The New Year has me planning and goal setting on all sorts of things, and you know DIY and home projects are featured prominently in my vision for the year.
There are SO many things we want to do at our home, it’s challenging narrowing it down and prioritizing what our needs and wants really are in terms of renovations.
There’s also the reality that Justin works full-time, we have two kids 5 and under, and DIY means large scale projects take time.
We’ve planned out a lofty but doable (I hope!) project schedule for 2022. Though I can pretty much guarantee that as the year progresses, some things will be added and some things will be pushed back.
In no particular order, here’s the 2022 project list:
1. BUILD A KITCHEN ISLAND
When we first bought our home and were under significant renovations I purchased a workbench to serve as a temporary kitchen island. Well, here we are 2.5 years later and it still hasn’t been replaced.
For a family that loves cooking (Justin) and baking (me), our kitchen is small, with not much counter space, and a very narrow space in which to put an island. I’ve designed an island with a custom cabinetry layout to fit seating, storage and a microwave while capitalizing on every inch of counter space possible while still maintaining walkways around it.
2. DINING ROOM MEA CULPA
In our initial renovation, we painted the woodwork in the adjoining entryway, dining room and formal living room spaces. Truthfully, I have regrets.
The worst part? I didn’t listen to my gut. I had this inkling that told me I shouldn’t paint it, but I did it anyway. I wanted to brighten up the space, and if we were going to use the sprayer to paint it (the only way to paint so much moulding in my opinion), it needed to be done before we moved in and before the floors were refinished.
There were several reasons we decided to paint (I’ll dive into those another time), but in the end I rushed the decision. I think with more time we could have figured out how to overcome some of the issues with the original millwork and alterations that had been made to it over the years.
I’m still deciding what, if anything, will stay white. The millwork runs continuously though the dining, entry and living area, wrapping and adjoining the spaces. So there’s no doing just the dining and not the other spaces. I’m carefully considering my options on how to proceed.
Stripping and sanding the millwork will be my mea culpa to our home, and as tedious as it will be I am excited about the change to a more original look.
3. BENNETT’S ROOM MAKEOVER
We’ve been in this house for nearly 3 years and the kid’s rooms are still a random mash-up of furniture with no thought to design or function (case in point: that curtain situation). Bennett is also in serious need of a bed upgrade; he is 3.5 and still sleeping on a crib sized mattress.
Both kid’s rooms are very small, 8′ x 12′ ish with sloped ceilings. I’ll have to be mighty creative with storage and layout.
If you saw this video you’ll know that while their rooms are currently painted the same white, the lighting makes them look drastically different. This has bothered me for so long and I can’t wait to give it a bold makeover.
4. AVERY’S ROOM REFRESH
You know it wasn’t going to fly if I did one kid’s room but not the other right? Avery is 5 so she’s much more opinionated in terms of how the room will look, and I’m excited to collaborate with her to create a room that she loves now but can also grow with her in the years to come.
5. EXTERIOR MAKEOVER
This is going to be a massive undertaking, so we’ve broken it into 3 parts (well technically 4, but the landscaping will have to wait until later – hopefully 2023!).
PART 1
Replace the wood decking on the covered front porch, build new railings for the deck and staircase to capture a more appropriate craftsman style, and upgrade from stairs from concrete to wood.
PART 2
At some point in the past, our 1912 craftsman home had its original clapboard and shingle siding covered with stucco. Can you even?!? It kinda breaks my heart.
While we would love to replace the entire exterior siding, it’s not in the budget. The plan is to replace the bottom siding – what is currently green stucco – with shingles, and add additional window trim and mouldings to bring back some of it’s craftsman character.
I’ve been studying other homes in the neighbourhood and taking notes on original details. I’m so thrilled about giving our home back some of it’s original character, and honestly it feels like a love letter to our house.
PART 3
Paint! Eeeek this is gonna be good. The exterior looks so tired and this is going to be such an impactful change. And yes, we are doing it ourselves which is going to be quite the undertaking.
As you can see the exterior project is going to keep us busy for months!
6. PLAYROOM MAKEOVER
Our playroom has been essentially open space with a shelf for toys and a play kitchen or tent, with lots of room to run around. The kids are at an age now where they can play in the backyard alone (hallelujah!), and their indoor activities are more along the lines of cars, imaginative play, games and crafts.
It will be a space for them to create (with a table that can get markers on it), and I’m very much looking forward to no longer having crafts all over my dining room table.
7. BUILD A LAUNDRY ROOM
I can recall viewing our home for the first time and being horrified by the laundry situation. Rightfully so, a washer and dryer plunked in a dark corner of an unfinished 1912 basement. Yikes.
It’s also beside our (somewhat makeshift) mudroom, so there is always dirt being tracked through. Oh how I long to have a floor clean enough that when something is dropped I don’t have to rewash it.
We’ll be building a space from scratch, and I’m obsessively pinning laundry room inspiration (you can check out the Pinterest board here) and considering exactly how I’d like the space to function. As any mother knows, I will spend a lot of time in there.
So there’s the list as it stands today. Certainly the exterior will take up the bulk of our year, but I’ll be sure to be bringing you lots of small DIY’s, furniture makeovers and styling tips throughout the year as well.
It’s going to be an exciting year!
