I was a bit intimidated by this thread until I saw that there were some non-bike projects in it too. So here's what I have been up to during lockdown - it's all house stuff I'm afraid.
We moved out of our tiny flat into a much bigger one just days before lockdown. As I don't earn enough for a mortgage the only way to do this was to get a 'let-to-buy' mortgage on our old place (which I had bought cash at auction for £22k). This then allowed us to buy the new one but meant keeping the old one and renting it out. The mortgage cost was very low so I will make something on the rent.
As soon as all our crap was moved out of the way in the old place I redid the bathroom and decorated everywhere. Our friends had become homeless during the crisis and were literally living in a garden shed, so they moved in and seemed very happy with it.
I then turned to the new place and the staircase. In general the new flat had been last decorated in a style which I call 'care-home chic', probably in the 1990's.
The stair carpet really irked me so I ripped that up and found that the treads were actually quite nice pine. The risers were just plywood though. So I just sanded the treads and gave them 7 coats of Diamond Hard varnish. It was a bastard of a job as it was all hands-and-knees and I also couldn't buy a decent dust mask anywhere thanks to Covid. The rest I painted in a matt dark grey. I'm pleased with the result. I did buy some marine anti-slip pearls to put in the top coat of varnish but didn't use them in the end. As I deliberately didn't rub down between coats the varnish is slightly textured and so it's fine to hurtle down the stairs, even in socks (Joe puts this to the test daily). The final cost was less than £100, including the flooring for the half landing.
At some point I will rub the doors down and use a pale wax to try to make them a bit less ginger. I also have nice black door handles to fit.
Then I wanted to get the dining room done in time for Christmas. Daft I know, as it's just Joe and I but it gave me a target to work to. This wasn't as simple as just decorating. The living rooms in the flat are upstairs to make the most of the views, but in a poorly insulated loft conversion. An oven in summer and a fridge in winter. So I had to cut out part of the ceiling to insert insulation in first, then re-plasterboard and make good. A horrible, messy job, but hopefully worth it. We also had to move radiators, sockets and so on, then lay new flooring.
Here's what the room looked like before:
And here it is now....
I will paint the skirtings to match the walls later, but just ran out of time before Christmas. I fitted new lights over the table. I bought a six-head cluster light and split each light off it and wired it into its own rose. I sprayed the roses with cement paint as they were a bit white and shiny. We have three over the table and three over the worktop in the kitchen. I like it that they match. The price worked out at £11 each which was much less than buying individual lights. The shelving was given to us by friends. It's just there temporarily at the moment as we can't get to Ikea to buy what I want. I have seen Billy bookcases that have been properly built in and the joins covered with beading and it looks amazing - you wouldn't know it was so cheap!
The faux panelling was a bit tricky but now its there I quite like it. It goes well with the vintage style rad which was £68 off ebay. The plan is to cover the upper part of the wall in black and white family photos, but I haven't got round to printing those yet.
The table was also a bargain at £100, probably because it had woodworm in places. I treated that and painted the legs dark grey again (gotta use up that tin!) I think the top might actually be oak as it just about fucking killed Joe and I getting it up the stairs. The chairs were something like £20 for the six off eBay years ago. The armchair was off freecycle. The lamp is made from an old 50's hairdryer I got on eBay, also years ago.
The flooring was also very cheap as I got it on a B&Q bargain weekend back in February. I think it was £6sqm plus the underlay. It's really chunky stuff - not at all thin and bouncy. I like it a lot so far.
We are pretty happy with the room now. Still more to do to finish it and plenty more in the rest of the flat to keep me busy.