A mum has been left in an awkward situation after her father-in-law offered to do up her front garden but has left it looking "tacky and rushed". The woman explains that she allowed her hubby's dad to do some work to their garden to save some money, even though she hadn't originally been keen on the idea.
She took to Mumsnet's 'Am I Being Unreasonable?' thread to express her concerns about her new front lawn, which she and her partner think looks "cheap". The post has sparked some controversy online as people flocked to the comments to give their thoughts on the situation, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The upload titled 'FIL had messed up my front garden .. AIBU?' read: "FIL offered to do our front garden in our new house for us. Originally I wasn’t keen on the idea as he didn’t put my son’s bedroom furniture together very well.
"However with the cost of living it meant to have what we really wanted would take a good couple years to afford. I agreed to him doing some pebbles and fake plants etc and already started off on the wrong foot as he went against my wish for big pebbles and got smaller ‘tacky’ looking ones.
"He then let us pay for the paint as we wanted a darker grey colour despite saying it was all his treat. That’s not an issue but also has asked me to order the fake plants etc so isn’t ‘really’ treating us to it. Bearing in mind these things aren’t that expensive.
"Then today he puts in some slabs that 1) don’t match our other slabs 2) weren’t what we agreed, we agreed concrete not slabs 3) are much larger than the slabs we have so look completely odd."
The mum went on to say that the situation had turned "awkward" after she saw her new garden which looks "so cheap and tacky and rushed". She admitted that she is unsure what to do and asked others for some advice on her conundrum.
However, it seems not everyone was on the mum's side as some questioned why she and her partner didn't do the work themselves. One Mumsnet user replied: "If you’re conscious of things looking 'tacky' but insist on fake plants, maybe leave it to the FIL and see if he’ll incorporate some taste? Do you have fake grass too?"
A second questioned: "YABU [you are being unreasonable] for the fake plants. Also if you care this much and want it just so, and it’s just a case of throwing down some pebbles and fake plants, why not do it yourself? How hard can it be, a weekend’s work tops AND you wouldn’t have to put up with your in-laws." Someone else remarked: "You have let him baby you though. Also: fake plants."
Another person advised: "The picture you posted looks lovely OP. I’m sorry your FIL hasn’t done what you wanted. Seeing as your partner agreed it looks tacky, my advice would be to let him take the brunt of this. I’d completely let him deal with his dad and learn from this to never tell your FIL of any future plans.
"As far as cost goes, maybe your FIL underestimated how much it would cost and he genuinely couldn’t afford it. Either way, just forgive him… life is too short. The thought was kind but yeah, it didn’t go as planned. Just pay to have it done how you like it and if your FIL ever approaches you on subject just say 'Talk to your son about it please'".
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