Another year, another list. I cannot believe we’ve been in this house for three years already. And in case you missed it, catch the original house tour here and the most recent tour here.
Once again we’ve got an ambitious project list that we cannot wait to share with you, so let’s dive in!
Frame in the mancave + closet.
While we aren’t planning on finishing the basement any time soon, Brett’s been patiently waiting to frame up his mancave and closet. He’s ready to get his hunting equipment organized and make the room more functional – instead of a dumping ground for all things hunting.
Clean up the guest bathroom.
The guest bathroom is finished and we love it… but, there are a few things here and there that we want to update. For instance, we never got around to caulking the baseboards and there are a few spots on the walls where our sanding job was less than stellar. I think these items made our list last year but we didn’t get around to it so they’re back for round two. They’re all to dos that are not too exciting, meaning they’re easy to put on the back burner. Hence why they’re showing up again!
Make the laundry room/mudroom more functional.
This is another room that we love but… With the garage here, we’re wanting to change things around slightly to work with how we’ll be using the space. Currently, we do not have an area for sitting and putting on shoes or, more realistically, a ‘drop zone’ for all the things when we’re coming in from the garage. Also, we have some unused space along the bottom of the closet and since one of us really likes to shoe shop (Brett, obviously :-P) it would be nice to have more storage. Lastly, the baseboards also need caulking and the doors need framing.
Get the pantry functional.
Currently, the pantry is where we throw all the card board boxes and recyclables – it’s a mess. The goal would be to finish sanding the walls, get some paint on them and install a shelving system. I’ve been eyeing some fancy ones at our local home improvement shop with drawers and canning storage… you know, the works. And dare I say, getting this baby up and running is at the top of my ‘most excited to complete’ list. I have plans to make it an organizer’s paradise – here’s to hoping it comes to fruition!
Finish the linen closet.
Similar to the pantry, this closet has become a storage place for all our renovation supplies that we don’t want to bring downstairs (the huge five gallon bucket of drywall mud), things for the garage and things that would probably fit in a real linen closet (extra light bulbs). We haven’t even started the mudding/sanding process so I’m currently trying to convince Brett that we should forgo the mess, shiplap the walls instead and add some rustic, dark wood shelves. Stay tuned for this one. The main goal? Keep it cheap. It’s a closet and used for storage so as long as it’s functional, we’re not going to be picky.
Finish the office.
We are so. close. to finishing this space. And by so close, I mean all that is left is finding things for the walls – artwork, a wall calendar, a pin board, etc.
Finish the garage.
Oh, the garage. Where to even begin with this one. We had the best of intentions for finishing it last year and then we realized we were way off on the budget and life happened and shortly thereafter we came to the decision to put all things related to the garage on hold. Partly due to finances and partly due to winter.
So, what’s left? We need to get electricity running (it’s all wired), drywall the ceiling, install the heater, insulate the ceiling, insulate the walls, drywall the walls, install the exterior stone, install the siding and finish installing the garage doors. Phew! Not too bad, right?!
And then we can actually start on the fun stuff like putting up storage shelves and getting Brett’s woodworking area put together. Eyes on the prize, right?!
Landscape.
Our yard has been on the list since we moved in. There’s random wood piles everywhere from the previous owners, there’s overgrown brush all along the roadside, the retaining walls are half rotted… the list goes on and on. At the start of spring, we have the best of intentions to tackle something and then we either get overwhelmed or pulled into another project.
Not this year, friends. Mark our words!
We are finishing the deck by installing a privacy screen along the side that faces the road and adding a built-in bar top. We’re also going to add some plants around the deck; not only will this cut down on the amount of grass to mow but it’ll also add some ambiance while we’re sitting out there sippin’ cocktails.
We’re removed two of the three raised beds – one is alongside the house and the other is perpendicular to the house. The wood in both of them is rotting away and they “leak” sand all over when it rains because the builder didn’t put any plastic down before dumping in the dirt.
Build the fireplace.
Last, but certainly not least, we’re getting the damn fireplace put up. After unbelievably frigid temperatures this past week, we are not settling for anything less than having a working fireplace going into next winter. Not only will it save us money in the long run (we fill up our 500 gallon tank three to four times per year) but my goodness, it’s going to be amazing cozying up to a fire. Our hope is to snag something this spring during an end-of-season sale and then do the actual installation early fall.
And just like that, the year is planned! 😛
I’ve spent a little bit of time (more than I’d care to admit) thinking about whether we put too much on our plate and if we should scale it back a bit… especially because we never seem to get it all done. But then I always seem to come back to the same conclusion: who cares? We have some pretty big dreams for this place and just because we don’t/didn’t get something done, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at least try. Right?
So here we go, off to give 2019 and this house our best shot. Thank you so much for following along – we can’t wait to share all the excitement this next year will bring!
All our best,
