Hi friends!
Happy 2024 everyone!! I hope your year is off to a great start! I’m sure I can’t be the only one wondering where the hell 2023 went, because holy smokes did it fly by!? It doesn’t help that I spent most of the year quite literally flying. 2023 was the year of traveling for me, both for work and for play. So it almost feels like I blinked and the year was over. As we head into 2024 it dawned on us that we are approaching a decade in our beloved home.
A. DECADE. It feels unbelievable that we’ve been in this house for so long. Interestingly enough, the initial plan when buying the house was that we’d be here for about 10 years, which would be just about long enough to get our kids through high school. As someone who’s nomadic at heart I really couldn’t picture anything beyond that. But as we approach the 10 year mark we have no plans to sell and move on anytime in the near future. We’ve been having lots of conversations about the future and what that looks like. Will we sell? Move out of state? Move within the state? Move out of the country? Buy a second house? Plus, there’s the topic of inheritance and being able to leave something substantial for future generations. There are so many things to think about as our youngest heads into his last year of high school soon. We may eventually move on, but I don’t know that we will ever sell the house. It’s become such a part of our family and we’ve put so much love and work into it that we aren’t even remotely ready to walk away from yet. Which brings us to today’s post.
While we have put so much work into this house, it’s still not quite “done”. There are just a few more projects we need to tackle and spaces that need to be addressed (or revisited) for me to feel like we can stop touching things for a while. Because of all my traveling and our unexpected bedroom renovation in 2023 I didn’t get to tackle any of the projects that were on my goals list last year. In fact, I actually don’t even think I shared a 2023 Home Goals list! I believe that might be the first time in 10 years I haven’t done so. It felt kind of strange and I even felt a bit lost as a result. Like I didn’t really have a focus. It was also the first year I felt a bit unaccomplished in our home. I’m back this year with laser clear focus and a plan of action . Here’s what we planning to work on in the cottage bungalow this year.
1. The Guest Bedroom
This is a fairly new development as Bry moved out over the summer. I’m still baffled that I have a whole adult child that’s old enough to move out. But alas, now we’ve decided to turn what was her bedroom into a guest room. This will be one of the first projects we take on this year.
2. Bathroom Refresh
It’s been almost 6 years since we gut renovated the bathroom and there are just a few details about it I want to change that have been bothering me for a while now. We actually started on this room at the end of last year so you’ll get to see the new updates in here soon.
3. Hallway
The hallway is another area that just needs a bit of a spruce up. When we renovated the kitchen we had the hallway entrance arched to match the kitchen and front entry so we need to patch up the wallpaper there, and I figure I might as well just give it a fresh new look while I’m at it. This one will be mostly paint, but I do want to change up the wainscotting as well.
4. Greenhouse and Backyard Landscaping
The greenhouse is shaping up to be the project that never gets off the ground! Delay after delay has kept this one from happening, but I’m making it a priority to get it done this year. We already have a foundation poured and ready for it, so it’s just a matter of finding the time to get it done. I also need to update you on the backyard in general since we got the pool. We have done a lot of landscaping and there’s more yet to do.
5. Deck Refresh
The last time ya’ll saw the deck was 4 years ago! We had it put in at the beginning of 2020 before we knew the world was about to change and it became part of our COVID summer ORC backyard makeover project. This was also the last time we stained it so its beyond time for some attention. I’m not sure if that means we will re-stain it, paint it, or sand and just poly it? But the existing stain is peeling and the deck is looking a little rough so it’s time to fix that.
6. Side Porch Refresh
It’s been a long time since ya’ll have seen this space, right!? We have done absolutely nothing with it for the last few years. We haven’t even really been using it at all honestly. I’d love to get back to using it more so I’m planning just a little bit of a zhush for it before summer.
7. *Honorable mention: Driveway & Front Yard Renovation
This one is a bit of a pipe dream. Like, if all the stars align and we can make it work financially we will do it kinda project. We need a complete front yard overhaul. New driveway, several trees removed, all new landscaping…it needs the works. This one is gonna cost a lot so realistically its likely a next year project, but I’m still putting it on the list because you just never know.
Alrighty friends, that’ll do it. I don’t think this list feels overwhelming or unattainable. It’s mostly smaller projects and refreshes that may take a few days each to tackle. I’m looking forward to having a list and a focused plan of action for our home this year. She’s been really good to us for the past 10 years and Id love to keep her shining for another 10.
What do yall have on your home goals lists for this year? Id love to hear bout them. Until next time…
George Moorhead says
Explore the variety of houses for sale in Bothell, WA, where options range from sleek, modern homes to timeless, classic styles. The Bothell real estate market offers a selection to match any taste and budget, set within a lively and welcoming community that makes for the perfect place to call home.
Julio.Hyatt says
This title offers an opportunity to both take a look at the past and plan for the future. By sharing the experiences we have had in our home and our future goals, it aims to make a retrospective assessment and offer a hopeful perspective for the future.
Erika says
It’s nice to see others’ project lists, especially when on social media in general we tend to see finished spaces vs the in-progress ones (and therefore assume the unseen are finished too)! My list is hanging chandeliers in our dining room (where there are no current ceiling lights), finishing up the temporary reno of our primary bathroom (it needs gutted but it’s low priority), doing the gallery wall in the family room, framing and hanging a bunch of photos and items that have needed to be for years, this is a huge maybe but gut reno the kitchen (cabinets in ROUGH shape from 1981), and this may be next year but has to get done eventually – replacing windows and siding. Phew!
Malia says
Your list makes me feel like I can power through more if my own than I normally would:
-Finish painting, polishing the antique hardware, and rehanging the doors we took down 8 years ago.
-Frame and hang all art that’s been sitting in tubes for years.
-Refresh powder room (paint or wallpaper walls & ceiling, strip + repaint vanity).
-Purge and organize garage.
-Paint front and back doors.
-Paint garage trim electric blue.
Amy B says
Sounds like an amazing year ahead! Big projects are amazing (ahem, that kitchen!!!) but I actually love seeing people checking off the smaller stuff. We have a lot of “finishing up” work ahead, too. Refreshes on our bathroom and half bath need to be wrapped up, the walled patio I built last year still needs paint and a wall cap along with low voltage wiring for the wall and surrounding landscape. Gotta tear out the front wall and install pavers we got when we did the patio. And we plan to rework the kitchen from a standard Western “fitted kitchen” into a more utilitarian-focused design that will give me some actual counter space by the stove! Gotta do it on the cheap, tho, so reusing what I can and sourcing anything I can find secondhand or salvage. Should be a fun year!