As the name of my blog indicates, I spend a lot of time thinking about home. Of course, my Heavenly Home is the one that is eternal, so that’s where I need to lay up my treasures, and that’s the one I’m striving for. But in the meantime, I have been given this tiny piece of the here-and-now—this home on the edge of town, this family, this neighborhood—in which to serve Him. And, though this is in the earthly realm, I want the things that happen here to be investments in the Heavenly realm.




Friday, February 7, 2020

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! 


20 comments:

  1. Your home is so pretty peaceful and uncluttered.
    ❤️

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  2. I think you can paint over tiles.
    I wonder if your hydrangeas needed some ericaceous compost added? They do prefer to be planted in rich soil with an ericaceous fertiliser now and then....and although a sunny position is all right, they dont like intense heat.

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    1. We have looked into painting tiles. (We also have yellow tile in another bathroom.) But this bathroom also has a pink sink and a pink toilet. It might be possible to replace some, paint some.

      Thanks for your hydrangea tips! They get mostly morning sun. Does that sound like a favorable spot? But perhaps they would benefit from some compost.

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  3. So weird that two hydrangea died in that same spot but the others are doing fine. With the year you had it’s amazing that you were able to do all you did!

    I’m loving the coverlet in the guest room. Where did you buy it?

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    1. I think that's weird too! A mystery! Perhaps Barbara's compost/fertilizer idea would help.

      Haha! I was really surprised too! I guess it was just "doing the next thing . . . "

      I'm sure you saw my answer on Facebook, but I'll paste the answer here for anyone else who may be interested:
      We purchased it at Old Road Furniture (right down the road from Kitchen Kettle Village) in April. It was on one of their beds along with some pillows which were also for sale. However, when we went in September to purchase one for our master bedroom, there were only a couple left (none that went in our bedroom). Apparently, they were made by Family Heirloom Weavers which mostly makes more modern pieces these days. Sigh . . .

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  4. You can paint over old tiles. Someone somewhere is probably in love with those pink tiles and she might be my mother. 😊 I had to live in a pink house she loved the color so.

    You have done a lot. Besides, you never want to run out of things to do.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Truly, I love pink . . . just not in home decor because it doesn't fit with anything else! I would love to have seen your childhood home!

      I don't believe we'll ever run out of things to do!

      P.S. See my comment to Barbara (⬆) about the pink tiles.

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  5. What a year that was indeed! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love the style of your home. We are in the middle of painting, the royal we. Now Greg is taking a break from painting and moving the door into our laundry room over 6 inches. Winter projects. When the weather changes he'll be working on his shop and I will see little of him during the day. Have a nice weekend.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thanks so much, Ellen! I like "the royal we." 😊 That's mostly how it works at our house too. We'll all pick up a paint brush when there's a big project, but Ron certainly does the lion's share of the work. Your hubby is a hard worker too . . . year 'round! We are blessed!

      Delete
  6. You did a lot during your busy year. I have not been nearly so ambitious although I really should be.

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    1. I'm not really sure how we did it all! As far as ambition . . . I have lots of ideas, but Ron can work circles around me!

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  7. You've accomplished a lot in 2019. Looking back can certainly provide a feeling of accomplishment. When I think about what we've done on the house, it does add up. Now on to 2020 projects!

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    Replies
    1. We are headlong into our first big project of the year!

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  8. I'm a regular reader, and thoroughly enjoy your blog. Until now I don't think I've commented. I'd like to comment on the pink tile. We bought a 1960 rancher as our retirement home in 2012, complete with pink tiles in the main bathroom. Somewhere I learned that color was the rage in that era due to Maime Eisenhower's influence. She liked pink very much and used is extensively in the White House. One commentator noted she thought the White House should be renamed Pink Palace! I know pink tiles in bathrooms are vintage, but then I am too so I'm OK with them in ours!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing that bit of historical trivia which I love! I think it's always fun to know the story behind something.

      We have had little girls come to our house who love the pink bathroom and choose it over the full bathroom (with green tiles) every time. (So cute!) I honestly don't hate the pink tile, but it just doesn't fit the style of the rest of the house, so we probably will replace it at some point. Moving from a house with one bathroom (on a different floor than the bedrooms) to a house with two and a half (with another half bath in the garage!), I am quite grateful for bathrooms no matter what color the tile!

      It's always a treat to "meet" a reader! Thanks for popping in with your kind words!

      Delete
  9. Cheryl, funny thing about that pink half-bath: I'm not into pink AT ALL, but I would be inclined to keep the pink bathroom, simply because it is so "of its time."

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    1. I hear you, Jean! And if we were restoring this house to its time, I'd be all for keeping the pink tile (as well as the yellow tile in our bathroom). But since we're all colonial/primitive/Early American over here, that pink is just . . . well . . . so pink!

      Delete
  10. Well, I'd say you did a great job on these decorating goals! And that cute little pink bathroom? I really like it...yeah, you heard me. :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Debby!

      Adding you to the Pink Bathroom Fan Club! 😊

      Delete

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