Well, I know I left this vote up forever, but at least every viewer and his dog has had a chance to vote. The winner is… White, bright and beautiful. And since the writing has been on the wall for about a month, we’ve already started to get the paint on the wall, too. There are still a few more elements to put in place (and a bespoke wooden wardrobe door to save up for), but we’re well on the way. Best bit so far? Definitely our white and silver scavenged letters, straight from a steakhouse’s old sign to husband’s eager hands.

In between biblical-proportioned plagues we had lots of yuletide highlights, with one of our favourites being our new nativity scene. I reckon this slice of multicultural merriment, found by husband for £5 at The Distinguished, says more about the spirit of Christmas than my old little wooden sheep ever did.

During a recent hungover traipse through Soho, I came across God’s Junkyard, a pop-up shop open until the end of January. It’s jam-packed with vintage neon signs and remnants of London’s seedy past, with Girls Girls Girls signs sitting alongside giant hearts and balmy banners. Sadly, my budget didn’t stretch to the hundreds needed to buy the Lido sign, below, but if you’re near Carnaby St, it’s definitely worth a look! (47 Beak Street, W1F 9SE)

Update: the results are in! Finally, husband and I are getting around to renoVoting our bedroom. When we first moved in to No 9, we were thrilled just to have electricity and a blind in the master, but after six months of renovating the rest of the house (plus our 60-day makeover) I think we deserve a room that’s pure sanctuary. Since Scandi was such a popular option in Lounging Around, I’ve made it one of the choices for this room, too, along with a Boutique Hotel and an All White scheme – go to it!

A - will it be second time lucky for Scandi style?

B - it's all about statement headboards and dramatic pieces on the Boutique Hotel board

C - Pure and simple in the White room

Well, here it is – our first attempt at an eco retreat. While it’s still a bit of a work-in-progress, husband and I have done all we can until spring rolls around. And we’re pretty happy – but then anything is an improvement on looking out on to a skip. I think the biggest success is husband’s recycled pallet decking – not only is it constructed over two levels, but he managed to cut the lower-level decking boards into a very neat circle, creating a dining area for us in summer. I also love the stripy effect from using the recycled timber, and, best of all, it was completely free (apart from the extra day it took for him to break apart the pallets).

Our other mini projects include a homemade compost box, pallet flower boxes, solar lighting, a water butt made out of a rescued plastic bin, and a bird feeder. We’re also attempting to create our own mushroom spawn with a chestnut mushroom stalk and coffee grounds – if successful, we’ll transfer the spawn outside into a larger container and hopefully get our own mini crop of mushrooms. Come spring, I’m planning on planting some tomatoes and husband is pretty confident that he’ll be able to coax some olives out of our olive tree. Move over Tom and Barbara!

1) First, I measured our stretch of decking and divided it (roughly) into equal portions to work out where to place our lights. I then lined the measuring tape up along the decking screws to ensure I didn’t drill too close to them.

2) Then, I drilled the holes for the lights to sit in with a special drill bit and a battery that went flat after each and every hole. This ensured the job took four hours instead of two. Brilliant. (The white piece of paper was a highly sophisticated guide showing me how far from the wall to drill each hole.)

3) Finally, it was just a matter of placing each light in the hole with a little bit of sealant to keep them in there. Hey presto!