Home Goals 2022 and a 2021 Recap

Hello Hello Hello Friends!

Happy New Year everyone! Its time for my favorite post of the year….Home Goals!  You already know the drill, but just in case you’re new around here, at the beginning of every year since 2012 & back when we were in our last house I share a list of home plans and projects we have on the horizon for the year.  Some are the not-so-fun-but-we-HAVE-to-do -them-out-of-necessity projects, while others are born from my heart’s desire.  Either way, I love this ritual of sharing what our goals are and the process of acheiving them. It also helps us to have a tangible record of how far our little bungalow has come. 

Last year we had big plans for #thecottagebungalow and we hit the ground running on crossing things off the list, but then loss happened. Big loss. And it derailed all the things. We were mid kitchen renovation when my grandmother died over Mother’s Day weekend. It knocked the wind right out of me. She was everything to me so it was a devastating blow.  Shortly after that my sister deployed and once again Naomi and I took over gaurdianship of her kids which was….a lot. And about a month into that transition my bestie’s husband (and dear friend of mine) was killed.  If you follow me on social none of this will be new to you.  I had never in my life experienced such loss, pain and grief. Needless to say all of my priorities shifted and the last half of the year was pretty much a wash for me.  I was good for absolutely nothing so I took some time away to be with family, my best friend and to try to heal my mind and heart. As we all know grief is a tricky dynamic beast. It’s ever-present and you never get over such loss, rather you adjust to life carrying the weight of it with you. As we step into the New Year I’m finally starting to feel a bit like myself again and I’m looking forward to picking back up with all the home things.  Let’s dive in to what we are scheming up for this year…

Naomi’s Pool-

After almost a full year of kitchen and indoor renovations I’m SO SO SO eager to turn all of our attention to the outdoor spaces.  We had some outdoor projects on the list last year so those will carry over into this year as well….the biggest of which being the pool build. Yep! We actually did it! We have a pool! Well….almost.  We broke ground on August 31 and between COVID, having the power lines buried, winter rains the holidays and just general delays we are still not yet done.  BUT we are really really reallllly close.  We’ve just passed the last inspection before the final so we are on track to have it completely done a filled within the next two weeks!

I’ve shared the entire process thus far on IG, but I’ll be blogging all about it once it’s done as well. In the meantime heres a look at the design concept we came up with. More to come soon!

Backyard Landscape Renovation-

While the pool is all Naomi and the kids, the landscaping is my baby and we are planning a complete overhaul. The deck and patio we built are staying and so is the garden, but everything else is changing.  We’re talking all new sod, creating new flower beds, new irrigation set up and installation, flagstone pathways, relocating and zhushing up the firepit area a bit, staining the fence and doing lots of planting. Yeah, we are basically starting from scratch back there and creating a backyard befitting the beautiful new pool.  Yall!  I can’t wait!  We’ve already hired the landscape designer and they have us on the calendar to start in less than 2 weeks! Stay tuned for all the content because I’ll be blogging it and sharing all the things on social.

My Office Studio-

This one was on the list last year as well, but more as an introduction to the idea.  I spent the year researching and really trying to nail down the details of what I want and now I’ve got a plan of action in place and Im ready to go! The office studio build is really an extention of the overall backyard & landscape makeover so its construction will pretty much be taking place alongside all the other work happening in the backyard.

Greenhouse-

Another project on the backyard overhaul list is my greenhouse! I’ve wanted a greenhouse for years and this is the year I’m finally getting one. Well, I should say Im finally getting a proper glass one! I had one that didn’t make it through the literal storm so Im definitley looking to do it right this go round. I wrote a really fun Home Wish List post last year and on it was a Royal Victorian greenhouse.  They’re just so beautiful and dreamy, and one would be the perfect final piece to round out our English garden inspired landscape and potager.

Via

Problem is they are getting harder and harder to find now and they’ve increased in price exponentially over the last couple of years.  I love the orangerie style in particular and though I have my heart set on one, Im also very much considering DIY’ng a greenhouse using old windows.  I really love the look of that as well.

via Homemade By Carmona

So, if I cant find one at a price I’m ok with then be building one. Either way its going to be just perfect back there.  I already had a slab poured for the foundation at the same time they were pouring the concrete for our pool deck.  So Im ready to go!

New Garage Door-

This one feels a little random, but It’s about time we replace our garage door.  A few years ago when we painted the house we a had the existing garage door painted black to freshen it up alongside the rest of the exterior, but I always knew one day I wanted to replace it with a carriage garage door. Currently it doesn’t open or close with the remote so we lift it by hand, plus its seen better days so its about time to look into getting it replaced.

Front and Side Porch Refresh-

We planned to give the side porch a little refresh last year, but never got around to it so it’s carrying over to this year and Im adding the front stoop entry to the mix as well. During the kitchen renovation we had windows removed and replaced so things are looking a bit different out in the front with the new facade.  With that I’d like to do a little spruce up to compliment the new look.

Finish The Living Room Refresh- 

We started making updates to the living room last year and we are almost done.  There are a few details that are still on backorder awaiting shipping, and there are some small projects I have to finish up in there but the space is looking and feeling so good.

Bar and Lounge Area Makeover-

Remember our really tiny and awkwardly placed dining room?

Now that we’ve combined our dining and kitchen together we are turning that little zone into a bar/lounge area and will use it as an extension of both the living room and the kitchen for entertaining. It’s going to be such a welcome use of the space and I’m pumped about it.

Primary Bedroom & Bathroom Addition Architectural Plans-

And here we have the wild card of the list! We are still at least a year out from this renovation, but I really want to get the plans made, start sourcing, and financially preparing for it.  I hired the architect who did our plans for the kitchen renovation to start working on the bedroom as well so I cant wait to share those with you when are completed. The process can take a month to create them and then rounds of edits and finalization.  Since we don’t have a hard start date its nice to be ahead of the game with this.  I can’t wait to see what we come up with.

Alrighty friends! There you have it! Its outdoor heavy and I’m not mad at it one bit.  What’s on our home goals list for this year? Id love to hear. Happy 2022 friends! Until next time…..

 

 

Posted By: Shavonda Gardner · In: interiors, small space living, thecottagebungalow