I said in my post yesterday that I have a home improvement list a mile long. That might be hard to believe, but you have to remember that you see very strategic shots of my home and I’ll often use pieces for photo shoots and then sell them, leaving a big hole in my house. 2012 was a crazy year for me that started with cramming in home improvement projects to get ready for a Better Homes & Gardens photo shoot, the Nate Berkus Show House Proud home tour, then the book, then the Flea Market Style shoot. The May fair came right on the heels of all of that, then I had the Women’s Day home office shoot, the launch of the paint line, moving to a new space at Lucketts…you get the idea. It was nuts. All of these things prodded me to “finish” some rooms in my house, but it was very rushed. I didn’t get to take my time and let the rooms develop overtime as I find things I love, which is how I like to decorate. Now that my blog will be a bigger focus this year, I can take my time and work on my home at my own pace. (Why do I feel like these are “famous last words”?) Here are some things I would like to accomplish…
1.) Install hardwood floors in our family room and master bedroom. I have been waiting for this for YEARS! The beige carpet was spotted and stained when we moved in and it’s gotten even worse (mainly from my “cool mom” phase when I let my kids eat and drink in the family room. I’ve since become an “uncool mom” and have restricted that to the kitchen.)
Oh gosh…I can’t believe I am putting that picture on my blog…and with a watermark. I think that’s a Rice Crispie on the floor. I was obviously feeling cool this morning. Anyway, I also am just not a fan of carpet. I love how it feels underfoot, but it’s hard to keep clean and, this is totally a “looks thing”, it doesn’t photograph well. We just purchased this flooring…
It’s Heritage Hickory made by Old Virginia Mill Works from Lumber Liquidators. I originally had my heart set on solid hardwood, but we needed over 700 square feet and it was going to be expensive. I also ended up liking an engineered hardwood floor better. It’s a click-together floating floor, so it will be easier to install and it has a 30 year warranty.
It has saw marks and imperfections that give it the character I was looking for and the finish is satin, so it’s not super glossy-brand-new-floor-like. People must think I’m crazy when I’m in a store saying I don’t want something to look like it’s brand new and that I like gouges and imperfections. We hope to start installing it in a couple of weeks. (Of course I’ll blog all about that process.)
2.) Refinish the floors in the living & dining rooms. I wrote about this a couple of days ago. You can read about my plan HERE. Not sure when it will happen. I’m sure I’ll wake up one morning and have a bee in my bonnet and I’ll want to start on the floors.
3.) My office. This is a room I had to finish in a rush for the photo shoot for FMS. I really love the way it looks, but with three huge armoires in there for storage, it felt claustrophobic. I am working on getting rid of about 80% of my stuff, so I can have space to work and create. (If you live close to me and want some craft supplies, let me know! I’m getting rid of paints, glues, ribbons, all sorts of things. I’m also going to sell a Cricut – one of the big ones with a bunch of cartridges.) I’m selling the rustic cabinet and moving out the mirrored armoire. I already moved an antique oak cabinet in and will be using the t-shirt counter used to house my milk paint at Lucketts in there as well. I can’t wait to get that space organized. Again. For about the 12th time. (Oh, the “m” and the wallpaper are staying.)
4.) Boy’s room. I have not done a thing to my boys room and it really needs better lighting, storage and some personality. They mostly play in the family room right now, but I’d like to start moving the bulk of the toys and play time to their room. We’re thinking about doing built-in bunk beds to fit the space perfectly and some built-ins for toy storage.
5.) Master bedroom closet. The closet we have now is a very standard bi-fold door closet with too much wasted space. We’re going to knock out some walls and build a closet into the recess with a place for everything. I don’t have the stomach to photograph it for you in the state it’s in now. Not today, anyway.
6.) Finish my bedroom. This is another room I just had to get done for the book and I used some leftover fabric that was more teal than I wanted, but it was what I had and I went with it. This room is going blue & white like the rest of my house and I got a great start on it with my HomeGoods shopping spree.
7.) Get Organized. Another byproduct of the whirlwind that was 2012 (and 2011) is disorganizing. My closets haven’t been cleaned out and sorted in quite a while and an excess of stuff stresses me out. I know it’s in the attic or a closet and it’s not bothering anything, but I know it’s there and it bugs me. I feel so much better when I know where everything is and it’s neat and orderly. This will be an ongoing project that I’ll work on here and there.
Those are the biggies, but I’m sure I’ll add more. I’d like to work on the stairwell and the upstairs hallway. Both are in need of more light and some color. They are currently dark, beige and void of personality. We also have two bathrooms that could use a makeover, but I doubt that will happen this year. And there are a bunch of little things I would like to do…some furniture that needs attention, sewing projects, reworking some accessories, patching holes, touching up paint, changing out some lighting fixtures, etc. I can’t WAIT to get started and share it all.
What projects do you have lined up for 2013?
