What a first week!

Week One: Dust, Dreams & A Little Bit of Woman Rage

If you've ever renovated a shop while entertaining children during the summer holidays, you'll know exactly how chaotic, exhausting and exciting this week has been!

This week at Nell's Farmhouse Interiors, the real transformation began.

Out came the flooring. We pulled, scraped and wrestled with years of history, convinced we'd uncovered beautiful original tiles beneath. For a few glorious minutes, we were already imagining how stunning they would look...

Sadly, our excitement didn't last long. Underneath was nothing more than very old, rather cheap lino tiles. It wasn't quite the hidden treasure we'd hoped for, but that's all part of bringing an old building back to life. To be exact the shop was built in 1664, it etched into the beam above the doorway to the kitchen.

One of my favourite moments had to be watching my daughter enthusiastically helping by kicking through the wall leading to the stairs. I don't think she'll ever forget being officially allowed to knock holes in a wall! Safe to say, she absolutely loved every second of it.

We also had a wonderful visit from our incredibly talented Social Media & Marketing Manager, Ellie. She came to see the progress but, true to form, didn't just stand and watch. She rolled up her sleeves and got stuck straight into ripping up flooring with us. Having people around who genuinely believe in your dream makes such a difference.

As many parents will understand, the summer holidays don't stop just because there's work to be done. I spent much of today juggling renovations while entertaining two children. Parenting is hard enough, but parenting neurodiverse children while trying to renovate a shop certainly keeps you on your toes.

I couldn't have been prouder of them though. They were brilliant.

Our local Co-op came to the rescue with meal deals, which the children thought were the most exciting thing ever, and of course we couldn't resist a little break for ice cream at Simpson's Sweets & Milkshake Shop, just a minute's walk from our new shop. We even met the most beautiful little puppy, which naturally became the highlight of everyone's afternoon!

Back at the shop, we tackled what felt like the biggest job yet, dismantling the enormous old counter left from when Paddy and Scott ran the building as a coffee shop.

Once it finally started coming apart, the room suddenly felt huge.

Then came the worktop.

It weighed an absolute ton.

Now, I probably could have waited for Tom to finish work. He's a butcher, which means his alarm goes off at a completely unreasonable hour of the morning and he usually finishes around lunchtime.

But waiting would have meant admitting, "I can't do it without you."

And apparently... that wasn't happening.

Instead, what can only be described as woman rage kicked in, and somehow I managed to shift the thing myself. Would I recommend it? Probably not. Would I do it again? Also probably not. But in that moment, determination won. My back now aches!

As we stood back looking at the empty space we'd created, it suddenly became real.

This isn't just a shop fit-out anymore.

This is our fresh start.

This is our family's future.

A dream that lived in my head for so long is slowly becoming a place that people will be able to walk into.

Tom and I are so incredibly excited, and we're endlessly grateful for the support our families have given us. We genuinely couldn't do this without them cheering us on every step of the way.

But if I'm honest, alongside all the excitement is a huge amount of fear.

Some days my heart races because I'm so excited.

Other days it races because I think...

"What if this doesn't work?"

"What if nobody comes through the door?"

"What if nobody buys anything?"

I think that's something so many people experience. That little voice that whispers you're not ready, not good enough, or that someone else could do it better.

It's called impostor syndrome, and I'm not embarrassed to admit that it's been sitting on my shoulder this week.

The difference is, I'm choosing not to let it win.

Because on the other side of that fear is the life we're trying to build.

I'm doing this for our large, beautiful family. For our future. For the chance to create a welcoming little shop in the heart of Framlingham where people can find timeless pieces for their homes, have a chat, and hopefully leave feeling inspired.

Every ripped-up floorboard, every dusty room and every aching muscle is another step closer.

Thank you for following our journey already. It honestly means more than you know.

We'll see you next week, hopefully with fewer lino surprises... and maybe a little less woman rage!

With love,

Nell, Tom & the Nell's Farmhouse Interiors family 🌿