This has been the scariest thing I have ever done in my entire life.
If you’re reading this and have no idea who I am, my name is Cheyenne Brown (when I started this site, it was Cheyenne Darko) and I am a Christian, a wife to a lovely man who also loves Christ, a fashion turned interiors and home journalist and most recently, a builder.
I mean, I don’t particularly see myself as a builder because I didn’t touch electrics or plumbing, but my friends (and dad who now calls me Bob the Builder) would strongly disagree.
I somehow convinced my husband that it would be a good idea to renovate this flat
We were newly married when we started our property search last year and knew from our work that we needed to be a short distance from work, which for both of us happened to be at the centre of one of the most expensive places to live in Britain *sigh*.
After months of searching, we were about to settle on an affordable but super sketchy deal that was over an hour’s commute from work when I went to view what is our current home on a day off. I was actually meant to view a property upstairs but that property had an offer accepted by the seller moments before I arrived to view. The estate agent had only one property on the block left but it needed more work than the one I came to see. I used to help my dad redecorate when I was a child so I thought I could handle a little clean up work. However, I didn’t expect what could only be described as the most disgusting property I have ever seen (and smelled).
Only a single cold tap in the whole property worked, there was bad damage to the plaster on some of the walls and 80% of the sockets and switches were burnt out. The previous tenant had died of smoking in the flat (something we only learned upon speaking to neighbours) and the walls were not yellow but brown. I could still smell cigarettes an hour after leaving.
Regardless, I came home with a print out of the property and inspired by the home-flipping influencers who make it seem so easy, I put the case to my husband.
“All right, let’s do it.” He said.
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah, let’s do it.”
“No fighting back? No ‘How are you going to do this?’”
“I trust you.”
CRAP.
I didn’t see that coming.
Nor did I see parking my journalism career to focus on a project that would take me almost half a year to do.
But through this process, I have found myself on a new path. I discovered that I love interior design and architecture (perhaps a bit too much for the victims of my tangents). I love it enough to have changed what area of journalism I want to specialise in and to take on more projects for the people that I love.
Our home still needs its ruffles, but I am so excited to reveal the finished product. And I’m excited to take you on the journey, showing you the planning research and work that I did, the sad story behind this home, and how we are giving it a new chapter.
-Cheyenne
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