We have lived in our house 17 years, but there is always a project, big or small, that Mr. and I would like to do. There are so many ideas on my mind right now, I thought it best to jot them down on the blog. Thankfully, Mr. reads the blog and who knows, maybe he will keep us on task this year by tackling everything on the list. (*wink * nudge)
After adding trim detail to the master bedroom cabinets and seeing how crazy easy it is, we would like to add it to the dining room also. I think it would make a huge difference! This picture doesn’t show it, but there is a lot of exposed wall in this room. I’ve gone back and forth on adding bamboo shades in here and honestly I’m still not sure. The lamps were a gift and probably too large for the sideboard, but there is nowhere else for them. If they remain in this room they will need new shades. And, for the longest time I’ve been trying the sell the chairs and switch them out for slip covered chairs, but no luck. Low on the priority list is adding a rug – something like this or this. And call me crazy, but I want to move this lantern to the kitchen.
If the dining room project goes smoothly, I would also like to add some sort of millwork to the stairs. Maybe something like this. I took our gallery wall down in the staircase to have the walls painted and runner installed and never put it back up. So a new and improved gallery is in order!
A while back we had the painters paint our family room BM White Dove. For some reason it always felt cold to me. Maybe it’s because we have so much white in the room, not sure. For the longest time, we have had paint swatches up on the wall and were 95% sure that we were going to go with SW, Aloof (which would be a shade lighter than our dining room – Sensible Hue). Then I remembered that we had some paint left over from the master bedroom so I painted a swatch for us to compare. Worldly Gray went up that day! I’m waiting for art work and a few details before showing the new pictures.
Our kitchen has been an on-going project…always. This year, we plan to add crown moulding and address the ugly soffit and vent. We also want to change out the lantern in the dining room for these drum shades. You can get the details here. So if any locals are interested, email me.
Over the weekend in the craziness of putting away and re-organizing the Christmas stash, our son asked if we could rearrange his room. You know how this goes right? One thing leads to another then BAM! We are in a full blown project. His room had not been updated in several years and it was definitely due. So we moved the furniture which made a world of difference, bought BM, Hale Navy for the walls, and have plans for new art (he likes ships and water paintings, so yay!). I think it is going to look really great when we are finished! Below is the old room.
This might be a little too ambitious, but the upstairs (boy’s) bathroom needs some serious attention. As in gut it and start over. While we might not do a full overhaul, we are tossing around a few ideas to at least buy us another 3-4 years. I would love to replace the floor with something like marble hex and have the tile painted white. Have you ever had tile painted? The sink is circa 1930 and YIKES! Same with the medicine cabinet. So even the smallest updates will probably make a huge difference. Funny, the boys are even asking for it :). Keep them in squaller long enough and they eventually come around ;).
As I sit here typing I feel certain there is more to this list. Here’s to a productive 2014!
Love hearing your plans Rene! And I have seen tile "painted" it would be a good short term "fix" for that bathroom. Here's to a productive 2014!
Sounds like some really fabulous ideas for the new year. I can't wait to see them all as you tackle them one by one. I would love for you to link up to my Inspire Me Tuesday party – – -http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2014/01/198th-inspire-me-tuesday.html. Hugs, Marty
Well, let me just say, each room you shared looks great as-is, but I know the feeling of always wanting or needing to improve and make progress.
That said, I'd love reading your plans–it's gotten me inspired to make a list of house goals myself. Thank you! Can't wait to read along here and (especially) to read about the progress you make in the boys' bathroom. I've heard of painting tile and I'd love to see how it works for you!
First of all I love those chairs in the DR! Keep them! Second…I had my wall tile painted 20 years ago….it held up perfectly until I finally renovated about 4 years ago. I kept the black border and just had the yellow ones [just like yours] done. My floor was similar to yours and it looked good.
Done!
ok, that jolly rancher pillow is too cute. Love all your plans – I wrote mine on my blog and I need to make sure to revisit it myself to keep me on track.
Re: the ceramic tiles. I had a professional come in and resurface my tub. It's still in great condition 5+ years later. (Would do it in the spring, when you can open every window in the house, and have fans set up.) In that same bathroom, I painted the trim tiles that were ugly green to gray, including the ones that get water on them. They have held up remarkably well, however it is just the trim tiles. Here's my post which includes the paint I used:
http://mynottinghill.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-inexpensive-bathroom-makeover.html
A few years later I painted the pink tile in our master bath but I didn't do the shower. At the time I thought I would gut it. I still might but here is my experience painting full tiles. They've held up well except I accidentally splattered hair dye on them – which will not come off, so I'll have to repaint those.
http://mynottinghill.blogspot.com/2012/03/painting-ceramic-tiles-bathroom.html
Now that I've mentioned all this I might just go ahead and paint that remaining pink shower stall…
Thanks so much for this!
oooh i love all these ideas- especially your son's room i am excited to see!
oh, one more thought. I just noticed you have black ceramic trim tiles. In my master bath ceramic painting job I kept the black tiles. I think it helps to fool the eye a bit so that people don't notice the white tiles are painted because the black tiles are the original ceramic.
That is a great point! Thank you!
Girl, you are going to be busy! I love the new color in your family room. I just painted our powder room Hale Navy and love it. It will be perfect for your boy's room. We also had the tile in our daughter's bathroom painted. It's been 4 1/2 years and it's holding up great. Can't wait to follow along and see your progress this year.
Thrilled to hear from so many that the painted tile is holding up! Thank you!
Dining room looks great, I love that runner on the stairs!! I need a runner desperately but with two dogs and a cat.. I am weary of what they will do to it over time, and I am not fond of cut pile. yours looks nice and tight, bet tis durable too!
Cant wait to see the projects underway!!
Oh, the joys of home ownership!! Sometimes it feels like my own list is never ending. Love all your plans for 2014. Mill work on stairs can be a total game changer! So happy to see fellow Tarheel! (Tarheel pride – wish they were doing a little better this season)
Oh, my. I will have to rest after reading. I'm at the point where painting is a daunting idea. Too much to move. Your home is lovely as it is. I look forward to seeing the results of that task list. GO HEELS! (Please!)
Wow, quite a list! I love your dining room lantern and think it would look fabulous in the kitchen. Also my neighbor had all their bathroom tile painted white and it looks fabulous and has held up great to three very active boys. Good luck and have fun with your 2014 projects!
Ahh! I'm impressed with that list. I made me tired. Can't wait to watch all of it. I am all over the house with ideas and projects so a bit scattered over here. Not sure where to begin!
You probably shouldn't be too impressed until I start making things happen ;).
We've been in our house for 12 years and it's the same thing. The to-do list never gets shorter and it seems like the projects just get bigger. Now that the holidays are over, we'll be finishing up our full kitchen gut. It's up and running, but ya know the stuff that gets pushed aside at the end of a loooooong project: trim, baseboards, backsplash, outlet covers, etc.
Our son turns 8 this month and I'll be surprising him with his own room back. He got moved into a shared room with his little sister when Baby number 3 came along almost two years ago. So I'm secretly trying to organize all that (mostly via Pinterest-ha!) so we can bust it out HGTV- style with a one-day makeover surprise. Wish me luck. 🙂 I just posted my "plan" yesterday: http://rindymae.blogspot.com/2014/01/surprise-birthday-bedroom-makeover-plan.html
Then spring will be here before we know it and all the outside projects will move to the top of the list. As an avid gardener, there's a lot of those, as well. Ah well, it keeps us outta trouble, right? 🙂
BTW, I LOVE that grey striped rug. Like, obsessed, love. Here's to a year of crossing things off the to-do lists!
love your list!
Ch ch changes….always keep us going! Looking forward to seeing all your new and improved jobs on the ole to do list~
pve
What a fun list, I've always loved your dining room, but of course I get that you're ready for a few changes. 🙂 Hale Navy is gorgeous, can't wait to see that room! Have fun my friend, looking forward to following along!
Awesome list … I need to put my list down on paper to keep track … Have fun!! xo