Making Resolutions: 2015 House Goals

So ya know that fancy schmancy 1 year progress house tour I showed you guys about a month ago?  The one with all of the pictures of the rooms in our home that Robert and I really focused all of our efforts and little bitty budget into?  

Well, y'all, I have a confession to make.  You haven't even seen the half of it.  Because we have a loooooong way to go.  But, hey, I'm totally up for a good challenge.  And I lurve me some resolutions, so now's as good a time as any to really put our to-do list into perspective.

This blog is a documentary about our journey after all, so what's a journey without the realistic scenery along the way? No matter how builder grade blank it might be.

Speaking of confessions, today, it is rainy and gray outside, so I'm substituting our "big snow day" shot from February 2014 because guess what!  Not much has changed outside, except for our porch furniture that we found at Goodwill last spring. (Can we please please have a snow day already though?!)

So prepare yourselves y'all.  What you're about to witness is my all-over-the-place brain on a usual basis.

I thought it would be fun to at least cross some items off the to-do list as we go along.  That's part of the fun of a to-do list anyway, right?  Crossing out those little tasks is so fulfilling.  I'm sure not all of my wish list will be accomplished in 2015, but a girl can dream.

Exterior (45% complete)

• Buy porch furniture
• Plant flowering plants like hydrangeas or gardenias
• Add a carriage garage door kit
• Replace pine needles with mulch in flower beds
• Plant more greenery
• Dig up our sad dead tree in front yard and replace- maybe a maple?
• Put topiaries on either side of door
• Add pavers to sides of driveway/walkway
• Build a backyard pergola
• Build a playground for the kiddo
• Remove backyard shrubbery, grade, and seed

Entry and Downstairs Hallway (50% complete)

• Paint
• Makeover lighting
• Purchase a foyer table
• Install wall hooks
• Find a super awesome entry bench
• Put in board and batten
• Find a runner rug for foyer- something with a little pattern for interest
• Paint interior of front door (or replace with a craftsman style one if we ever get lucky)
• Paint foyer table
• Get crates for shoe storage under bench

Dining Room (33% complete)

• Paint
• Buy table and chairs
• Replace builder grade chandelier
• Find a fabulous buffet table
• Replace wall art with wood beam shelving
• Change out curtains
• Find the perfect area rug
• Add molding
• Install wood floors (okay, okay that's pushing it. I know.)

Kitchen (30% complete)

• Paint
• Add a chalkboard menu
• Replace/makeover builder grade lights
• Paint cabinets white
• DIY concrete countertops
• Put in a farmhouse sink
• Upgrade faucet
• Change hardware
• Install beadboard or subway tile backsplash (depending on budget)
• Sell black range and replace with stainless steel

Living Room (75% complete)

• Paint
• Build a faux fireplace
• Find a coffee table
• Buy a new sofa and loveseat
• Put in shelving
• Figure out a media storage solution
• Hang artwork
• Hang curtains
• Install a decor-friendly ceiling fan
• Wood floors?  Maybe?  That might be a 2016 goal.
• Put in an area rug
• Install doorway wood encasement and corbels
• Add some architectural interest?

Powder Room (62% complete)

• Paint
• Change out builder grade mirror
• Makeover vanity light
• Paint hardware
• Hang artwork
• Find an accent rug
• Install board and batten or wall planking
• Makeover faucet or replace

Stairway (20% complete)

• Add a gallery wall
• Replace builder grade light with something more our style
• Paint the upstairs portion
• Add a plank wall?
• Add some artwork on upper portion

Upstairs Hallway / Playroom (0% complete)

• Paint stripes in hallway with light gray continuing into playroom
• Make curtains for windows
• Replace lighting- seriously, what is that little nubbin doing there? It's teeny.
• Create more storage- possibly built-ins
• Find a craft table
• Add artwork

Master Bathroom (33% complete)

• Paint walls
• Replace towel rack
• Change out builder grade mirror 
• Add a runner rug
• Install a plank wall behind the garden tub
• Paint cabinets
• Change hardware
• Create some shelving
• Dress up the window

Master Bedroom (25% complete)

• Buy a bed
• Buy a dresser
• Buy more bedding
• Paint
• Add a plank wall behind bed
• Hang curtains
• Hang some art / wall decor
• Find the perfect nightstands...they're out there somewhere

Olivia's Room (50% complete)

• Makeover bed
• Makeover dresser
• Hang mirror
• Get bedding
• Install lighting
• Paint entire room gray (figure out the perfect shade)
• Hang some art and printables
• Install a ballet mirror and barre
• Make a dress up costume rack
• Hang curtains

Guest/Olivia's Bathroom (50% complete)

• Paint
• Install shelves
• Hang artwork
• Replace towel rack with hooks
• Change out builder grade mirror for a framed one
• Paint cabinets

Laundry Room (0% complete)

• Paint with leftover Sea Salt shade
• Create some organization and storage solutions
• Hang some wall decor
• Add a more interesting light
• Find a great accent rug

Office (50% complete)

• Paint
• Buy a desk
• Makeover desk chair
• Hang wall decor
• Organize craft closet
• Make window treatments

It's a bit overwhelming to tally up how much we still have left to do, but I'm so excited at the same time.  I am all giddy just thinking about where our journey will have taken us by December 2015.

Are any of you planning some house goals after the New Year?  Do you anticipate having a paint brush and nail gun permanently attached to your hand too?  Are we totally crazy to attempt this list with a toddler under foot?  I think I already know the answer to that last one.

Blessings,

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1 Year Blogiversary Progress House Tour

In the midst of vacuuming up Cheerio crumbs and cleaning the doggy nose art from our back door windows as we prepared for our 27-guest big family Thanksgiving last week, I realized that I hadn't really posted a house tour yet.  

Since the last one was pretty much a slew of completely blank before shots, and we are hitting the official 1 year move-in anniversary, it was high time I made something happen.  Hey, the house was already clean (which never happens) as we prepared for Thanksgiving.  Might as well trapse through the house to document with the camera, right?

I'll give you the disclaimer now:

We owned exactly one sad looking sofa, a pair of tiny bookshelves, a crib, a dresser for our daughter's nursery, and that was it.  

We lived in a 1 bedroom 700 square foot apartment in our first year of marriage before moving in with my parents for a year and a half when Olivia came along as Robert finished college on the GI Bill and I worked as a high school English teacher.  

We had very little furniture and hardly any extra money to buy anything to decorate our house this time last year, but we had very big dreams.  

I have three tips for you, my budget-conscious friends: 

• Check Craigslist every day
• Visit thrift stores every chance you get
• Believe in the power of paint

We bought our everything-builder-grade house because it made the most sense for our budget and we decided, from there, to customize it for our eclectic cottage style.  It was a total blank canvas. We have a long way to go, but I'm pretty amazed at what we've achieved in a year on an extremely low budget.

Here we go!

Living Room 1 Year Ago

Living Room Progress

We spend the most time in this room, so it made the most sense to give it the most attention first.  We built our giant faux fireplace ($600), refinished a Craigslisted coffee table ($50), media cabinet ($50), and bookcase ($160).  We found a cozy leather chair ($65) at Goodwill, made an oversized map ($10), and created an eclectic gallery wall ($75) using DIY distressed and painted thrift store frames.  We painted using Sherwin Williams Perfect Greige.

Dining Room 1 Year Ago

Dining Room In Progress

We still have a little ways to go on this room, and a few projects are on our wish list for 2015 (that you'll be seeing in a few weeks).  We found a Pottery Barn pedestal table ($250) on Craigslist.  I madeover a set of 1970s dining chairs ($40 each), and I madeover a Craigslisted chandelier using rope ($20).

Breakfast Nook 1 Year Ago
(plus my mother-in-law there)

Breakfast Nook In Progress

Since I've gotten to know my style a little better in this first year, I've thought about getting rid of the red in this space, but with Christmas coming up, I'm loving it!

We created the clock gallery wall ($100 total) using items found in the clearance aisles of Target and Garden Ridge.  I repurposed the table runner (free) from an old window panel.  We replaced the builder grade light by selling it on Craigslist and buying a new one from World Market in order to get it half price ($40 out of pocket after profit from previous light).  I madeover the existing bar pendant lights ($10 each) for an industrial look.

Kitchen 1 Year Ago

Kitchen In Progress

This space still has a lot on the wish list (my lust for white cabinets will never fade), but we painted a chalkboard wall ($12), added a handlettering decal ($6), and sold the builder grade flushmount light to help in the cost of a new, more custom one.

Foyer / Hallway 1 Year Ago

Foyer / Hallway Progress

For this little space, we added a Craigslisted entry table ($75), madeover the existing builder grade light ($20), painted and waxed an old mirror ($25), made a chalkboard from an old window (free), madeover old brass hallway lights ($6 each), restored a cheap Craigslisted bench ($35), made a shelf  (free) using a plank and rope, and built hallway hooks ($20).

Powder Room In Progress

(I never got a before shot...oopsies.)

Not much has happened in here yet except we replaced the builder grade mirror with one from HomeGoods ($40), I madeover the existing builder grade light ($6) and made some simple burlap wall art ($10).  We painted using Valspar paint in the Sherwin Williams color Sea Salt.

 


Backyard Progress

So far for the backyard, we added a playground (gift from Olivia's grandparents), removed brush, graded it, and seeded the yard (free HUGE favor from Robert's father).

Office 1 Year Ago

Office Progress

For this space, we found a Craigslisted Pottery Barn desk ($180), painted an old desk chair ($65), and found several Goodwill decor items like a typewriter ($9), globe ($6), and desk lamp ($5).  We painted with Valspar paint using the Sherwin Williams color Pediment.

Olivia's Bathroom 1 Year Ago

Olivia's Bathroom In Progress

We wanted to make this bathroom kid-friendly, but not too childish for guests (so hot pink Hello Kitty was out, I guess).  We painted using Valspar paint in the Sherwin Williams color Sea Salt.  Most of the decor items came from Goodwill and the clearance aisles of Hobby Lobby, Target, and HomeGoods.  (Sorry for the badly lit photos.  Bathrooms are tricky to photograph.)

Olivia's Bedroom 1 Year Ago

Olivia's Bedroom In Progress

We're still transitioning from the crib to the bed for little miss Livie Bug (the crib is hiding in the corner of the room in this shot), but so far I have madeover a thrifted bed ($25), painted a Goodwill dresser ($15), installed an Ikea light ($50), spray painted an old mirror (free- already owned), and made a no-sew canopy ($20).

Master Bathroom 1 Year Ago

Master Bathroom In Progress

So far, we have replaced the builder grade mirrors with a pair we found on sale at Kirkland's ($30 each) and brought in an old ladder (free) we found in my in-laws' barn.  Paint is Valspar brand with Sherwin Williams color Pediment.

The master bedroom, playroom, and laundry room haven't really been touched, but we'll get to those eventually.

The best part of all- despite living on one small income, we've been able to remain debt-free besides our mortgage and still manage to decorate.  Thrifting and Craigslisting works, y'all!  (Psst. Check out my tips for decorating with no money if you don't believe me.)

So that's the grand tour!  I hope it will be twice as grand next year for our 2 year move-in anniversary.  We have a lot more to do, like paint several of our still primer white rooms, but I'm proud of how far we've come.

This week, I'll be dragging out Christmas decorations!  More on that later though. :)

You can find all of our projects here since we moved in.  Hope you enjoyed it!

Blessings,

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