Last Year's House Goals: How Did We Do?

Good grief, I am slow. By the time I complete this little blog series on house projects, it will be time to plan projects for 2021! 

Moving on . . .

I am going to skip the "pesky wall" post for now, and go ahead and tell you how we did with last year's house goals. (If you want to read the full post outlining our goals for 2019, go ~here~.) 

Goal #1
Bathroom Refresh ✅

We completed this goal last March. It was not a full remodel, but we changed out the overhead light, took down the offending fluorescent light, made wooden shutters for the window, and freshened it all up with a coat of white paint. (Full story ~here~.)

Goal #2
South Wall of the Kitchen ✅

This was our biggest house goal for 2019. If you've followed here very long, you know that this was the final phase in our s-l-o-w kitchen remodel, so I am thrilled to say that this goal was completed in November! It has made a huge difference in the function of our kitchen and we couldn't be more pleased. (Full story ~here~.)

Goal #3 ✅
Landscaping

Did you notice my teeny-tiny check beside Goal #3? That is indicative of our progress towards meeting that goal.

So yes, we did tidy one of the beds in front of the house, removing old and dying plants, enlarging and mulching the bed. We planted a row of three limelight hydrangeas near the house, and a row of boxwood in the front of the bed to ensure some green all through the year. Unfortunately, the hydrangea on the left end died pretty quickly. We bought another and replanted, only to have that one die too. (Hmmm . . .  I think we'll try once more in the spring.) The boxwoods are all doing well.

But the fence for the back of the property? Well . . . does it count that we bought the materials? 

Note: I can't find a photo of the small bit of landscaping that we did! I think I had taken some photos on my old cell phone and all of my photos did not transfer to my new one. 😐

Goal #4 ✅
Guest Bedroom

Not many days after Kati got married, we began converting her room into a guest room. I had said that my "consolation prize" for giving up Kati was the pleasure of decorating a new room. Bekah has had as much fun as I have . . . maybe more! We replaced Kati's bed with an antique pineapple post bed, dressed it with the coverlet I had found on our forty-seven-and-a-half-years anniversary trip, "shopped the house" for artwork and accent pieces, and bought an antique dresser (bargain!) that was exactly the right scale for the small room.

We love our guest room! Not only have Kati and Andrew stayed in it, but nine of the grandchildren have had a special sleepover in the new room. 

Note:  We do not have matchy-matchy mirrors in the room. 😉 We took down the mirror from the wall by the bed (first picture) when we bought the one that is above the dresser (later picture). Everything is subject to change at our house!

Still to do: make wooden shutters and fishtail swags for the windows, and recover (or replace) the 35-dollar wing chair that I bought on Craigslist. 

Goal #5
Paint Master Bedroom

This project did not get done in 2019. (Stay tuned for upcoming post, House Project Goals 2020.)



Goal #6 ✅
Refresh the half-bath. 

Wait! We didn't have six goals on the original list? 

That's because this one was done on a whim! 

Our tiny pink half-bathroom is totally not my style. Some day it will get a total remodel. (One of the possibilities is turning it into a small laundry closet with a stackable washer and dryer for Ron and I to use in our old age. Or when we're empty nesters. Or anytime. We'll see.) 

Back to the subject at hand . . . this bathroom is not my style, but the thing that was bugging me the most was the yellowed floral wallpaper. Every time I passed the room on my way to the library, I noticed it. 

One summer day, on a whim, I simply decided to see how easily the wallpaper would peel off. Turns out, it wasn't too hard at all!

I spent an hour per day for three days and got all of that wallpaper down! Then Ron spackled and painted and made new shutters for the window, and, even though pink tile is still not my style, the room looks much fresher and brighter and I can walk by without cringing. 

In any area of life, I think it is helpful to look back and see how far you've come. During my years of homeschooling, I would sometimes feel like we had not accomplished enough, until I finished up my record keeping at the end of the year and realized just how much we did!

I feel the same way as I look back over our year's projects. I am actually surprised at all we were able to accomplish in our home, in the middle of a cRaZy-busy year in the life of our family. After all, it's not every year that we have an engagement, a bridal shower, a wedding, a senior year, completion of homeschooling, a graduation, a move (Kati's), new responsibilities with parents, and more . . . all of which took precedence over house projects!

Coming soon . . . House Project Goals 2020!