2010 Reflection, 2011 Plans

We have done an unbelievable amount of work to our House of Turquoise since we moved in Valentine's Day Weekend 2010:

• Replaced downstairs carpet with dog-and eye-friendly Pergo, tiled the laundry room and hall bathroom
• Completed a light remodel of the half bathroom and total gut-job remodel of the guest bathroom (looks like I still need to do an official “after” post)
• Painted the entire downstairs, even the two-story high living room
• Torn out the 60 arborvitae bushes, overgrown rhododendron, and two trees from the front yard and planted grass (neighbors LOVED this)
• Replaced nearly all the light fixtures
• Took down and replaced all the fugly curtains left with the house
• Built a wall of custom shelving, painted, and installed an attic ladder in the garage (looks like another needed official “after” post)
• Refinished a thrift store pedestal table to replace the behemoth kitchen table set left with the house
• Have a somewhat put-together craft room/office

I am very proud that we not only did a considerable amount of this ourselves, but that we paid for it all in cash. The remaining items will likely be over the next couple of years as we now are more settled in and have our eyes on other financial goals (new car, a long-overdue vacation). Plus, we’re a little burnt out on doing “house projects” every.single.weekend.

However, there are still several bigger things left

• Buy a couch and accent chairs for the family room
• Replace upstairs carpet with a neutral tan carpet
• Paint master bedroom and bathroom (still only about half decided on what colors)
• Paint husband’s game room/office
• Tackle the backyard by planting grass and pressure washing and painting the existing deck (short term fix), eventually replacing deck, tear out bushes and plant grass in side yard
• Re-stain front door
• Replace kitchen countertops, and eventually replace the refrigerator and stove with stainless steel models
• Tile kitchen floor (eventually)
• Replace white blinds throughout house with matchstick bamboo roller shades
• Replace roof (least interesting one of the bunch, and of course the most expensive. Boo.)

I’m happy that many of these remaining items either will be professionally done (carpet, countertop, roof) or aren’t DIY at all (couch, appliances). It’s funny to look back on the almost year we’ve lived here and see that we totally picked the DIY-intensive projects to do first. Clearly, we were eager first-time home buyers.

For 2011, the house priorities are:

• Winter- buying a couch(chairs can wait)
• Spring/Sumer- working on the backyard and side yard; paint  master bedroom, bathroom, husband’s office; re-stain front door
• Next fall/winter- replacing the carpet or kitchen countertops

Focusing less on house projects, I think, will be refreshing as I will have the time to work on small projects that just seem to stay on my someday wish list, which includes several sewing projects, scrapbooking/cataloging photographs, and other paper crafts.

Happy New Years!