Tag: refurbish

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Preparations for winter

We’re preparing the static for the end of October as best we can whilst still being several hundred miles away.


It’s on the croft and tonne bags of hardcore have been moved into place this week to provide it with a bit more anchor weight. Kind neighbours have strapped the hardcore bags to the static with high strength lorry straps for us.

We’ve been warned that there are often ninety mph winds that blow in the winter, and that the weight of the caravan alone won’t be enough for safety.

We hope that the combination of these tethered weights, an emplacement of strategically placed sandbags to funnel the prevailing south westerlies, and the protection afforded by the house will be enough to protect it from the worst of the winter gales.


We also need to level and secure the static more effectively, and for this we are going to use railway sleepers which we will have delivered to site over the next couple of weeks. We’ll use them to construct steps up to the caravan door as well so that our lovely but ancient spaniel (and equally ancient and rickety croft wifie) can make it in and out more easily 😊.


We’re also buying paint, brushes and supplies this week so that the first few days after arrival will see it cleaned and freshened up inside ready for occupation. Gas bottles and connections to water and electricity will also have to happen before we can move in.

It’s going to be a very busy October and November. 🙂
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Reuse, repurpose, refurbish…

I’ve been on eBay whilst laid up these last few weeks, looking for furniture for the new house.

It’s very tempting to buy new, but as we don’t know the final cost for the build yet (and it never, ever comes in under budget) I thought it best to be prudent. I also like the idea of repurposing or refurbishing pre-owned furniture.

Ercol is a manufacturer of classic furniture that is extremely well made and is going through a bit of a renaissance at the moment with the popularity of Scandinavian and mid-century style. To buy new would cost many thousands of pounds.

I’ve purchased a couple of pre-owned sofas and armchairs for a song and am now looking at options for recovering and refurbishing them. The frames have a lifetime guarantee, so I suspect once I’ve got them refreshed with good quality linen upholstery they’ll be good for another few decades.

The chairs arrived this morning. They look a bit sad at the moment with their musty, worn, faded floral fabric, but I have to see past that. The frames are solid and in great condition.

I have these in mind for a cosy reading corner next to the wood burner in front of the big lounge windows. One each for Hugh and I for many hours of lounging with feet up, good books and maybe a wee dram.