Work in Progress

Every home owner will tell you that it's a constant "work in progress" and by the time you are done, it will be time to sell the house. That couldn't be more true although I'm not sure I would want to sell and start over after all this work. Our house is in a constant state of "work in progress".

Here is where we are at the end of 2010.

Here's what we need to wrap up or simply start:

Kitchen:

• New granite counter tops.
• Tile back splash.
• Repaint the trim and touch up walls.

Half Bathroom:

• Needs a large rug. The tile is so cold.
• Needs artwork.
• Caulk around toilet base and baseboards.

Dining Room:

• Put up moulding "windows" on walls.
• Install hardwood floors.

Living Room:

• Caulk crown moulding and repaint.
• Sew brightly colored pillows and add decor accents.
• Install hardwood floors.
• Replace/Fix South window.
• Replace steel front door with something pretty.

Stairs

• Install faux staircase moulding.
• Order sconces and hang art work.

Master Bathroom - see here

• Repaint cabinets to white.
• Replace dated medicine cabinet with updated mirror and light fixture.
• Sew new shower curtain.

Hall Closet

• Turn into laundry room.

Hallway Dress Gallery

• Find more art work, frame and hang.

Master Bedroom (#1)

• Get new roller blinds or paint them.
• Replace carpet.
• Paint wall with lattice pattern.

Guest Room (Bedroom #2)

• Remove carpet.
• Turn into media room. This is a major project of its own.

Home Office (Bedroom #3)

• Sand and re-stain floor.
• Touch up moulding.
• Install closet system.
• Turn into guest bedroom.

Enclosed Front Porch

• Organize. organize. organize.
• Remove carpet. Paint floor and stencil with pattern.
• Get new patio furniture.

Back Patio

• Get garden tool organizer or shed.
• Get new patio entertaining set and create intimate seating area.
• Provide shade.

Basement

• Clean out the basement to get it ready to finish it in 2012?

Wow, that seems like a lot. I don't know how much of this we can get to, but wish us luck!

To-Do List Fall 2010

We have a few large items on our list and after that I think I'm done for the year.

• Get a new countertop for the kitchen once and for all. We have a friend who is a contractor and we're going to go through him. I'm just too busy to do all the research and deal with Home Depot or Lowe's. He's also going to help "finish" the kitchen walls and make everything look professional. We never finished refining the sanding of the spackle and such, so we're leaving it to him. Yay!
• Shampoo/steam the living room carpet and get the living room decorated once and for all. We never actually decorated our living room. There was just so much else that needed to be done that I never felt like I could decorate until this or that was done first. We've got all the bases covered - new sofa, walls painted, new window treatments and some new furniture so now all it needs is some color and decor on the walls! I'm slowly working on that.
• Clean out all junk in the basement, attic and closets. We have a lot of stuff that we don't use and things we never even unpacked from our move 4 years ago! Last week, we arranged a donation pick up by the VVA. It was awesome. They come right to your door and haul everything away. We donated 12 bags of stuff including clothing, household items, comforters, kitchenware, Christmas stuff and 2 lamps and a table.

I'm going to work on decorating the living room this weekend. My wallet is going to be hurtin'!

"Like to have"

I saw this "like to have" on Amazon's wish lists. It's a great way of saying, it's not a priority, but I would really appreciate it if I had this. That's how I feel about most of our home projects. There's always something getting in the way of the things I would like to have. There's always seems to be something we NEED to do that takes precedence. So I divided our to-do list in two:

To-Do List:

• New fridge $$$
  
• Half bathroom door $$$
  
• French drain in back and front of house $$
  
• Gutter guards (been on the list for 2 years now) $$
• New front door $$$ - I hate our front door. There's a large window in it. Who thought that was a good idea?
• New BBQ grill
  
• Pave a driveway $$$$
• Replace some windows
• New dryer
  

Like to Have List:

• New kitchen counter top $$$$
• Decorate the living room - new sofa sectional, 2 club chairs, console table, coffee table, and new rug. $$$$
• Tile the upstairs bathroom floor and around bath tub. $$$
  
• Replace bath tub. $$$
  
• Repaint/Replace bathroom vanity, mirror and shelf. $$-$$$
  
• Replace bathroom lighting. $$
  
• Build master closet for bedroom. $$$
• Finish the basement $$$$
• Replace the dining room & living room floor together $$$$

What are some things you wish you would "like to have"?

2010 DIY Goals

We've been taking a break from the house in the summer when I'm in our garden. Now, that it's winter again we will be picking up where we left off. Here are some things we plan on doing immediately this winter:

• Replace the kitchen countertop.
• Install the 1/2 bathroom on the first floor - includes putting in the plumbing from scratch and tiling the floor.
  
• Tiling the kitchen back splash. This will be my first attempt at glass tile.
  
• Demo the built-in bar in the dining room & repair all the molding that will be missing.
• Installing wood floors in the dining room.
• Replacing the lights in the dining room.
  

If we survive, we'll be finishing the basement next fall. We need a little more room for a home office, game room, spare bedroom and storage. That's all going to go into the basement.

What are some of your goals? Do you have things on last year's list that have been carried over?

Revisiting the To-Do list

We have pretty much completed all the major to-dos including all the things we added to the list throughout the year. Our priorities have shifted as well so we let a few things slide too.

What I'm most proud of is finishing the kitchen including tiling the floors, mulching the garden and setting the perennials in place for next year, and getting rid of a lot of clutter via yard sale! In addition, we even decorated the master bedroom, bathroom, and hallway upstairs and downstairs. I have also picked up a new trade - sewing!

Here's what is left over from last Fall:

1. Doing the half bathroom - The estimate is $3K, so we're holding off. After the kitchen reno, we're not ready for the first floor of our house to get turned upside down again.
2. Install gutter guards - I'm just dragging my feet. We've had so much rain too. I better do this before the leaves come down in the Fall.
3. Replacing windows - The estimate to fix the springs in all 15 windows is $1700. To replace is $400 per window. We need at least 2-4 windows replaced at minimum.

Here's our new and updated To-Do list:

1. Knock out our bedroom closets - Moving away from the superficial, let's talk about function. None of our bedroom closets are large enough and haven't been updated. Our plan is to knockout the wall that the closets (and 2 bedrooms) share. Turn the 2 old closets into 1 large closet for the master bedroom. Make a new closet that boxes out into the spare bedroom.
   

• Update lighting in the dining room - Remove the gymnasium fluorescent light fixtures and replace them with recessed lights or just seal it up all together. Add a light attachment to the ceiling fan.
  
• Update the Guest Bedroom - It's a mish mosh of furniture and colors currently. I just want to give the whole room an overhaul.
  
• Extend the garden/landscape in the front of the yard.
  

That's it for now. I don't want to overwhelm myself with projects.

Spring To-Do List

We already have plans for projects this spring, but I'm going to try to keep it to a minimum.

1. Clean out the basement. Donate to good will.
   
2. Paint walls down to basement. Install hooks to hang brooms n stuff.
3. Dig a trench and extend the gutter.
   
4. Lay pavers down for a patio.
5. Make a sitting area on deck.
6. Install a toilet.
7. Sew drapes.
8. Repaint the banister railing.
9. Mulch
10. Finish Kitchen.
11. Do kitchen floors.
12. 
    

To-Do list Update

We've really cut down our To-Do List!

New-Wrap insulation around ducts in basement ceiling.

FALL ‘08
Things to Do Soon

• Put up Christmas lights around outside of house.
• Install gutter guards.
  
• Buy new dryer (ours is on it’s way out)

Living Room

• Staple molding around room and get corner molding. (Not a priority)
  
• Tape South window (it’s sagging and drafty).

Yard

• Patio with pavers under BBQ grill- (Spring ’09)
• Mulch around house throughout fall.

WINTER ‘08
Kitchen

• Install cabinets on refrigerator side.
• Install dishwasher.
• Install cabinets on sink side.
• Cut existing counter top.
  
• Do floor tiles.
  
• Give kitchen second coat of paint.
  

½ Bathroom

• Spackle, sand and paint. (Working on spackle now.)
  
• Staple molding
• Toilet - Getting an estimate for installation soon.
  
• Do floor tiles - $60
• Paint and Install door (in attic)
  
• Replace light and cover.
  

To-Do-List update

I love seeing our to-do list shrink!!!

FALL ‘08
Things to Do Soon

• Put up Christmas lights around outside of house.
• Install gutter guards.
  
• Buy new dryer
  

Living Room

• Crown molding.
• Tape South window.

WINTER '08-'09
Kitchen

• Install cabinets on refrigerator side.
• Install dishwasher.
• Install cabinets on sink side.
• Cut existing counter top.
  
• Do floor tiles.
  
• Give kitchen second coat of paint.
  

Water Closet

• Spackle, sand and paint. (Working on spackle now.)
  
• Staple molding
• Toilet - Getting an estimate for installation soon.
  
• Sink, Shower?
• Do floor tiles
  
• Paint and Install door (in attic)
  
• Replace light and cover.

SPRING ‘09
Yard

• Mulch heavily in weedy areas.
  
• Lay pavers down under BBQ grill.
  

Update on To-Do List

FALL ‘08

Things to Do Soon

• Put up Christmas lights around outside of house.
• Clean gutters.
  
• Install gutter guards.
  
• Clean out attic
• Clean out basement
• Clean out LR closet
• Change out light in my office.
• Change light cover in upstairs hallway (out dated)-$30, get high efficiency bulb $15.
• Repaint hallway and along stair to match living room (extra paint leftover)
• Re-stain deck (before/after winter?)
• Move patio furniture into basement for storage.
• Buy new dryer (ours is on it’s way out)
• Paint - columns, door step, shed, molding.
  

Living Room

• Staple molding around room and get corner molding.
• Sew drapes
• Tape South window (it’s sagging and drafty).
• Replace lights with hi-eff blubs.

Yard

• Patio with pavers under BBQ grill- (Spring ’09)
• Mulch around house throughout fall.
• Plant bulbs (Tulips and Peonies).
• Prune back lilac bushes
  
• Place weeds on curb to be picked up.
• Continue staining deck.
• Repot plants and bring inside for winter.
• Prune shrubs.
• Spray paint wicker furniture.
• Cut back plants that are done for the season.
• Plant new shrubs/flowers.
• Move Japanese maple tree.

WINTER ‘08
Kitchen

• Staple molding around window.
  
• Staple molding around doors.
  
• Install exhaust hood and above stove cabinet.
• Put in recessed lighting covers.
• Install cabinets on refrigerator side.
• Install dishwasher.
• Install cabinets on sink side.
• Cut existing counter top.
  
• Do floor tiles. (Thanksgiving '08)
• Give kitchen second coat of paint.
  

½ Bathroom

• Spackle, sand and paint. (Working on spackle now.)
  
• Staple molding
• Fix window (it’s stuck) One day, I lifted it without any effort!!!
  
• Toilet - Getting an estimate for installation soon.
  
• Sink, Shower
• Do floor tiles - $60
• Paint and Install door (in attic)
  
• Replace light and cover.