Sunday, March 27, 2016

2016-2020 Home Goals

I decided it would be a lot more feasible to have a longer goal timeframe than just a year. It's hard to get a lot done in a year! Particularly when you have lots of things you like doing other than home projects. Particularly in summer, which we have 6-8 months of per year.

Anyway, here is our three-to-five-year plan! No task is too small to be included in this list, so that we can have some manageable things to cross off :)

Master Bedroom:
  • Hang art
  • Find a good comfy rug for under the bed
  • Add cellular shades to the French doors to filter that pesky morning sunlight that shines directly in our eyes in the summer mornings
  • Replace the left side shelves with a nicer bedside table? Or else just get some nice looking baskets for in the shelves to keep knitting projects, which is probably a better use of space and resources
  • Crown molding? This will be tricky because of the layout of the room and its continuity with the bathroom walls so might not really be feasible*
  • Refinish the desk*

Master Bathroom:
  • Install a towel bar
  • Touch up the paint on the baseboards and shelves
  • Paint or wallpaper the toilet room
  • Get a humidity-proof bench for in the shower

Master Closet:
  • Find a good Roomba-safe rug, maybe round
  • Hang the final shelf on the left side - this is just me being lazy really
  • Attach shelves to the walls to prevent tipping hazards
  • Replace the window

Guest Room/Office:
  • Paint it, probably light gray with a navy accent wall or something along those lines
  • Get a guest bed/mattress
  • Finish assembling the desk
  • Hang shelves to the left of the window for office/craft supply storage
  • Frame the piece of textured glass from the master bathroom to use as a marker board? Or just toss it?
  • Paint ski holders to hang skis above the bed
  • Get a couple of navy shams for the bed
  • Hang art
  • Replace the window
  • Get a bedside table -- maybe just use one of the cedar stumps in the backyard

Nursery:
  • Paint it
  • Hang a curtain rod we already have
  • Get blackout curtains
  • Paint the dresser
  • Hang art
  • Get a crib
  • Replace the window

Guest Bathroom:
  • Replace the mirror
  • Replace the light fixture
  • Get a new rug
  • Replace the cabinet doors
  • Get new cabinet door hardware -- I would love to find something like these octopus handles! These ones are custom but maybe I can find something similar

Hallways:
  • Replace hall cabinet doors
  • Replace hall cabinet hardware
  • Install automatic light in the hall closet that turns on when you open the door
  • Remove popcorn ceiling
  • Paint ceiling light blue - I bought a sample a couple years ago
  • Paint doors, or possibly replace them? I wanted to paint them black but I'm not sure if I still want that now. A bright color might be fun. Or else replacing them with five-panel doors like we got for the master bathroom would be nice.*
  • Replace banged up door hardware after we fix up the doors*
  • Replace the stairs to get to the attic room with either a circular staircase to the left of the hall closet or with some other solution, maybe even just a pull-down attic ladder?*

Living Room:
  • Finish baseboards - halfway there
  • Replace the curtains with something that will block out the light when we watch movies during the day
  • Install a switch for the ceiling fan/light on the wall opposite the French doors
  • Find a better solution for the projector screen power
  • Add more art/photos
  • Set up a mail station so we don't accumulate everything on the dining table
  • Finish filling cracks between walls/ceiling and ceiling/beam
  • Add new properly installed crown molding*
  • Add a beadboard or paneled ceiling*
  • Paint or refinish the fireplace limestone somehow*
  • Replace the broken fireplace grate*

Dining Area:
  • Replace the removed baseboards
  • Hang light-blocking curtains
  • Replace the crown molding in the dining room*
  • Build a storage bench under the window?*

Kitchen:
  • Organize the useless pantry
  • Replace the window with a greenhouse window

Entryway:
  • Replace the doorknob with a keypad lock

Garage:
  • Finish installation of new water heater
  • Hang the bikes - We've got the supplies since we received them as a wedding gift, so now it's just a matter of installation
  • Put together the shelf we bought like a year ago
  • Hang up brackets & rod we got for storing the Christmas lights
  • Get a retractable clothesline for above the laundry machines
  • Once we have some things moved out to a shed/workshop which we have yet to build, we can better organize what will remain in here

Front Yard:
  • Replace the leaning, beat-up mailbox - We got a beautiful hand-painted mailbox as a gift from a friend and we really need to get it out there!
  • Replace the privacy fence & gate that are falling over
  • Add more flower beds & various xeriscaped areas*
  • Have the house siding painted*

Back Yard:
  • Replace the lattice on the deck railings that we removed when we moved in -- for safety
  • Build a new shed/workshop
  • Build a greenhouse
  • Add a fence along the back perimeter of the property
  • Take down the chain link fence
  • Get rid of the hot tub?
  • Figure out what to do with the pool -- keep it or toss it?
  • Add a seating area on the concrete pad where the shed used to be -- I would like to build seating after we have a backyard workshop*

*Probably closer to 5 years or maybe even longer for these goals

Sunday, March 20, 2016

2015 Home Goals - Done

Even though the bedroom/bathroom remodel wasn't finished until February, we started it in November so I'm just going to lump all of those changes in with the 2015 goals! Plus this is my list so I can do what I want. A lot of rooms just got totally neglected, and I think my next goal list will be more of a five-year plan than one year. Not a lot ever gets done in one year as I've found!

Master Bedroom:
  • Get better curtains for the French doors - We decided not to do this. Instead, we might just get some cellular shades to go over the windows. For now, they look nice without anything! I removed the curtain rod that I hated and patched it before painting, so I'm going to call that done enough!
  • Adjust bifold closet doors so they close properly - Contractors fixed them!
  • Add new crown molding - Done in the closet and it won't really be feasible in the master bedroom itself because of the new layout. We'll see
  • Replace closet light with small chandelier - Got a cool LED Edison bulb fixture
  • Replace old blinds - Nice new cordless white wood blinds!

Master Bathroom:
  • Decide if we should paint the brass faucets or shower stall oil-rubbed bronze or just wait until a remodel - Needless to say, we went with the remodel option!
  • Decide what to do with the other weird textured glass partition - Trashed it!
  • Add more ceramic shelves to the shower corner - Totally unnecessary now in our fancy new shower

Office:
  • Paint it
  • Hang a curtain rod we already have
  • Get curtains
  • Frame the piece of textured glass from the master bathroom to use as a marker board
Living Room:

Kitchen/Dining:

Hallways:
  • Replace old crummy plastic handles on the built-in cabinet with pretty glass knobs
  • Sand and paint the built-in cabinet doors white - We decided to toss these and we'll get new ones at some point. Right now they're ok just as open shelves
  • Finish baseboards - Contractors finished this too!
  • Remove popcorn ceiling & paint ceiling blue

Entryway:
  • Replace the doorknob with a keypad lock

Garage:
  • Hang the bikes - Well, we've got the supplies since we received them as a wedding gift, so now it's just a matter of installation.

Front Yard:
  • Add more flower beds & various xeriscaped areas
  • Replace the leaning, beat-up mailbox - We got a beautiful hand-painted mailbox as a gift from a friend and we really need to get it out there!
  • Replace the privacy fence & gate that are falling over

Back Yard:
  • Build a raised vegetable bed - and we grew some things too!
  • Replace the old non-weatherproof shed with one that is weatherproof and put it in a different part of the property - Well we got rid of the old crummy one in any case
  • Add a seating area on the concrete pad where the shed currently is - I intended for something nicer but just using our existing Adirondacks will do for now!

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Master Suite Remodel - Finished Bathroom

Anybody remember how ugly and outdated our master bathroom was when we moved in? Sure, some people got excited by the garden tub, and there were definitely some updates done in the last decade or so, but in general it was really bad and impractical. Really, what's the point of a separate shower when it's less than 3'x3' and all of your bathroom real estate has been taken by a tub that's used maybe twice a year? And of course who could forget the toilet throne, a foot off the ground, separated from the rest of the bedroom only by a flimsy piece of textured glass? This was definitely a custom bathroom for a very particular person.


We certainly wanted to remodel this bathroom as soon as we walked into it, but as it was still functional and could have been much worse we just made a few small updates and were planning to wait several years and take care of some of the other larger house expenses first. Our plumbing piped up, "I think not!" and we just went for it to get exactly what we wanted while everything was getting torn up anyway. It turned out so perfect! Check it out!

We kept the sink in the same place but everything got replaced - sink, faucet, cabinet, mirror, lighting, granite countertop, hardware -- everything!

View from the bedroom

Dallas White granite

Super useful adjustable mirror, and it's pretty too!

Here's all of our new storage around the corner -- sheets, towels, extra toiletries, we can store so much suddenly!

Look! A toilet in its own room!

With a door!

That shuts!

And for the grand finale, our beautiful new giant shower! I'm incredibly pleased with how the tiling turned out since I never could really find what I had in my head anywhere online. I knew I wanted marble, but not too much marble, because it would be overwhelming in appearance and in cost. So what I came up with was marble subway tiles set in a diagonal herringbone pattern for the top 2/5 or so of the walls, plain old white subway tiles for the bottom 3/5ish, and marble hexagonal penny tile for the floors. Luckily, Nick trusted my "vision" and agreed that we could go for it. One thing we splurged on was a second showerhead, which really is totally unnecessary, but it would have been impossible to add later and we had the space for it so we just went for it. The double niches for our shampoos and things and dimmable recessed lights finish it all off beautifully. I love it!

Frameless glass door and transom to keep the steam in

Even the outdated glass bricks look nice in here, and I'm so glad we still have some natural light

Double showerheads, double niches 

For a quick recap of what's been done and what we still want to do in here (which really isn't much, for once!):
  • Remodel everything?? - obviously the remodelers did this for us
  • Paint walls Sherwin Williams Naval
  • Organize all the storage areas
  • Install a towel bar for hanging things to dry
  • Paint or wallpaper the toilet room

And in case you missed it, check out the demolition, total gutting, rebuilding, and tiling progress of the bathroom!

Monday, March 7, 2016

Master Suite Remodel - Finished Hallways

The only thing the contractors did in here was finish the baseboards that we started a year or two ago, but I still thought it was enough to warrant some new pictures! Plus I'm not sure if I ever posted after I stenciled the second wall in here. First, check out the before:

So much beeeeeeige
And here is where we are now, with our lovely tile floors and stenciled walls!

Finished baseboards

Same TTU football posters from before, back on the wall

Still in love with this stencil, especially with the baseboards!

The shelves don't look too bad without doors, but I still plan to have them closed off at some point

Here's the other wall that was stenciled

More of the second wall

And a couple more football posters. You can also see the magnetic wall on the side of the hall cabinet.

For a quick recap of what's been done and what we still want to do in here:
  • Paint walls Sherwin Williams Extra White (Satin)
  • Stencil walls with Sherwin Williams Escape Gray (Flat)
  • Tile floors
  • Replace scrawny baseboards - remodelers did this for us
  • Paint side of cabinet with magnetic paint for magnetic poetry
  • Hang art
  • Paint doors, or possibly replace them? I wanted to paint them black but I'm not sure if I still want that
  • Replace banged up door hardware with something pretty
  • Refinish hall cabinet doors
  • Replace hall cabinet hardware

Master Suite Remodel - Finished Closet

Last post was the bedroom post-remodel, so now we'll see a bit more of a change in the master closet. First, a refresher on what an ugly and terrible waste of space this closet was before:



And now for the much more beautiful and space-efficient after!

The contractors added crown molding for us in the closet so it looks fancy

They also finally reattached the bi-fold closet doors! These door knobs used to be on the bathroom vanity.

 I replaced the blinds with nice white faux wood ones.
My jewelry & nail polish nook

And here is the part that I spent the most time on by far! The contractors removed the partial walls that closed off the closet before, as well as the shelf and rod that were here. Figuring out the most efficient use of space was probably what took the longest since I had to pretty much catalog everything I own and decide how much space it would need. I wanted to reuse the shoe shelf I bought a few years ago (Billy bookcase from IKEA) so I wanted to keep everything else dark wood to match. In the end, I went with a Pax wardrobe from IKEA as the center anchoring point and cut-to-fit shelves and expandable rods from ClosetMaid's SuiteSymphony line. I put together and installed everything myself, save for Nick cutting two of the shelves to size for me. I'm pretty proud of the outcome!

My favorite part is definitely the glass-front drawers that I am now keeping my hand-knit sweaters in. I kept these in boxes before because I had no good place to keep them, and now I get to see them every day and feel inspired to knit every time I'm in here! I made sure to get two so I'll have room to add to my collection. Up on the top left shelf are my boxes of yarn, which I'm also happy to be able to see every day, so I definitely have enough to keep me busy knitting for years.

I also went ahead and replaced all the plastic hangers I had before with new non-slip hangers that are super-thin so that there's plenty of space on all the rods for moving things around. I thought that would be a good way to keep track of how much I have as well -- whenever I find myself at the point where I'm about to run out of hangers, I know I need to get rid of some things.


Long hanging storage on the left, double short hanging on the right

I fit almost all of my shoes in the shoe shelf. I'm still working on paring down further

Pretty knits in my glass-front drawers!

The left side is all mine, and the right side (dresser + hanging storage behind the doors) is all Nick's. 

I really love the light fixture we got in here too!

I love the look of the Edison bulbs but they are terrible energy wasters. I found these LED lookalikes that are almost indistinguishable from the incandescent versions!

For a quick recap of what's been done and what we still want to do in here:
  • Paint walls Sherwin Williams White Mint
  • Replace carpet with tile floors - remodelers did this for us
  • Replace scrawny baseboards - remodelers did this for us
  • Replace ugly crown molding - remodelers did this for us
  • Replace light fixture - remodelers did this for us
  • Reattach bi-fold closet doors - remodelers did this for us
  • Replace ugly cheap blinds with wood or faux wood blinds
  • Find a good soft rug, maybe round
  • Hang the final shelf on the left side - this is just me being lazy really

Master Suite Remodel - Finished Bedroom

The bedroom saw the least amount of changes during the remodel, but it still looks nice enough at the moment that I thought I should take some pictures before it gets filled with our accumulating junk again! There are still lots of little things to do (hang art, organize bedside table better, etc.) but those are always never-ending anyway. First, a fun reminder of what this room used to look like!

Pretty much the most boring room ever.

And now for what it looks like today, after I finally finished painting the walls navy blue.

Pretty new room 

My bedside table, which needs some help still, but hey, it's functional and has a pretty lamp!

Bookshelf with all its pretty contents back where they belong



We set up this desk on Nick's side that he can use as a bedside table/office space for working from home

The art sitting on the desk will go somewhere, it just can't sit on the floor or else the Roomba will try to eat it

A nice blank wall for hanging art! And a good wall for covering up because the texture on it from before is somewhat awful.

And around the corner is the bathroom, which you'll see more of in the next post!

For a quick recap of what's been done and what we still want to do in here:
  • Paint walls Sherwin Williams Naval
  • Replace carpet with tile floors - remodelers did this for us
  • Replace scrawny baseboards - remodelers did this for us
  • Take down curtains & curtain rods
  • Replace fan with a low-power modern one
  • Replace door hardware with oil-rubbed bronze (+new locks)
  • Hang art
  • Find a good comfy rug for under the bed
  • Add cellular shades to the French doors to filter that pesky morning sunlight that shines directly in our eyes in the summer mornings
  • Crown molding? This will be tricky because of the layout of the room and its continuity with the bathroom walls