll be starting to redecorate the bedrooms! I have some ideas and will be sharing these in a blog post coming soon!

A Look Around My Home – Bedroom

10th May 20195th May 2019 | Suzi Tench

Now that I have finished the major part of decorating and all the furniture is back in place I thought I would give you a quick look around my bedroom!

Just to let you know that this post IS IMAGE HEAVY… (just to warn you incase it doesn’t load on your device…)

I’m pretty pleased with how this room is turning out though I would like to get some pictures up on the wall at some point (I have some framed postcards that were my Grandma’s which would be perfect on the wall!) and I want to paint the cornicing an antique gold. Aside from that the only other things I would like to do is to sort my wardrobe and clothing cupboard out. I need to pack away my winter clothes and find a way of prganising my t-shirts, jumpers and trousers in a better way…

What do you think of my room so far?

D is for Decorating

4th Apr 201928th Mar 2023 | Suzi Tench

This post contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

AtoZ2019D

You can find information about the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge here or read the rest of my A to Z posts by following this link.

Today’s Blogging from A – Z Challenge brings you the letter D and this post is all about decorating!

There is something really lovely, for me, about the whole decorating process, from choosing the colour scheme, the paints and finishing touches to actually starting the decorating process and then standing back and admiring your hard work once you have finished. But, it doesn’t have to be all hard work, and you don’t need to decorate the whole room in order to refresh your decor, and you don’t always need to paint a wall or put up wallpaper in order to decorate either. Heres some things you could consider when decorating…

Accent Wall or Feature

Painting or wallpapering one wall or accent feature of a room can refresh the decor really easily and quickly and there won’t be too much of a need to change furniture or soft furnishings much. In my home I painted the recesses between the chimney breast, the archways in my dining area and the arch between the two rooms. I painting the back wall part of the archway and chimney breast recesses one colour and then the side wall part another, contrasting colour. This was quick and easy and required little time (or paint!) and was really cost-effective too.

You can see the back and side wall detail in the images above. You could consider painting around windows or doors or even painting the backs of shelving units in order to introduce a pop of colour to your decor.

Tile Stickers/Decals

A simple way to update your bathroom or kitchen is to use tile stickers or decals. These are really easy to apply and are usually either vinyl stickers that you peel and stick or decals that you soak in water and slide from the backing into place on the tile. Both options are quick, fairly mess free and look really effective once in place. There are lots of different sizes to fit most tiles so it is worth measuring the tile and then reading the product description carefully before purchasing.

Window Dressing

Windows let much-needed light and air into a room but that doesn’t mean that they have to be boring or plain. Switching your curtains or other window dressing can breathe new life into a room without the need of paint and brushes. Try changing dark, heavy curtains for lighter coloured ones in a softer fabric, adding nets or sheer voiles to your window instead of blinds. If you have nets, try hanging them at a different height – nets don’t need to hang from the top of the window frame, you can hang them part way down the window so that they still offer privacy but let in more light at the top. You could think about changing the hanging method of the curtains, instead of a curtain track change to a pole. You could hang a pretty scarf, a piece of fabric or strings of beads over the pole to add interest to the window.

Photos and Pictures

Updating the photos and pictures you display is a really effective way of updating the look of a room. You could theme your prints for the season or choose a black and white colour scheme. There are lots of free photo editing apps and softwares available that let you change how a picture looks or try a print service like Photobox where you can edit the images and then have them printed and delivered straight to your door ready to frame. Another way of updating your photos and images is to change the frames, try ornate frames instead of plain or vice versa. You could even paint the frames in a colour of your choice to match in with other items in the room.

Soft Furnishings

Decorate your room using soft furnishings like cushions, throws or rugs. Not only will this add a cozy factor to the room but it will add a visually attractive element too. Play around with prints, textures, different fabrics and contrasting colours. If you are really crafty and handy with a sewing machine you could make your own cushion covers really easily. In the bedroom you could add a runner to the bed or different pillows for the bed or hang a tapestry to the wall.

Decorative Items

Adding ornaments and other decorative items can really bring a room up to date. Try adding ornaments and other decorative items, like trinket boxes, candle sticks, dishes or vases, in similar tonal colours that clash with the wall colour. You could remove items that you already have to create a feeling of more space or try adding items to add interest to selected areas. Grouping similar themed items together on shelves is another visually attractive way of displaying items too. Play around with how things are displayed and see how the items look together.

Lighting

Lighting can really change the mood of a room and how you view it. Instead of always having the ceiling lights on why not introduce lamps into the room instead? Changing the light shades or even the light fitting itself can really change the perception of a room too, instead of a singular bulb you could buy a fitting that has several bulbs instead, or change a fabric shade to one with glass beads attached.

Furniture

Changing your furniture can make a room feel really different, whether it’s getting a new sofa or table, adding a coffee table or removing a set of shelves. You could have the sofa re-upholstered rather than spending on a new one, or try painting wooden furniture that you already have to update how it looks. If you have a coffee table you could add a piece of coloured acrylic to the top of it or sandwich a pretty piece of wallpaper between the table surface and a sheet of clear acrylic. One way I updated my desk was to use printed vinyl which was really cheap, quick and easy, and there are so many different patterns and colours that you can choose which would tie in with most interiors.

Room Layout

Aside from physically decorating the room this is probably the one that will have the most impact. Think about how the room is currently laid out and the placing of the furniture, how the room is used and who by, think of different ways the furniture can be laid and move them around. the lovely thing about this is that if you don’t like it then you can move it around again and again and its sure to be something people will notice!

Which decorating ideas would you try?

Room Divider

25th Sep 201812th Feb 2019 | Suzi Tench

The downstairs of my home consists of a front door that opens onto a narrow hallway with a door that leads into the living area. The living area consists of 2 rooms that have been knocked into one with a bit of an archway separating the 2 spaces with a kitchen right at the back that leads onto my garden. I love the main space, it feels big and airy and light, and I love that even though it is one big space it still manages to hold the definition of 2 separate spaces so well.

Having the space set up as 2 separate rooms, the main “living room” area at the front of the house – where watching tv, sitting and relaxing, chatting with friends, reading takes place, and the “dining room” area towards the back, nearest the kitchen, made the most sense to me. I liked the idea of having areas defined by their use and making the most of the archway between what was the partition wall at one point. I started to think about creating a proper divide for the space, the idea that I could close off one part of the space if I wanted for privacy or if it got chilly in winter and I wanted the space to feel more cozy seemed really appealing. At first I thought about using my Ikea Kallax Unit to divide the space and had seen some really neat ideas using units in this way on Google, however I was worried that it could make moving between areas awkward, that I would lose floor space in one of the areas and that it would look more clumsy than cozy.

I settled on the idea of using material to divide the space, something similar to curtains, not only would it be cozy in the winter, it would be tactile and a playful addition to the pompoms Id already added to the space. I thought that more texture and print would fit together perfectly. I found just what I was looking for one evening on Amazon… I knew that I didn’t want anything to heavy as it would be a pain to hang, I also didnt want fabric that was too thick as I wanted them to be easy to clean, wash and dry. I also didn’t want anything to plain or “traditional” as it wouldn’t fit my style. What I wanted was something that was bright, patterned, fitted with the colours of the room, was a little bit hippy, easy to care for and even easier to hang and live with! I love the mandala print of these hangings, and the colours too, they seemed perfect to me. I was a bit unsure, once they had been delivered as the colours were not as bright as I had imagined or seen in the listing but decided to hang them and see what they looked like anyway…

I hung these with Command Hooks and some pegs for the short-term, though they have been hanging since July and I’ve not changed the hanging method yet, so that may not change!

I’m really happy with the space divider, using hangings to create the divide has worked out really well, they have added texture and colour as well as being a privacy screen when needed though I have not really used it to its full capacity – the curtains mainly stay open but as it gets colder and the nights get darker that may change! And despite my reservations on the colour difference when I recieved them, I’m liking them a lot, they are not overbaringly bright and garish and really go well with the rest of the room and the decor!

Moving In and Decorating

18th Sep 201812th Feb 2019 | Suzi Tench

I moved to my new home in July, moving, though stressful, especially when things didn’t go to plan for one reason or another, was all completed in a day. I went with my friend to collect the keys, hired a van, loaded and unloaded then began unpacking. I hadn’t got much furniture but that made decorating a bit easier as there wasn’t anything to work around or move out of the way.

I decorated in the first few weeks that I was here and had already decided upon painting the downstairs rooms pink and blue, leaving some of the walls the original magnolia colour. I chose B&Q Colours silk paints in Electric Blue and Playful Pink after doing some research into colours and application, drying time and price. I also looked into different paint application methods – roller, brush and paint pads, choosing the latter for ease and mess reduction. I chose the Diall Paint Pad set as it came with a paint tray, two different sized paint pads and the paint pad handle and seemed to be the best value for money. I also picked up a Harris Angled Brush as I knew from previous experience that an angled brush was easier for cutting in around the edges of the walls and allowed for a neater finish.

Once I had gathered all my supplies together (and made a coffee) I began by masking off the skirting boards and applying paint to the edges of the walls before in filling with the paint pad. This was my first time using a paint pad and I found it much cleaner than using a brush or roller. The basics of using a paint pad are to attach the handle to the chosen pad, pour some paint into the tray, rest the paint pad on the paint for around 30 seconds, wipe off excess, put the pad flat against the wall and drag it up and down the wall before changing direction – going diagonal until an area is covered before repeating. I was really impressed with how easily and quickly the paint went on and had finished the first coat in under 20 mins. I did need to do a second coat of paint but that was to be expected with such a vibrant colour.

I painted the side walls of the arches with the pink paint, using masking tape on the end walls to create a panel that was as wide as the arch sides and painting them pink in order to complete the look I was going for. The pink paint seemed to apply better than the blue and only really needed touching up in a few places rather than fully applying a second coat.

Next time I will be sharing the finishing touches I added once the paint was dry and also share some pictures of the nearly completed space 🙂