Thirteen Home Goals for 2013
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Last year I steadfastly refused to write a post with home goals because I felt as if I was treading water attempting to balance being a mom, blogging, and keeping the laundry monster from eating us alive without adding home makeovers into the mix. But then something strange happened– our kitchen renovation started a waterfall effect of ‘unsticking’ my to-do list, and moved me forward on truly creating a home we loved. Suddenly, I was embracing our home and choosing paint colors and creating projects that increased my home’s happiness factor ten-fold.
Finding time to blog about them?
NotSoMuch.
Plus, it’s hard showing the not-so-pretty stuff to the entire world. No one likes to reveal their flaws. It’s all part of the process though, and I’m so grateful you’re sharing this journey with me. I owe you my flaws, too. It’s all part of the journey, sharing the way we’ve designed our home to fit our family… and yours too, hopefully! But fair warning, there’s some UG-LEE pictures coming up ya’ll.
Here’s the projects we hope to tackle in 2013, plus I can’t wait to share the ones we finished these past few months like the kitchen renovation and simple but life-changing dining room makeover*. Of course, I’m looking to you (yes, YOU over there, I see you!) for advice and ideas to keep this list unstuck and my home tweaking going strong.
* You think I’m exaggerating.
1. Spruce up the entryway.
The previous owners painted the entryway (and all the way up the stairs) a cold gray. It’s time to change it; I’d love to paint it a warm gray or the same ‘greige’ as the kitchen. Plus paint the trim white to lighten things up, and perhaps add in a little somethin’ somethin’ for the light fixtures. An entryway should be welcoming, not cold. Let’s fix that.
2. Paint the front door.
The front door has seen better days… waaaaay better days. Now, what color to paint it? I’m leaning toward black, but I’m all ears for suggestions for what color you’d choose. The funkier the better, I have little imagination when it comes to color.
3. Tile the kitchen backsplash.
My last big renovation to-do is to tile the backsplash, and I’ve insanely decided to do it myself. I’m totally crushing on carrera marble or even stacked tile, I think it would really lighten up the kitchen and give it that finishing touch. Anyone have DIY tile advice for me? Advising me to hire someone is also welcome, especially so I can justify it to my husband. 😉
4. Repaint the dining room hutch.
WOW. This hutch doesn’t look this horrible in real life, does it? WOW WOW WOW. It’s time to either get rid of it or paint it, STAT! {friends who have been to my home, please tell the truth– is it really this horrible?!) When I first bought it at a thrift store I liked it’s classic lines, thinking a quick paint job would fix it. That was seven years ago. It’s time to either paint it or move on.
5. And repaint this kitchen hutch, too.
Back when I had green countertops, I had to repaint this hutch black so it didn’t clash. But now my kitchen is screaming for color, so I’d like to paint it something fabulous. Or replace it with floating shelves for a cleaner look. Decisions, decisions! What would you do?
6. Fix the tiled desk.
This, my friends, is the desk they tiled on our HGTV episode of Rip and Renew. And this, my friends, is what happens four years after HGTV tiles a desk. These tiles continue to fall off, and I’ve hired people to put them back on which is getting expensive. Unless I want it to look like this forever, I’m going to have to retile it myself. Sigh.
7. Paint our coffee table(s).
Like the dining room hutch, these end tables are another fifties-era ‘golden oak’ style furniture. But I’m so in love with faux bamboo I had to snag them, and we’ve LOVED using the two end tables as our coffee table. There’s storage room underneath for big baskets of kids’ books, and we can move them around as needed. Here they are pushed together because Bee was using it as a ‘bridge’ {ah, to peek inside the mind of a two-year-old boy would be fun indeed.} For the over toddler-aged crowd, they look really cool slightly pulled apart but still grouped together. Now, what color to paint them is a different beast all together. Thoughts?
8. Paint the walls of our living room, again.
I went through color picking insanity when I chose this gray-blue. But you know what? I chose this color because I thought others would like it, not because I loved it. I’m done trying to fit my tastes to various trends, instead of focusing on my own personal style. I’m hoping to have an a-ha moment where this room’s color DESTINY will be revealed to me!
9. Master bedroom mini-makeover.
Our bedroom is blah, which I used to think is relaxing but now just think is just blah. I have some ideas to spice things up in here– the decor, that is. 😉
10. Paint the master bathroom and create better organizing systems for my makeup.
I used to love this green, it’s such a happy color. But I’m yearning for a more sophisticated ‘Stone’ tone in here right now, so it’s time for a repaint. {In case you’re wondering, the DIY towel storage is still holding strong and I LOVE IT. Such a great ‘investment’ for under 20 buckaroos!}
11. Add storage to the garage.
I’ll spare you photos– for now. Currently we have approximately 4,593 wagons, strollers, and cozy coupes in here. Room for a car? In our garage? As if.
12. Fix-up the basement.
Again, I’ll spare you photos. We can’t afford a major basement renovation right now, so I’ll be happy just to create an organized space for laundry and CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER. It’s embarrassing.
13. Gulp… a Big Boy Room for Bee?
I don’t even want to think about this. But he turns 3 in May, which means it might be time for a big boy bed. SNIFFLE. I still remember planning this room while living in Hershey, and adding the finishing touches to his nautical nursery just days before he arrived. Can anyone fault me for wanting to hold onto babyhood just a teeny bit longer?
OKAY. So who’s ready to hold my hand as I fumble my way through these home goals? And to hold both my hands when I FAIL MISERABLY at achieving them?
What’s on your list, home-wise, for 2013? And is it totally disturbing that I keep typing ‘3012’ instead of ‘2013’? For me it is. I’m trying to pause time over here, not speed it up a thousand years or so. 😉 Now, your home goals. Let’s hear ’em!
