It’s time to share our annual list of home projects we plan to do in 2023. Along with setting family, personal, and financial goals, Chris and I are taking the time to get on the same page about all the things we have. I want to achieve in the house! In 2022, we deviated a bit from the official list, but we still achieved so much and celebrated every step along the way. So here’s to a brand new year, new intentions, and more ways to learn and grow together!
1. Primary bathroom and closet
The project that I am most excited about without a doubt is the renovation of our bathroom and closet! We’ve maxed out this space with organizational baskets, drawers, and turntables, but this is as good as it’s going to get without reconfiguring and rebooting. But finally the time has come (almost).
We are absolutely thrilled to be working with Unique Kitchen and Baths to showcase their passion and talent for beautiful, functional cabinetry. The design phase is ongoing, but I can’t wait to share more about the process with you.
Ever since we moved in, Chris and I have been putting together possible floor plan solutions for this bathroom, but it’s been a serious headache.
It’s hard to convey in photos how narrow these cabinets really are. Sometimes I daydream about the closet in our last house, and I hope we can somehow make this space just as good, if not better.
One of the main lessons we learned (the hard way) in 2022 is to NOT start a demo until you have everything you need on hand. There are already too many things that can disrupt a home renovation, so we hope to avoid major breaks and delays as much as possible! So while this is at the top of our list, it will be a while before any action takes place.
2. Attic cleaning and organization
Welcome to the loft! I discovered this cave of Love Letter clutter just last night, along with my goal to clean and organize all of this before the month is out. We may end up having a yard sale if that’s okay with our HOA!
I’m hoping this purge will give me some momentum to clear out other cluttered spaces in the house (hey the garage).
3. Skylights and beams in the living room
We used to have big dreams of opening up this fireplace wall and putting in a large arched window similar to what we did in the modern cottage. In case you missed it, we turned around and are keeping the fireplace layout. It really works for us and is so full of character and we don’t want to lose the original charm of the house. What we really want is more light and I think we can achieve that better with skylights. We’ve already had a structural engineer talk about it with us and I’m so excited to see it become a reality.
I also found the most amazing colonial beam inspiration that I can’t wait to share with you!
4. Cricket room/poolside bathroom
This takes the cake for the least photogenic space in our home. Imagine a bathroom with a swimming pool with an outside entrance and a built-in kennel. For now it’s just a collection of vacuum cleaners, brooms, more clutter and cricket stuff (which is more than you think).
There is already an outside shower so this just needs to be fitted with a toilet, sink and possibly a spout under the Cricket’s water cabinet. Oh, and of course room for a pool towel locker!
5. Line the back hallway
One realization we’ve made since bringing Cricket home is that this back hallway gets an incredible amount of foot and paw traffic. There is a door to the cricket room/pool bathroom, two separate entrances to the garage, a small closet and a staircase leading to the bonus room. It also happens to be the part of the house where hardwood floors expand and contract the most (if you look closely, you can spot a gap). So, to make our lives easier, we plan to extend the tile we end up using in the pool bathroom, into this back hallway!
I would also like to paint all the decorations here. Maybe a great merlot? I can imagine that.
6. Closet cleaning
This little closet through the swing doors is in desperate need of attention. It was a games closet for a while, but we really needed more space for brooms, vacuums, and cleaning supplies, especially since Cricket moved in!
7. Patch gym floors
I was able to secure enough FloorPops in the last release to patch up the gym floor after removing the stairs! So we’ll add them and maybe add more mirrors to the now bare walls? I do not know. There’s already a lot of mirroring going on there so only time will tell. Plus, I feel like removing the stairs has opened up even more possibilities here.
8. Add pocket doors and built-ins to the study
Although we transformed the study into a dining area twice during the holidays, we use it many times during any given day as a home office. So we want to add pocket doors for much needed privacy and noise blocking. I wanted to find some vintage wooden doors to use.
To make this possible we’ll be narrowing down the case opening and while we’re at it…
We could also add some built-in cabinets and shelves on either side of the opening. We are desperate for storage to store “ugly” office supplies like printer, filing cabinet, paper cutter and more and I think this will be the best way to store as many mirrors as possible.
9. Trim at the entrance
I haven’t found the exact design I want to do yet, but I know I want to add some drama and character to the entry.
10. Music room on the landing
This landing at the top of the grand staircase has so much potential to be the coolest space in the house! We’re actually going to extend the hallway and add an opening in the case to make it feel more like a music box in the home. I imagine grass wallpaper, a piano, guitars on the wall, a small table, some chairs… Like a weird little snug.
11. Faye’s bedroom
We spent some time in both Polly’s and Greta’s rooms, but Faye’s room remains fairly untouched. In addition to the new bed and spreading out the rug, I was giving Faye a chance to explore what she might envision for her room. She is my child who is so interested in design and process so together we rely on process to make this room special for her. This is her year!
12. Landscape yard
No explanation needed, especially if you’ve seen the series of unfortunate events that happened with sewage over the holidays…
13. CLJ Studio
It’s been almost a year since we first announced that we would rent an “unfinished” office space for our team. The process did not go smoothly and to make a long story short, we ended up switching buildings and renting another space! We’ve been busy behind the scenes working on getting everything finished and it should be ready any day now! Here’s a little insight.
Things that we power do this year:
The list is long, but if budget and time allow, here are a few things that would be nice to do, but are lower on the priority list.
Replace windows and roof – All windows are original to the house and are not energy efficient at all. The seals are broken and in the morning we can see cloudy condensation coming in. As for the roof – it’s been in bad shape since the day we moved in. Hopefully we can slide with a little more time before replacing both…
Games room/games room – With the newly removed staircase, we settle right into this room. It works great and we’re in no rush to make big changes, but if we have more time or budget (unlikely) we might add it to the list!
Things we probably are they are not I am doing this year:
In addition to the fact that I’m never “done” with myself, there are some spaces that will probably remain untouched this year. Here’s that list… but also, never say never.
Pension
Pantry
Finishing the attic
Polly and Faye’s “Jack and Jill” bathroom.