What is the best, and the worst, money you have spent on your home?

The best money i spent on the house was crub appeal getting our driveway done and the kitchen refitted and instoring a hot tub

Worst - Kitchen and bathroom, bad fitting.

Best - Pellet stove, saved us £1s' is heating bills.

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The best money we’ve spent in the 48 years we’ve been together is the money we’ve been paying an absolutely wonderful woman who helped us achieve the garden of my dreams for the cottage we downsized to 14 years ago.
I told her that I’d like a garden like many of the National Trust properties have, with informal herbaceous borders and flowers I could cut to use inside.
She did that brilliantly and put her heart and soul into finding the best quality plants for our quite small back garden. We have wonderful colour nearly every month and it just gets better and better.
This year I asked her if she could change our rather boring front garden into a rockery, which is all I asked my husband to buy me for my 70th birthday present. Again she has excelled herself. It has cost a lot but was so worth it.

The waste of time thing we’ve bought is probably the Nutribullet! What’s wrong with a liquidiser? Granddaughter number 3 has now got it!

Sparkle fizz, I hated my kitchen tiles and didn’t fancy the mess it would make to remove them.A handyman told me they could be tiled right over them., you paint the old tiles with a special primer then put the new tiles on as you would normally. Mine look great and it was inexpensive.

My best buy was my house in 1990. Sold it last year (no one to leave it to) and now rent a lovely bungalow so no money worries. (If you need care/nursing home etc they take your money or property anyway).

I did the best things earlier and have now remembered the biggest waste of money: using the “ best” company to decorate our hall, stairs, landing and kitchen. The boss was great when he quoted and advised, but the work was done by two of his lads, one of whom was pretty useless. A year on and the paint is very worn in busy places where I think it only had one top coat. Unfortunately the boss did not come at the end of the work to check it. Won’t be using that firm again.

The best was having our garage converted into a bedroom for my son so we could separate our (then) warring teenage sons.

The worst, without a shadow of a doubt, was when we had our bathroom refitted a few years ago. We went to the ideal home show and chose a very fancy, absolutely amazing shower/bath unit. It had four different types of shower, the thing in the bath that makes massage bubbles (both husband and I are having a blank moment and can't think what they're called ), mood lighting, blue tooth, radio - it was just amazing. It cost us £2,000.

Except it never worked. It was totally unsuitable for the bathroom, despite the promise that it would be perfect. The electrics never worked, the bubble thing never worked, the aromatherapy bit never worked. It was a nightmare.

In an ironic turn of fate, there was an issue with the way the toilet had been fitted in the bathroom and it had been leaking for two years. Eventually, the bathroom floor couldn't take the weight of the accumulated water, and we ended up with the kitchen ceiling all over the kitchen floor because of it.

Our insurance company were amazing, and because the water pipes went under that awful bath, and the panel was an integral part of the unit and couldn't be removed, they had to literally rip our bathroom out, right back to breeze block and rebuild it. We now have a lovely walk in shower and lovely toilet/sink unit.

I've never been so pleased to have a home disaster. I thought we were stuck with that awful bath for life.

Best buy, our Solar Panels in 2012. They paid for themselves more quickly than we had expected, and the income from FIT payments, covers all our gas, electricity and water bills.

Can't think of a worst one.

Best thing my kenwood mixer still going strong after 42 years . Worst our leather sofa from Marks and Spencer’s very expensive, the leather had holes in after 4 years, they came out to look at it said it was wear and tear ! The ombudsman also came and said the same ,ridiculous .

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

No major purchases here, but the worst is the horrible mattress which my husband is happy as Larry sleeping on, but which I find rock- hard, and horrendously hot, as it is covered in that horrible memory foam. I knew nothing of its overheating properties when we bought it, and 2 years later I still have not adjusted to its 'delights', and still have uncomfortable nights. Grumble over.

Nortsat

Best - having paving done in the garden. My partner wanted it all lawned but then didn’t cut the grass regularly.
I had decorative paving laid, with deep borders and beds. I love the garden, even when it’s a bit dishevelled, it’s still a pleasure to both of us.

Worst - the alarm system, which doesn’t accommodate three cats leaping around the house, whilst we are out. ???

You can get animal friendly sensors now - our three cats don't set off our burglar alarm!

Wow - some great ideas here. I am looking to replace the floor tiles in my kitchen and was going to go for ceramic but will now investigate porcelain tiles and the cork tiles mentioned - they sound fabulous. I’d love a conservatory but we haven’t the room so the idea of an electric awning sounds fabulous too.

Definitely the best (and the most expensive) buy was using my lump sum to fit a loft conversion two years ago. OH had already retired several years earlier and, as our bungalow is small with only two bedrooms, he used the smaller one as his “hobby” room. I now have a large extra bedroom at the top of the house with an en-suite and (at last) a cupboard under the stairs. The rest of the former bedroom has been converted to my home office and looks great. Of course, the loft room isn’t being used as a bedroom because I built it with OH in mind. He now has a large ‘radio room’ with his computer, gadgets and radios and a 50” TV (as well as his own loo and shower!). We like being together but we need our own space too and I have my own 50 inch TV in our living room as well so it’s bliss! Another good buy has to be our fitted bedroom. It transformed the room and has so much cupboard space. It was done by a local carpenter and looks great.

The worst (probably sounds petty) was a large mirror to go above the new Portuguese limestone fireplace we fitted several years ago. The fireplace looks great but I’ve never been happy with the mirror. Change it - I can hear some of you say - but it was hugely expensive and OH loves it. I’m going to change it soon for another one. I’m doing a lot of research and will probably get a craftsman to design and make it as it’s got to last forever (this is our forever house). OH doesn’t have a say in this, as he owes me for the loft conversion!! He is the envy of all his radio amateur pals.

PS - the loft room will be marketed as an extra bedroom when (if) we ever downside to an apartment or when our family sell the house.

Is it possible for posters to name (and shame if need be - or praise if positive) companies. that have been used?

I don't know f this is permissible under the GN guidelines but it would be helpful to know GNetter views on companies, both good and bad.

i am very happy with my fitted wardrobes which I had done as I retired. I have 3 doors and husband 2 and then there is a chest of drawers and I have one too. In my 3 I have hanging rails that you pull down, chrome baskets for underwear and tops, and fixed hanging rails which include 4 hangers with slots for my scarves.

Husband has two pull down, one fixed rail and 5 baskets but he fitted his onn baskets, as they are the plastic covered baskets for kitchen fittings which are cheaper. They are perfect.

The best for us is definitely our conservatory, which I live in all year around. The others two things are extensions, an ensuite in line with the conservatory and an extension to the downstairs bedroom which we used for my disabled husband. Another extension upstairs with a huge bedroom, office and bathroom. Made the house the size we needed without moving and much cheaper. The worst was the tarmac drive that comes away at the edges and leaves pools of gathered water, all of which we constantly bring indoors. Must get it re-done but it is a shared drive, so not easy to agree on.

Best has to be our sunroom, especially during these strange times. Sat in here watching the world go by and drinking tea . Also en suite bathroom that we managed to squeeze under the eaves in our bedroom, along with a dinky little bath that has never been used but looks cute. Oh I do love a bathroom, think that is due to having been brought up in a Tyneside flat with outside toilet and no bathroom.

Worst are both kitchen related, the underfloor heating under the quarry tiles which costs a fortune to run so is never switched on and the roof light we had installed which lets in a howling draught every time the wind blows....and we live in a very windy spot.

Another expensive, but really good buy was having kitchen, utility room, hallway and downstairs loo floored with Brazilian black slate (bought online from Mrs Stone) - just wish I 'd had it through dinning room too!

I love everything about my house and everything in it. Some standout pleasures are, firstly, the Travertine marble kitchen floor. It takes some upkeep. A few years after it was laid and the DH and I were both still working we paid a local firm £700 for an 'as new' restoration. After my retirement we couldn't afford to have it done again so I just have spent eight hours on my hands and knees spraying it, scrubbing and restoring it myself. It is a miracle of white beauty and is giving me immense pleasure. Now I have done it myself I know how to keep it in top condition without another eight hours' labour!

Another great buy was my pistachio Kitchenaid mixer. I didn't buy it myself but dropped so many hints running up to a milestone birthday that I feel I had a hand in the choosing. It is a thing of style and utility. A magnificent beast.

Bad buys? Virtually every washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher I have bought over the years. They never last and always go at the worst possible time. The nearly new tumble dryer gave out on the first day of the Lockdown. With no hope of a repair visit I had to buy a new one. Doh!

Best money was my Hammonds fitted bedroom furniture (perhaps you just chose the wrong firm?) and the worst was some decking I had done about 12 years ago, that rotted from below and my nephew put his foot through last year and was replaced with slabbed patio just before lockdown - again , money well spent.

Like you annsixty My fitted sharps wardrobe is a big disappointment!

The best - a new roof, re-tiled and insulated
worst - £11000.00 worth of solar panels and batteries, my husband's idea and paid for by me. Both have failed spectacularly and I'm still trying to get it either fixed or my money back.

Best thing we did in this house is to build a conservatory with underfloor heating. A tip I read recently was don’t fill every space in the garden, give each plant plenty of room so you can admire them all individually. We could have saved money there.

Best: in our last house in England a Magnet kitchen very well designed with superb sales assistant. all the white goods were wonderful. Miss it.

Would also mention an expensive cork flooring in a house some years ago, it was thick, some colour (red) showing through and extremely well sealed. warm, didn't break dropped china. would have it again.

Worst: my very expensive Falcon range cooker. I bought it here and even with a good discount it was expensive. the electric hot plate soon packed up, doesn't cook evenly, one gas ring failed, grill has packed up. I have had a technician in but he cannot get the spare parts for it. After 13 years I would still expect to get these parts and have it repaired. also Falcon is made by Aga so really fed up. will replace asap.

Best money - our house extension which gave us a huge kitchen/diner and lounge, utility room, downstairs bedroom and ensuite, and a study.

Worst money - the sofa I'm sitting on. DH's choice because it's very soft and squashy but I just can't get comfortable on it. Thankfully we have a second (firmer) one.