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S1 EP 13 | Lucy from Home Poppy Lane; Home, interiors, DIY & Lifestyle
53 Plays1 month ago
Lucy is the perfect combination of DIY enthusiasm, interior style and full of top tips and hacks to save you money when renovating. The guys chat all things DIY, including her beautiful pergola, bespoke dining room bench and how she is so transparent about the mistakes made along the way.
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Transcript
Introduction to DIY Guys and Guest
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the DIY guys the podcast where home renovations, power tools and mild panic go hand in hand. I'm Nick Morris. And I'm Dan Doher. Each week we'll be chatting with some property pros, some DIY diehards, hopefully help you with some tips and tricks along the way.
00:00:17
Speaker
Welcome back to DIY Guys Podcast. How you doing, mate? Very well, thank you. How are Good. Yeah, not too bad, thank you. We have another guest this week, don't we? I know. So excited for this one. She's a proper DIYer, isn't she? Yeah. The amount stuff she does with the pergola and inside and outside, she shares loads of tips and tricks. So it's great to have someone like that on.
Nick's Bungalow Renovation
00:00:39
Speaker
Exactly. She has 193,000 followers on Instagram as well. She's one of those accounts that I'm a bit envious of because her pay for even the thumbnails, it was just like work of art, just like little glimpses of the house that look so nice. And when I try and replicate that, I just can't do with any consistency or skill. So clearly, I can't wait to speak to her because clearly her work's going to be the same, I think. It's going to be really meticulous and good. It'll be nice chat to her. Yeah, definitely.
00:01:06
Speaker
Be a good chat, that's for sure. How's the bungalow going? Good, good. um I'd say slow progress, but progress. um I have not been there for four days this week, and just the one day is going to be.
00:01:18
Speaker
I've had another ah another different job. I'm doing a 3S kitchen. and rewiring that and actually dealing with the ordering in the kitchen and installing the kitchen stuff as well. So it's a bit overwhelming. Like I said previously, it's money in more than money out of this stage. just on to But Dave and Toby have been there for, I think, two and a half days-ish.
00:01:36
Speaker
Toby's been there fully. Dave has to keep shooting off because, well, they started my job early. um yeah They wanted to start now, basically, this week. I started at two and a bit months early.
Is a Home Extension Worth It?
00:01:47
Speaker
so So they're not going to go away now, but that just means they're going to give me five days every week. Yeah. But it's good. they're like The blocks are going up. It's like at head heights now.
00:01:56
Speaker
wow All the bricks on the external are going up as well now. So you can see like the facade of the house, which is quite tall. And even just a little exciting of things that you can see clearly, you know, where the back door is going to be to utility, window in the utility and that window in the front bedroom. It all a sudden looks from being like, oh, that was a garage to, oh, wow that's actually going to be like, A space. Yeah. Well, it's nice to see the space and you like see what you've got to play with, right? is Exactly. And I got to i go flip-flop between, oh, it's quite small, isn't it? As in like, because it's just a garage that's been converted. Yeah. not Well, knocked down and rebuilt, but converted essentially.
00:02:30
Speaker
um And then you obviously lose all the cavity space and the block work space. Yeah. break work Sometimes I'm like, oh, it small, isn't it? And the other time I'm like, oh, Good. so see Yeah, yeah. So just flit-flopped between the two. But genuinely, I keep thinking about it. It's actually crammed in is the wrong word, but there's a bedroom, an en suite, a bathroom, and a utility in this extension. And the extension's like 50 grand plus like them kitting it out. So everyone knows what it would be. 60 grand, maybe 65.
00:02:56
Speaker
I'm just trying to think, oh, is that worth I'm like four extra bedrooms, not four, great four extra rooms yeah for that money in my head.
Garage Usage - Storage Dilemmas
00:03:02
Speaker
I'm keep i'm um um'm being positive yeah also at this stage. Yeah. and It's funny, it's nowadays people don't use garages. Yeah, exactly. My garage is full of load of old shit. Garages got a podcast. I'm using it. yeah I'm full of old shit. Too old shit. Yeah, you're right. as yeah I think a garage is really useful if you could if you have the space to like use it well. I think ultimately, like Gran's house was 600 and something square foot, which is like a large flat, isn't it, really? yeah So now I think it's going to be more like 900 or whatever. It's like ah like a house size. So I think that I'm more excited for it. so like using your space better, right? Because it's got a driveway, so the car will be on the driveway. like How many people actually put their cars in a garage? Yeah, exactly. You know what? I saw someone in the house I'm working on doing the kitchen. She had a tiny little, i think it was that like like Zoe car or whatever. Yeah. yeah
00:03:55
Speaker
ah She actually parked in the garage. and then it I was like, oh, I've never seen anyone do that in 20 years. You're mentor. Idiot. I remember as a kid, it was always parking in the garage. Yeah,
Lucy's DIY Journey
00:04:05
Speaker
and I don't know when this died out. or The car just got bigger, I guess. Well, that's what that was the other thing I was going to say. is like I looked at my garage. was like, that's going be tight to get my car in. I don't even know if I could. yeah how I think mine would squeeze in here until I built a podcast. I think it probably would have squeezed in here, even though it' a bit taller. But hopefully would probably be okay. But it's funny. Yeah, you're right. No one uses it. and the um So i'm very obviously I wouldn't.
00:04:29
Speaker
I was playing around with keeping the garage, wasn't I, really early on and just converting the whole house because certainly would have been cheaper and faster. yeah um But I'm positive. I'm feeling like good about changing it to a free bed with an ensuite and, like yeah, nice bathroom, nice effort. Utility room as well is such a bonus. Yeah. I've been talking kitchen design with my client and,
00:04:49
Speaker
She's built, like studded off a bit of the, oh, the same thing actually. She's got a garage. She's split in half. Even in the front of the garage. Yeah. Back of it's a utility. And I'm, it's so pathetically old man-ish and like old person, but it's so good.
00:05:03
Speaker
really All the craps just in there, hidden out of sight, and it's like really functional. yeah She's even doing, which I'm a bit jealous of, I wish I had it. Sorry, I'm going way off the east. that's um Like a raised washing machine and a raised tumble dryer. oh So only like slightly. I think they're like 50, 60 centimetres off the ground. So then you just don't have to bend down when you're like saying something. i ah oh that's genius i should have done that yeah's true like could golf i like when some people i' stacked yeah exactly really oh that on the we' so middle aged exactly of people plus tragic chat
00:05:36
Speaker
in the garage of my house Maybe we should talk more about Lucy. Yes. I'm so sick. whereas Yeah, we're going to speak with her, so i can't wait to just into the interior world because it's not really my world. It's not a creative person.
00:05:52
Speaker
I'm looking forward to chat her about that. And we'll we'll talk to you afterwards and see how it goes. yeah but Hi, guys. We have Lucy here from Home Poppy Lane. how are you doing today? Hi, I'm really good. Thank you. are you both?
00:06:04
Speaker
We're good. it's ben Yeah, we're good. So thanks for joining us. We've um been following you for some time. We see you, you're the king of the sort of DIY and renovating and you seem like you don't waste any time. Was that always something you wanted to do is find a house where you could add your own touches to it?
00:06:21
Speaker
ah Well, we've actually been in this house. This is our first home we bought. Well, my partner had um a flat before. This is our first place that we bought 2010. we've actually lived here for 15 years.
00:06:34
Speaker
and a lot of people bought and then sort of redid it. But no, we've lived here for a very long time and um always like painted. And we sort of put our own kitchen and a bathroom, the normal kind of things in.
00:06:48
Speaker
um And then didn't really do anything for years. Like we had no children, weren't married, just used to travel a lot and go on holiday. That's how we spent. we were never at home, to be honest.
00:06:59
Speaker
And then we had our daughter seven years ago and we all started getting on top of each other. We were either move house or extend and then, yeah, lockdown here.
00:07:14
Speaker
And we thought it's best if we just stay here. um wasn't working at the time either. So it's just a bit sort safer. Stay here. And yeah, extend it really. And then it's just been never ending the last five years since then, just changing things. Obviously I've started Instagram and that doesn't help. with Well, it does help, but it's constantly seeing different things and wanting to improve and change things, get new inspiration. see yeah, this isn't our forever home. and We will move. I don't want a renovation project next time though, but it's probably going to happen.
00:07:49
Speaker
Yeah. You always end up getting what you don't want, basically, isn't it? Yeah. You've got a picture in your head of exact... I literally have the exact house that I've wanted in my head.
00:08:00
Speaker
just need someone to build it for me, really. So what made you start like documenting things on socials then? I think because we was looking for a lot of inspiration, I think at the time there wasn't a huge amount of home accounts.
00:08:16
Speaker
This is like 2018, 2019. It wasn't a huge amount. Well, no good it was, but I just had the set ones that i used to look at all the time. And I thought, right, I'm going to do that.
00:08:28
Speaker
oxels quite I'm quite artistic or quite creative. I like sort of creating videos and things. Well, I realised that after ah started theyre doing it, yeah. I realised that was sort of where my passion was.
00:08:42
Speaker
m I actually waited until our house was kind of completely done before I started documenting it. So all of my renovation sort documentation, there wasn't anything really because I used to look at a building site and be, who wants to see that work out? kick myself I wish I'd taken more because yeah I didn't I did it but they're not very good um and yeah so then started sharing oh I look back at some of my old posts my styling was terrible my panties zoomed out and yeah it's kind of become was a hobby that's turned into a job really so yeah absolutely like a love like the creative side like turning a room from something boring to something amazing and then documenting it and sort of putting together a video or photos or exactly the process
Finding Inspiration for DIY Projects
00:09:33
Speaker
That's really cool. And how do you sort of find the inspiration for what you're going to do? Because i I personally find it really difficult just to think of ideas. Is there like a go to like Pinterest or Instagram or you just really creative yourself and just come up with some things?
00:09:48
Speaker
I always have like a specific idea in my head and then I try and search for it to sort of like solidify exactly what I'm thinking of. So I have an idea in my head of what want to do and then I'll go looking for it. So yeah, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, all the usual social media to be honest. it And then I kind of like adapt it from there. I wouldn't say I copy, well sometimes I copy how people have done it but I try and make my own mark on it as well.
00:10:14
Speaker
That's really cool. That's actually really difficult to do, I think, because I just sort but want to find someone I can just completely copy because I sort know it looks good. So it's quite bold of you just just saying, no, I'm going put my own tweak on things.
00:10:24
Speaker
Yeah. i I quite like drawing things out before and working. I'm like in our household, I'm at the designer, I've got the vision. And then my husband is more like the measurer. He comes in with all the boring stuff. But I, aya yeah, I can't do any of that stuff. But yeah, we kind of work work as a team in that way.
00:10:43
Speaker
Nice. So you get all the fun stuff and all the glory and he's like getting down and dirty, basically.
00:10:51
Speaker
How did you feel about like opening your, I suppose, your own house up, which is quite personal to everyone out there on the internet? Were you a little bit apprehensive or did you kind of do it for friends and family?
00:11:04
Speaker
No, I didn't really want to tell people that I was doing it at first because i thought, oh, it's a bit cringe. Like, i would never show my face or anything like that. um I kind of just did it to help other people. So, like, especially, like, with panelling and things like that, like, I didn't have a clue what I was doing.
00:11:21
Speaker
And I couldn't always find exactly... what I wanted but with the help that I needed so i thought if I create something like that and hopefully it will help help other people really give inspiration but ah sometimes I can't think about how many people have seen inside my house because it's a bit creepier it's a little bit it's a funny one isn't it because you sort want to show you off for your home but at the same time i had the same thing with my house and you're just like oh I am just showing off like literally every square in if I got verbal they'd know exactly where to go to find all the good stuff immediately
00:11:53
Speaker
But is there, um was there a room that you sort wanted to prioritize? and know you said you've lived there a long time, but maybe when like you had your child or did did things change in that respect? thinking, I want to get like her room done or I want to do the kitchen? Was there a focus, something being?
00:12:08
Speaker
Yeah, because all we extended the kitchen. and That was where the main extension was. And so we did a kitchen, diner, dining room, and then a playroom. So we wanted a bit of extra space.
00:12:19
Speaker
Our living room isn't huge. So all of our toys were in here. um i wanted something we could host. not I don't even host that much. I wanted somewhere that you could have people round and there was somewhere for everyone to sit. So before then, we didn't have a space for that. Now, yeah, now we do.
00:12:38
Speaker
And I just don't host.
00:12:41
Speaker
Keep it nice, I'd. Yes, the priority was the kitchen, really. Getting a like working kitchen somewhere we could all sort of mingle and have family meals. And yeah, that was our main priority. That was what we spent the most money on, really, getting the extension done.
00:12:58
Speaker
And then it kind of, I think when you're renovating, you end up moving through the whole house, certainly because things get ruined, and you get scuff marks everywhere. So we kind of went through the house and repainted. And then gradually I've gone back through and then done it again, probably two or three times.
00:13:14
Speaker
Well, that's it, isn't it? Because tastes and like
Living Through Renovations
00:13:17
Speaker
trends sort of change and you seem quite on top of that. So how do you keep up with the like ever going cycle of changing trends?
00:13:26
Speaker
i think, um yeah, my taste is always changing, but then I always go back to neutral. I hide my stick to neutral and then play around with colour with accessories and try and keep everywhere quiet, plain and minimal, and then add something from my... Because otherwise it just costs so much money to keep changing everything, doesn't it? Yeah. Yeah. was trying to keep everything and neutral and then add in with pillows, flowers, ornaments and things like that, pictures. Yeah, that's the best.
00:13:58
Speaker
i I was always like quite grey, wanted anything grey, grey-white, whereas now I'd say more like neutral, bit of monochrome. and I've actually added a green to one wall, which is not like me, but I love it.
00:14:13
Speaker
I'm excorbitantian with My daughter's room is pink, which I don't really like pink, but I've got to let her have her own space. So funny with kids, isn't it? I've got a daughter as well. And we're like, we're not going to false pink on her.
00:14:26
Speaker
And she's literally like, I want pink everything. We're like, how does this happen? I don't get it. But we actually talked her out of a pink bedroom, thankfully. like that Did you? seen She's gone for like a green colour, like a light. Oh, no.
00:14:39
Speaker
Yes. I don't want to do that. Otherwise, it's just we've got unicorns everywhere as ah instead. So it would just be pink and unicorns everywhere. It's just so farcical.
00:14:50
Speaker
So, Marley, we were doing the kitchen renovation. where Were you actually living there whilst doing it? and how did you actually you find that? Because ah that is just a big headache for a lot of people. That's why I don't want to do it again. I'm still scarred.
00:15:05
Speaker
I think we we started... September 2020. So we'd had that in the main lockdown and then we, trying to get my timeline right, then I think we went back into another lockdown, but it wasn't as strict.
00:15:17
Speaker
And that's when the builders started coming around. And then we had planned to be away for the knock through and all the messy part. And I think it was like November, we went into the strict lockdown. Everything was shut. Restaurants were shut.
00:15:31
Speaker
You couldn't go out your bubble. So we had to stay put. And honestly, it was horrific. that will My daughter was two at the time. She didn't understand what was going on. but At the end when the builders would go, we'd go in to like open the kitchen door to see what they'd done and like the whole house was open.
00:15:51
Speaker
And she'd be crying her eyes out and we'd be excited because we could see the vision. like Everything's coming together, not not really coming together, but you could see the sides of it. And she'd be crying her eyes out, like, where's my house got? nu shit up that She didn't understand why we wouldn't let her go in the kitchen or be outside in the garden with the
From Novice to Competent DIYer
00:16:08
Speaker
builders and stuff. So, yeah, that it was very, very stressful. But it was 12 to 14 weeks, I think, of living like that.
00:16:16
Speaker
And I'm still not over it. Scarred you for life now. So did you do much on the kitchen extension? I know you're always adding your accessories and doing bits and pieces, but did you do much to the actual extension itself?
00:16:33
Speaker
m No, the builders looked like everything really to the to do with the kitchen and the extension. like They did the flooring and stuff like that. I did all the painting. in And then since then, we've kind of like added things as the years have gone on, like more lighting and things like that.
00:16:51
Speaker
And then I don't know if you've seen the dining booth that I've just started. Well, Hunt just started. I've almost finished in the dining booth now, which makes so much more sense. that Our extension is like a weird, we didn't do like a wrap around extension. We did um out the back and out the side. So it doesn't wrap around. And that space has just never really worked for us. Like dining table did fit that it was a squash area.
00:17:18
Speaker
Changed it to and like a snug space, which worked, but we didn't have a dining table anymore. And so my daughter would be like colouring on the floor. She's got her own little table where she eats dinner or she eats at the kitchen island. I just thought I really want somewhere, again, going back to hosting, to host. But maybe I've got a little space to host. so Yeah, so that's the biggest thing we've kind of done in that space, build a dining booth.
00:17:46
Speaker
And yeah, so hopefully that'll be done in a couple of weeks' time. Oh, cool. and yeah i've I've been following that. And it's obviously very DIY. You're doing everything yourself. Have you always been had like a DIY background? We're speaking to many people who are like, well, just had to learn to DIY. Otherwise, it would cost us like thousands and thousands and thousands of pounds.
00:18:04
Speaker
yeahds Yeah, so we i just I really don't like people but in my house like that I don't know. in order to have anything done, it just makes me feel like, oh, I don't know, this is my rehearsal space. I don't want, if we can do it ourselves, we will.
00:18:18
Speaker
um My husband's more like electric. He hasn't got any background in this, but he's quite good with fat plumbing and electrical things. like He can, probably a bit of a bodge job, but he kick can chip. Yeah.
00:18:30
Speaker
um So yeah, we between us, before we had the extension, we couldn't even hang a picture up between us. We would like get in so much trouble with doing it. there'd be Behind every picture, there'd be about 20 different screw holes where we'd gone wrong.
00:18:44
Speaker
And before we had the extension, In the first lockdown, he decided to build a home office in our garden. And at first I was like, you have no idea what you're doing. You work in the city, like you have got no building experience. Like you're just going to make mess and we're going to have all this wood trying get better off.
00:19:03
Speaker
All these
Overcoming DIY Challenges
00:19:04
Speaker
orders were turning up with big like lorry loads of wood and like, he really is taking this seriously. I watched him from the window for a few weeks and I thought, actually, he does know what he's doing.
00:19:15
Speaker
So when I saw the frango up, was like, I'm going to get stuck in in hell. So then i ended up helping him. and We like literally instantly, it's the warmest place in our whole house. It's down the end of our garden, but it's completely all related. We did the flooring, plasterboard, the roofing, lighting, absolutely everything.
00:19:32
Speaker
Like, even though it's technically kind of like a cabin, it's a a full, it looks like a normal sort of room. I thought, wow, we can, we've done quite well here. So then, yeah, we just sort of went from doing that to still not, you know, to put a picture up.
00:19:48
Speaker
us And then, like, started panelling and built and made the media wall, yeah, fixing my stairs.
00:20:01
Speaker
We've done, we've literally not had anyone in to do anything anymore. Like, we will always do it our ourselves. Never call in a builder. It's amazing. We like those sorts of people, to be fair. It's like, you've just got to have a go, haven't you? And what's the worst that can go wrong? Although your husband does sound quite brave doing electrics and plumbing. That can be a bit scary.
00:20:19
Speaker
He listened in his science classes at school, I think. He's like, you go ballpark stuff, man, is it? I didn't listen to that. So obviously you undertook quite a big project as your first one. And what sort of tips would you give people who are considering taking on maybe even something small DIY wise?
00:20:40
Speaker
I think start off, I think building with wood is so easy and like some, not always, sometimes wood isn't that expensive. So if you do something wrong, like if you've got some beading or moulding, panelling and you go wrong, so i what? Just try again or cork it together. Like, an easy one.
00:21:00
Speaker
you can fix Everything can be fixed. umm Like the amount of times we do things wrong and no one would ever know at the end of it. There's always a way array around it. There's someone that it's happened to before.
00:21:12
Speaker
you look on YouTube or and Instagram, TikTok, you're going to find someone that's been in that situation probably and how to fix it. I think just have the confidence. If you don't try it, you're never going to know.
00:21:24
Speaker
ah so I know some people cannot even paint properly. Maybe they shouldn't. You're not going to lose, have you? If you do you don't give it a go, how are going to know? if you Yeah.
00:21:37
Speaker
That's so true. It's funny because when was making notes about um your like the DIY things you've done, it it just seems like it's escalated. And they're like big things as well, like a pergola and like a whole stuff outside, like your TV. or with like They're like big, big jobs. And I think a lot of people would be quite scared by that. But did you get involved in, I've only actually seen this one today when I was looking at your page, the hidden golf simulator, which I think is absolute genius. It's something I now want.
00:22:04
Speaker
I think it was your idea to find it away. Yeah, with my idea to hide it away. We had one of those like but at golf nets that would hang hatch to the garden and they just used to make me go, oh every time I heard the golf, I'd tip them off.
00:22:19
Speaker
Make me feel so anxious. So yeah, we built it so he could do whatever he wants in the garden with with that. But I just, I was in charge of making it look neat and tidy. So yeah you would never know, you'd never know it was there until at night when the projector comes out and gates open. That's genius ah idea.
00:22:37
Speaker
Yeah, it looks amazing. So what's what's gone wrong? We love to ask. What new done wrong that you've had to... You've entered it, repair or or get someone in to hang up here?
00:22:50
Speaker
um We've never got to the point where we've had to call in hell, but every single time we do a project, there will be that moment that we're like... you like If you're a hobby, I don't know, you've got children, haven't you? Your partner is...
00:23:06
Speaker
having a baby and they say, I can't do it anymore. That's normally the moment they're about to have the baby. And we always do that with DIY. We're like, we can't do this. What are doing? What are we thinking of? And then we always give up. And then 10 minutes later, we've nailed it and it's almost done. so you always have to get past that little black breakthrough where you're I can't do this. so It's every single project without foul. There'll be behind it a huge row probably. There will be a day.
00:23:34
Speaker
100 trips to B&Q with more money spent where we've run out of something or measured something wrong. But every single thing goes wrong. which It's the first time we've done it any of this. So there's every single thing. There'll be there'll be a problem. I'm quite calm in those situations. My husband's not. He's like, that's it. What have you got me doing this for? am I helping you?
00:23:54
Speaker
Madagyo. I don't want to be doing this. and I'm like, come on, we can do this. See the vision. And yeah, we end up putting through it. So yeah that there's nothing. I'm trying to think if there's anything that doesn't work.
00:24:09
Speaker
I'm writing the touch push. Everything's standing. The pergola's gone through a couple of storms. That's still that's so holding up. So everything, every single thing, I try and be very ah honest on my socials as well with that. Like this has gone wrong, that's gone wrong. Don't do what we did and do this, do it this way.
00:24:28
Speaker
Try and remember everything I've
Lucy's Social Media Strategy
00:24:31
Speaker
done. So it might help someone else as well. su It's also so good, I think, on your Instagram, how you show how long some things take. Because i saw when you doing the stairs, was it like nine hours of sanding down or something? I actually think that's quite important. It almost might scare some people away, which is not good. But it is these things take so long. And like my brother is currently doing his kitchen, and he spent Saturday just sanding down one bean in his kitchen. took him him like three hours.
00:24:57
Speaker
And it's actually quite good, I think, to be honest with people online. Have you got a lot of feedback in that regard? Yeah, I think that i'm or every time we sort of plan to do something, i remember with the pergola last year, I was like, i we'll do that in one weekend and then it'll be ready for the summer. Like literally four months later, we were still doing.
00:25:18
Speaker
And I always seem to think things are going to be done and in the couple of days or over a weekend. And then they never are, especially when you you've got to wait for things to dry and dry. English weather to stop doing its thing, like you get rained off or even with the dining booth, I thought, oh, that will only take a Saturday and Sunday. Well, that's been a whole month of doing little bits here, there. Luckily, I work from home and can do a little bit here, there and everywhere.
00:25:44
Speaker
But yeah, if someone's working full time and only has the weekends, like it's really hard to try and find time to do to do these things and sanding down something, that can take a whole day. covered in dust your whole house is ruined afterwards great kids just got dust everywhere Yeah, it's really hard with children as well, isn't it? Just to have that time to do it. It's like you do it after they when they go to bed or something and it's just such a difficult thing to do. but it's actually really good how open you are. Did you find your social media grew like gradually as the months went on or was was there a big spike in anything? Because we speak to lots of people and some people have had like a viral moment and others have just had like steady growth.
00:26:25
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like it's been quite steady. I think I did have a couple of viral videos early on. It was a lot easier to go viral four or five years ago, whereas now you need to be doing something ridiculous to cope with Romanian view. But...
00:26:43
Speaker
Yeah, it has been quite settled, which is good. I prefer that because when you go viral all the time, you end up getting people following you just for that one particular thing that you've done, whereas actually you want people following you for your whole journey um and what you're doing.
00:26:58
Speaker
So yeah, it did it did grow relatively super quickly, especially the first couple of years. And now it's kind of gone steadied out a little bit. And there's bit more of a a community feel. speak to people all the time that are going through doing their own renovations, wanting advice.
00:27:15
Speaker
Then they might disappear for a bit and then they've moved on to their next the next room that they're doing. So yeah, it has been, I'd say, long story short, it's been steady. It's been steady. think. Nice.
00:27:26
Speaker
And as you just spoke about, you get a lot of people reaching out to you like, oh, I'm trying to do this and I can't figure it out. ah I know the DIY social community are actually really helpful in that kind of way.
00:27:38
Speaker
Do you get a lot of people reaching out to you and asking you questions? Yes, I do. I get a lot of people asking me step by step, especially when I'm writing the middle world products myself. I didn't realise many people would be interested in a dining booth. I've had so many people.
00:27:52
Speaker
Oh, in a lot. When I'm like, oh, you're ahead of me now. i i so I do. I also get a lot of people asking me to to go and do it in their house.
00:28:04
Speaker
No. No. um
00:28:09
Speaker
It's fine when it's your own house and if you've got your little, it would take me forever. i love using a lot of cork and stuff like that, whereas I don't know if other people would.
00:28:22
Speaker
Well, you can't see most of it anyway, so for it. Go for it, that's what always say. Have you ever thought about um doing something yourself to like offer your services out? Because your Instagram page just like a work of art. When you just click on the thumbnails, it all looks so nice. If people were coming to you all the time, did you think, oh, I could actually so do this as a little side hustle?
00:28:43
Speaker
I did i um do sometimes still do mood balls for people and things like that. So I'll source and find different furniture. They send me their b room layout. i kind of um Because i'm I'm not an interior designer, so I don't want to try and sell myself like that. But I just feel like I've got an eye for shopping.
00:29:03
Speaker
Bye. I can find and I can quite easily put a lot of things together but I'm generally is more my style whereas i think interior diner ah designers have to be a bit more open and we had to do lots of different kind of styles whereas I quite sit in my ways with what I like I couldn't start incorporating loads of colours and things like that because it's just not me so I feel like Yeah, i had tried I have done
Lucy's Style and Future Plans
00:29:30
Speaker
bits of that. My passion is more my house and m ah love editing. and I love creating videos and things like that. So yeah.
00:29:40
Speaker
But yeah, if people do want it, they can reach out to me and I can put them, if they like my house, that is. You don't have to, I can't do it. No, I suppose they they follow your journey and they obviously love your style. So I guess that's perfect, right?
00:29:55
Speaker
Yeah, that's generally what happens, isn't it? People follow because they like like the style and they like what you're buying for your home. probably wouldn't get someone following me that, like, got a different decor to me. Maybe they do.
00:30:07
Speaker
Yeah. You're actually quite good as well because you, I don't think many people do this, you have, like, your sort of smaller key finds as well, like your Amazon... I've seen so many things on your page I've never seen in my life, but that weird bug cactofeo and then the thing that goes on the stairs, because I'm constantly leaving stuff at the bottom of the stairs. yeah And usually my wife and daughter just walk straight past them and I carry back up. I'm like, that's genius. Was that something that sort of grew as well? You're like, oh, I'm quite good at finding all these little quirky things. Something to make my life easier. And that's, I've brought things on Amazon, can't you? Just things to make your life a bit easier. So we've got um Prime and then we've got literally orders, three, four orders come in a week.
00:30:51
Speaker
is When it's home stuff, I always try and share because you just find everything on there, don't you? ye Yeah, yeah, it is so good. It's just so quick as well, isn't it, to get it all? Have you um guys, like, discovered a really good hack?
00:31:05
Speaker
um I saw one of your posts was about just going to get sheets cut up b in Q. I thought that was, like, quite a good hack. Have you got any similar things to that where thought, oh, that's such a good idea or, like, really budget-saving?
00:31:18
Speaker
I don't think a lot of people know about the B&Q one because every time I share it, people are like, what? Because actually, going back to your question about people getting the confidence to do it, B&Q can cut it all for you. it's Like with the media wall, it was just a case of sticking it all together. I mean, you built kind of know where you're screwing it.
00:31:35
Speaker
But yeah, that, well, off the top of my head, and if it's not completely broken, you can always paint it.
00:31:47
Speaker
Fill up and take you. I've got like a random under the cupboard ere door and it was just the original door. It was didn't go with the room. It's like had mould into it. You can always make something look better even if you're on a complete budget.
00:32:04
Speaker
and Just buy garbage. I like to walk around. This sounds really sad, but I love to walk around being here with Wix's and just like look all the different things that you can get because you can literally get something to do anything.
00:32:15
Speaker
I'll be like, always something I think, oh, I could do. It might not be for the right reason, but I could see if a choose and think, oh, I could make a good table base out of that. or ah this think once you spend your life in those DIY shots, it's like realising how many things can be fixed without having to completely replace things. So yeah, panning in your doors, panning in your walls.
00:32:40
Speaker
um ripping up your stairs and sanded them all down and putting around i mean that things can be fixed without having to completely knock down the house and start again yeah which sounds like you're gonna sort of want to do if you want to move house the future yeah i bet you end up getting a complete fixer after against everything you just said
00:33:04
Speaker
Can you imagine in the other house, would you ever do it where you roll reverse and your husband has to do all the design things and you have to do all the building, won't you? No, I would not let him. Some of his ideas, he's thinking of practically, whereas I'm more like, no, that's going to look rubbish. I don't care if it doesn't work properly.
00:33:23
Speaker
I would never let him design
Best and Worst of DIY
00:33:25
Speaker
anything. LAUGHTER Seems to be a man thing at the moment because everyone we interview, like there's no good designer men apparently in the industry. So we've got search one out. like I've got to buy one.
00:33:36
Speaker
You've got to talk credit for things as well. like the other when Now the dining booth is coming together. he's like, it looks so good, doesn't it? What a great idea I had. I went, excuse me. got to plug me my idea, my design. Don't take it away from me.
00:33:51
Speaker
yeah Well, amazing. Well, thank, basically, thank you for joining us. But we always ask um our guests the same question. It's just basically the best and worst thing about sort of DIYing or renovating a home yourself yourself. You might have touched on them a little bit, but what do you think just your favorite thing about what you've done in your home is and then, you know, the worst thing about it as well?
00:34:15
Speaker
I think the best thing is that everything we've kind of created ourselves, so it's really personal to us. um It shows that you look around the house, a lot of like, worry like we've grown a lot, the way we've sort of learned how to do things. So I do think when we do eventually move, I'll be so sad to leave this house and give it to someone else. Because I think all those, even my daughter says that, she's like, you spent so much time building things, we can't leave Yeah.
00:34:43
Speaker
We'll ring vice like that everything was done by ourselves. And the worst thing I'd say is living in it um while
Wrap-Up and Listener Engagement
00:34:52
Speaker
it's all being done. One small project takes over the whole house and is as a clean freak, it's so hard to sort of try and let go and think things have to look bad before they start to look good again. So if anyone is, especially with extending, if you can move in family or community,
00:35:09
Speaker
find a week where it's going to be the messiest part of the extension or renovation whatever you're doing get a hotel or try and plan a holiday um and just move out if you yeah it's basically impossible isn't it a young founder some sort of hack then or like uh amazon finds to clean the house instantly and then No, no. Just if you are living in it, probably try and keep one room. That is the door shut. You've got microwave in there. You've got a kettle and you've got your bed. So probably your bedroom, unless that's being decorated too. then Yeah, that's a good tip actually. And actually um putting masking tape, I always think, around the door every day always helps just to keep as much dust out as possible. That's what we tend to do, try and keep all the dust down. Wall dobes as well because they get everywhere. but yeah. Yeah.
00:35:59
Speaker
Isn't it? Yeah. Amazing. Well, thank you um for joining us. Could you please tell the listeners at home where we can find you on Instagram and your that your Instagram name and everything, please? It's homepoppylane on TikTok and Instagram.
00:36:13
Speaker
And I have got a YouTube as well, but I don't really do anything other than shorts on there. So, yeah, maybe one day. ill Hey, because start doing the how-tos now, you know, you do everything. You build everything.
00:36:24
Speaker
Really, it's one of those things I think, oh, we'll do that eventually. And then another year goes past. The account's there. So, yeah, we'll see. Would your husband ever be on the camera? Is it always just you? No, no, no. He's camera shy.
00:36:39
Speaker
Well, amazing. Thank you very much, sir Lucy, for joining us. And in we keep following your journey and see you finish your dining room. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. Cheers. Thanks, Lucy. Bye.
00:36:51
Speaker
Thank you so much, Lucy. It was really, really interesting, that one, like just to hear how she comes up with all her little tips and tricks and like how she then works around DIYing and like not from a building background at all, but like her stuff looks amazing, doesn't it? Yeah, it's great to have someone with like a mixture of things as well. it's like giving advice and hacks and things, but also just showing you how to do DIY things and more interior based things as well, which i really struggle with, like just tips and tricks about how to make a room feel bigger and whatever. Yeah. And I like when people are really transparent with mistakes as well. Yeah. She spoke openly, didn't she, about the dining room sort of space. Then when they first moved in, they designed it specifically to have that table.
00:37:34
Speaker
And she just hated it. Yeah. Just ripped it all out and now building the cool little, like, dining room bench, would you say? Yeah. And I think that's, like, a good tip, right? It's like... some people get afraid to do stuff and you're like, just try it If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Like worst case, like she's doing, just redo it.
00:37:50
Speaker
Exactly. And when you're doing a massive building job, you always make mistakes. like yeah of Emily and I eventually are going to rip out our like en suite um sick it's too low we don't like it doesn't fit one of those things you just need to have like 300 pounds spare which we just haven't had yeah and like even we didn't put in a cupboard in the ensuite as well so we've put in a cupboard since then just you just make mistakes don't you you're beginning where you think you're doing so many things so she's i like her transparency with that um also i like people with like the link trees to where they can buy things as well yeah it's really useful looking at someone's house being like oh i want that and then they're literally just got a link just maybe it's an affiliate link yes is you just you know Making a bit of money, but fair enough, why not? Yeah, exactly, why not? And and it helps you, you don't have to go and like look for it and like scroll through the internet and try and find the right colour and you could all do something like wrong, couldn't you? Exactly.
00:38:40
Speaker
And she did loads of ex exterior advice as well. It's not like when we have guests we talk ah mostly about interiors, don't we? Yeah. But it's cool seeing the pergola and stuff she'd done as well.
00:38:51
Speaker
Maybe we need like a garden person. Yeah, we do, actually. We do need someone. Or, like, landscape. or like Not garden person. That's self-diamond idiot. Yeah. Yeah, landscape or... Garden person. Garden person, yeah. Yeah, I'll type into Google garden further. I'd be like, are you a moron?
00:39:10
Speaker
Yeah, like landscape would be cool, wouldn't it? I follow a couple who do like million pound ones. My brother works for some building his garden rooms and their average job must be like 300 grand or something. Who's got this money? He's really excited to watch. It's like back-breaking work, isn't it? Yeah.
00:39:30
Speaker
But then it just looks amazing. like Everything just looks so like crest crisp and fresh. Yeah, exactly. And her garden looked really nice at the end, didn't it? It sounded like she was going to do some more things as well moving forward. Yeah, excited to see what else she's going to be up to. See what ah I can copy with my brain that just can't do anything interiors. Well, I did this in tears. Is this impressive or not? Who knows? Impressive.
00:39:51
Speaker
I went more for the acoustic sound than the look. Yeah, ill I'll get some more tips from Lucy at another time. Yes, definitely. Thanks to everyone for watching and listening. Yeah. um As always, our email address, hello at DIYGuysPodcast.com. If you want to come on do you know I actually had a couple of people approach us to come on? No, um the podcaster. It's cool. People are clear youre listening. Yeah. and i was like, oh, okay. well I didn't think it was I'm not going to lie. I'm good. Fair enough. Yeah. it' Still, thank you for reaching out. Yeah. It did have a following, and like but I didn't think it was too DIY based. It was more like, here's my business. I want to promote my business. I want to promote my business. I'm like, don't you DIY? See you fast. It's like, what's DIY? Yeah. Because I'm out. I don't think you're right for the podcast. But yeah, thank you. Is anyone reaching out? um Any of you, any problems you're having, we can try and solve it or we can speak to are the guys we're speaking with over the next few months. Yeah. Or you can DM us at the DIY Guys Podcast. as well Yeah. um So that's it. I think next week we're going to be talking about week eight of my bungalow renovation. I keep getting a fuse of the week. Sorry if I keep saying the wrong sound.
00:40:53
Speaker
I don't think i'm going to be there much. or I'm going to talk to in too much depth. But then nothing think the week after I'm going to be back gung-ho as all my jobs with clients are sort of coming to an end a bit. Yeah. So I'm hoping I can do some big stuff like maybe some stud work and some more rewiring and get that bungalow moving. Nice. And watch it fly up. Hopefully. Hopefully. but Nice to see you, mate. Good see you to see you next week. yeah Catch you next week.