One man's trash...

I have a small confession to make. I am a bit of a bargain hunter. I can often be found in the musty depths of the local charity shop or sifting through the 'dump' area of a reclamation yard. If I like something in a regular shop I will generally go away, having not bought it, and try to recreate it myself. My name is G and I am a chronic penny saver.

I came across the most fabulous of shops not far from where we live (note we have only lived here for a matter of months so its all still new to us), very random in the middle of an industrial estate, but it was simply shouting my name. Any good bargaineer knows when to trust their gut instinct! It turned out to be a hoarders day dream; every trinket you can imagine, vintage wardrobes, upcycled chairs, beds, bar fridges, it was endless... and I loved it! I came away with a vintage mirror and a vintage suit, obviously the latter is not for the house but one doesn't just leave a vintage suit with a £4 price tag does one? I've since been back having dragged D with me, only to come away with an old-school coffee table, a further two small vintage mirrors and a fantastic little fishing display frame to go up as decor in the summer house. Something tells me it wont be our last trip there either.

This 'one man's trash is another man's treasure' attitude has rolled out into most areas of my life. Both of my beautiful dogs are, to all intents and purposes, other people's cast off's. Thankfully, neither were abuse cases, but unwanted for one reason or another they were. No problem, we had space for two little pretties, so they joined the gang.

One thing I learned fairly early on as a chicken keeper was that other people had had enough of them come the winter when trudging up the garden in the cold and the wet to feed/water/clean them wasn't particularly thrilling. I have replied to countless ads for 'hens free to good home'. I have had people come from all over to deliver chickens to my door that they no longer wanted. I put my own ad out with 'we take any unwanted poultry' as the title - I had to take it down within days because we couldn't physically house any more. We've rescued from farms when the hens have reached their 18 months limit and must be exchanged for new ones, we've even paid a farmer £1.50 a bird to take some home as that was 50p extra per bird than he would have got for them as chicken pie filler.

No two the same.

Young Money - our first 'home-hatched' hen.

Olga is the queen of photo bombing.

Tilly has her spot in the new house officially proclaimed.

These second-handers aren't fussy either. My chooks reside in a reused dog kennel with re-purposed water barrels for nest boxes. They are not one bit bothered by the upheaval of living in the half way house. The dogs take all of the flapping over the new house in their stride and want nothing more than to cuddle up with us in the evenings as thanks.

The Keep had been sat with a For Sale sign for over 6 months with little to no interest in it until we came along. It was entirely outdated inside with nothing having been touched since the early 80's, but most things since way before that. It was damp and we knew it would take an awful lot to make it look and work like a well loved home. However, the price was right and, just like a vintage suit in the back of a charity shop wardrobe, it was truly charming.

As you can see the old place is taking a bit of a bashing. I think I'll look back and call this the 'buffing' period. To make diamonds you have to apply plenty of pressure!

What is left of the old art deco fireplace.

Envision a spa-like, vintage inspired washroom... if you can!

All things considered, The Keep will probably be the home of second chances. Myself and D have lived together before, kept animals before and, honestly, mainly 'half ar*ed' it before. The chance we have now means we get a reboot, the chance to make old things new again. I can't think of more fitting place than this old house.

Come rain or shine, it'll still be mine.

G