House Projects Completed | 2025

It was a big year for house projects! 

At the beginning of each year, Ron and I sit down with pencil and paper and discuss the house projects that we'd like to accomplish in the coming year. We actually list everything that we would like to do in the future (that list is long!) and then choose a top five for the current year. 

This is flexible.  If we finish the top five, we can choose something else. If one of the five doesn't happen for some reason or another, we can substitute . . . or just not accomplish it all. Sometimes there may be a bit of time in which we can fit a smaller project so we'll go ahead and do that. Or sometimes our priorities change during the year. The main thing is that we keep moving forward with our vision and keep chipping away at our goals. 

Here were our top five house-y goals for 2025!
(Spoiler alert: One of them did not get done.) 

Goal #1: 
Gut Pink Bathroom ✅

I'm not sure why we listed this one as a separate project, because we certainly wouldn't gut a space without the intention of making something new out of it, but we did indeed gut that bathroom. A part of me hated to eliminate this little half bath because it was quite handy when we had guests. But we have guests several weeks out of the year, and we do laundry 52 weeks out of the year. That fact made the decision clear. 

There was still a bit of demo to go in this photo, but I missed taking one of the completely gutted room. 

Goal #2
Convert Pink Bathroom to Laundry Closet ✅

Ron began the pink bathroom demo in mid January, and by the end of April, we were doing laundry!

In that time, he removed a window (and patched the siding outside), ran plumbing for the washer, put in a 220 outlet for the dryer, hung all new drywall, finished it, and painted it. We had the man who tiled our master bathroom lay the tile floor of the laundry closet. 

(Disclaimer: The space is small and tight, and my photography skills are not the best, so my photos are a bit distorted and the colors are not true.)

Ron installed this overhead light. 

We found a narrow rolling cart at HomeGoods on which to put laundry supplies.

I put my old floor cloth  down for a little color. 

Since we had removed the half bath that was so helpful for company, we decided to add peg racks in the laundry closet for guests to hang towels, cosmetic bags, etc.  (All of the bathrooms in our house are small, so the overflow storage is helpful.) 

We have a laundry area in our basement, but having a laundry closet on the main floor is game-changing. I love having this easily accessible space, and so does Bekah (who loathes the camel crickets in our basement). This new laundry space is tiny, but it has all that we need. 

Goal #3
Build a Patio ✅ 

This project was something that Ron really wanted to do! It has been on our list for several years, but 2025 was the year that it made the top 5. The previous year, we had had the back steps into the sunroom extended (to accommodate the double French doors that we had put in the sunroom), so that meant that we could go ahead with laying a patio. 

Ron relocated  some plants, we selected and ordered our bricks, and the work began! 

After the last brick was laid on the patio, Ron laid a brick sidewalk leading to the driveway. 

We chose some furniture for the patio, a teak table and chairs and a couple of benches, and we planted a boxwood hedge around the border.

Goal #4
Paint living room, dining room, hallway, and basement stairway ✅

We painted the living room, dining room, and hallway the first year that we moved into Pineapple House (the basement stairway came later). I chose a neutral color, Linen White by Olde Century Colors, and it was a good choice while we made changes to the house and slowly filled it with things that we loved. A stronger color would have been limiting. But nine years later, we were ready to go bolder and we painted it all Copley Gray by Benjamin Moore. No regrets! We love the moodiness of the color . . . and its colonial-ness too! :)

Ron picked up his paintbrush as soon as he retired and got to work in the living room. We had hoped to have it finished by the end of September when we were having guests, and we made that deadline. 

The painting continued in October as Ron and I (mostly Ron) painted the dining room . . . 

and then the hallway with its seven doors! 

By the end of October, the basement stairwell was also painted, and the job was done!  

Goal#5
Paint Bekah's closet 

This project was the smallest on the list, but it didn't get done. In fact, when we made our 2026 list, Bekah said that she really didn't want it done this year either so we will defer it to another time. 

It is hard for me to believe, but we will have lived in Pineapple House for ten years this spring! We have made many changes, some big, some small. We are running out of big projects (that's good!), but we have a top five selected for this year. I'll tell you about our 2026 list soon. 

Christmas Gift Wrapping

Yesterday was a big wrapping day here!

Bekah had the day off and so we made an occasion out of it. We cleared the dining room table and piled it with all of our gift-wrapping supplies. Then we played Christmas music, drank coffee, and wrapped, tied, and tagged well into the evening. 

Each year, I choose a wrapping theme. I don't necessarily wrap everything the same, but I like for my gifts to coordinate.

The first step is getting out all of my wrapping paper rolls. I have some leftover from past years, some that I have bought at after-Christmas sales, and rolls that I have purchased this season. I put it all together in one place and choose which designs I will use for the current year. 

Here is an assortment from a few years ago.
You can see how I have divided it into "themes."

This is the group of papers that I chose for that year. 

And this is how it came together.

For the past several years, I have made my own gift tags. Yesterday, I ran out of them and had to make up some more. 

Past years' wrapping themes . . . 

And this year's . . . 

Even though I had FIVE rolls of the red ticking paper in my stash (oops), I decided to give that a rest this year and use only two papers: a red plaid and navy ticking. I had found some lovely navy ribbon at Target and wanted to highlight that color. I also had picked up a roll of olive green ribbon and I thought that looked so nice with the navy ticking. I went back several times to look for more of the olive ribbon, but I never saw it again, so I used navy or plaid ribbon on some of those packages. 

There is more wrapping to do (honestly, I have a bit more shopping to do!), but the bulk of it is finished.

I love wrapping gifts! I find it more enjoyable than shopping! 

What about you? Do you enjoy wrapping? 

Library Closet Makeover

Our first project of the year was re-configuring the closet in the library. 

{Read ~here~ about how we transformed our fourth bedroom into a library.}

Since this room is no longer a bedroom, we needed the closet to serve the room as we are now using it: a combination of library, school room, and office. 

First, we removed the clothing rod, then Ron added another shelf all the way across, doubling the storage. (If we ever need the library to be a bedroom again, we will simply remove the new shelf and put the clothing rod back in.)

He also added an outlet so that we would be able to put the printer and the shredder in this closet, behind closed doors. (I am all about "hiding ugly stuff.") Finally, we painted the whole thing antique white. 

On the left side of the closet, adjacent to the desk, we put the filing cabinet and a metal basket with copy paper. On the new shelf is the wireless printer, shredder, and electric pencil sharpener. The top shelf holds decorative paper, card stock, and construction paper, as well as a few scrapbooking supplies.

 

On the right side of the closet, a plastic drawer unit holds craft and office supplies. Puzzles for tiny tots are on top of it. The new shelf holds lots of "grand" supplies, like coloring books, colored pencils, crayons, other art supplies, and more puzzles. The top shelf has some of our school supplies.

The closet makeover was a pretty quick project, but it made a big difference in how this room functions! You'd never guess how much "ugly stuff" is hiding behind those closed doors! 

And now the kitchen project continues . . . 

Time for a January Chat

January is a month for settling in, hunkering down, and getting organized. And maybe for having a little fun too! These are all parts of our January so far . . .

JANUARY EATING

It has been a cold January thus far, and hot soup has been on the menu a lot. Last week, it was cream cheese chicken soup, vegetable beef soup, and, a new favorite, sausage/kale/white bean soup. There is something comforting about a pot of soup simmering on the stove, don't you think? 

JANUARY ATMOSPHERE

This is probably going to sound silly, but one of the best things I did for our winter last year was lights! Yes, lights. We left a Christmas tree, decorated only with white lights, on the sun porch until well into February. We burned candles. Kati had some fairy lights in her bedroom, timed to come on just before her alarm rang in the morning. My favorite: I purchased a battery-operated candle with a timer and placed it in a lantern on the living room mantle. Every night, the candle lit up at 6 pm and turned itself off at 10. I can't tell you how much cheer that candle-on-a-timer brought to me! It was like a cozy little hug each evening when it came on! 

JANUARY MOTIVATION

We all want some restful winter evenings after the busyness of December, but if we're not mindful, we'll revert to our default of night after night of Netflix and DVDs. We have purposefully planned our winter calendar to include a couple of "project nights" per week. (We've also scheduled in some fun activities. Fridays are carryout and movie nights. Saturday nights are game nights. Wednesday nights are known as "Wild Card Wednesday" meaning you do want strikes your fancy!)

Our first project of the year is re-configuring the library closet. We're taking out the clothing rod since the room isn't serving as a bedroom any more. (It would be easy to put back in if we ever need another bedroom.) Ron is going to add another shelf, allowing room for more office/school storage. The filing cabinet will be in this closet, as well as a plastic drawer unit holding craft and office supplies. Ron is running an outlet in the closet so that we can plug in the shredder. We'll also keep puzzles and games here because the grands often play in this room.

So far, we have emptied the closet (which means the contents are strewn all over the house . . . yikes!), Ron has removed the rod and cut the hole for the outlet. Next up: install new shelf and apply a coat (or three) of fresh white paint to cover the pink! 

JANUARY GIFTS

A friend (former homeschool mom whose children are grown) asked if I wanted to take a peek at some books that she was clearing from their attic.

Me (immediately): Yes!!

Also me (a few seconds later, to myself): What was I thinking? Haven't we culled our own bookshelves several times over the past few years? How much room do we have for more books?

Also me (with Bekah at Liz's house going through a gazillion boxes of books): We need this one and this one and this one. And this one and this one and this one. And these. Maddie will love these animal books. Eve and Nora will want the Dear America books. A whole box of Landmark books? Another box of Landmark books? Be still my heart.

Bekah and I left Liz's house with twelve boxes of books. Indeed we did.

And a box of dress-ups. 

😁

Since then . . . 

~ We have found room for more books on our own shelves. Some are in the library, some are in the girls' own collections, and the motherlode of Landmark books ended up here. (Honestly, they have been here and then moved to the other side and then moved back. I think they're staying here. Does hauling books and moving them from shelf to shelf to shelf count as excercise?)

~ Both families have come to get books for their own homes . . . and we had a fun fashion show! 

There was even fun to be had in the dress-up box! To Macie, it was a "bubble bath." To Paul, it was a "car." Here, they were sharing it. (I think each one was wishing the other cousin was not in the box, but their parents' good training was evident as they tolerated one another. ~smile~) 

The afternoon ended like this:

Sleeping baby, happy Gran

So what has your January been like so far? Do you work at creating a cozy atmosphere? Do you like soup as much as we do? (Do you ever get tired of it? I don't.) Do you have any projects in the works? 

Bonus track: