Recently, I looked back on our 2021 goals for our renovation projects, reflecting on what got done, and what is still in progress. I realize we’re already in March here, but I wanted to once again share the goals we’re looking at accomplishing for 2022.
The thing about this year—which is good news I think—is that these projects are already in progress. We’re smack in the middle of a big phase of renovating, with new floors across most of our house, that is impacting most rooms! So, while I won’t promise 100% completion this year, I feel pretty good about all of these projects—because they’re already started.
So, let’s quickly run through the 10(+) projects on our list this year.
First Up: New Flooring Across the Main Floor
As I mentioned, the biggest update is the new flooring across our entire main floor! The wood flooring is all complete and the tile is nearly done, so we’re really pushing on this goal as it’s obviously the foundation to everything else happening in the impacted rooms!
1. The Primary Bedroom
Our first goal, once we finish flooring and a very deep clean of the house, is to get our bedroom put back together. We’re actually going to repaint, because the matte finish of the paint we initially used is showing too many scuffs.
But the big goal is to be able to properly settle in, which means finally rolling out our rug and maybe even getting new bedding, styling the space, and hanging our wedding photos. We’ve talked about finishing this room being our anniversary gift to each other this year, and that’s in just a few weeks, so we’re focused here first.
2. 3. 4. The Entryway, Living Room, and Dining Room
The main spaces impacted by our new flooring! Our entryway, living room, and dining room are next up. They all need new baseboards, fresh paint, and light fixtures, but other than that it’s pretty straightforward. I’m most excited to finally get our art on the walls in these rooms, so we can really see what we have, what we need, and how it all fits together. We’re working with what we have in these spaces, but a few key purchases will hopefully help tie everything together.
5. The Kitchen
Ah, the kitchen. A study in scope creep if ever there was one. We are still finalizing every tiny detail in here (it’s very exciting and very stressful at the same time), but it turns out we are fully redoing the entire kitchen. (Though at least we’re keeping our appliances, so that saves a bit of money!)
It’s so exciting to truly be able to customize every little thing in the kitchen, but it can also be overwhelming hoping you don’t miss anything. We’re just trying to stay calm and focused and make it through, knowing it will turn out beautifully in the end.
6. 7. The Powder Room and Laundry Room
Our little powder bathroom and laundry room both got new tile floors as a part of the bigger flooring project, so that means it’s a good time (while the sink, toilet, and washing machines are out) to proceed with an entire refresh. I’ve never liked the beadboard in these rooms so I’m excited to remove it.
8. The Pantry and Mudroom/Closet
Our beautiful pantry was the very first project we tackled in our home, so it’s a bit bittersweet to realize it wasn’t working as well as it could for us, and decide to change it. We’re going to keep it mostly the same but change it to a coat closet, and move the pantry to the former mudroom area (which was a converted closet).
Having everything more accessible, instead of in a super deep closet, will be more functional for us, and we are adding electrical so my coffee maker can be tucked in the pantry.
9. 10. The Home Gym and Guest Bedroom
These upstairs rooms were not part of the new flooring project, but nonetheless were impacted as they are filled with things stored from the main floor—and thus progress was halted. I’m excited to get them cleared out and get some finishing touches done so we can call these rooms complete.
Bonus: A Few Smaller Projects
Complete Bar & Shelving in Basement
In our basement, Dustin is really excited to try his hand at building some cabinets. He’s going to put together some kind of entertainment center to house all of the technology things, and also probably put together a bar or table of some kind…still to be decided. He’s really excited to be in a place to work on smaller weekend projects like this, and so am I!
Have the Exterior Painted
We actually also need to have some stucco patched and are making a few minor edits when the windows come in (we have a bow window that we’re straightening out, for instance, which requires construction and patching). So that’s going to be a long process—apparently stucco takes a month to cure!
But, knowing the new stucco probably won’t be a perfect match, and that we’d like to paint the exterior eventually, we’re just going to push forward and go for it now. I’m so excited, as the exterior paint is something I’ve been dreaming about for years!
My Vegetable Garden
There are actually a few outdoor projects we’re hoping to work on this year to compliment our new deck—but, selfishly, I hope my vegetable garden can happen this year! We put together my flower box last year, and we’re going to add a few more boxes specifically for veggies. Unfortunately, once you get into leveling the ground and everything, it ends up a pretty big project, so we’ll see if and when we have time for it this year.
2022: A Big Year for Us!
Ultimately, 2022 is going to be a really big year for our house. On the bright side, every room I mentioned has a least been started, so we’re really just *finishing* all of them—which at least makes it sound like less work. I’m so excited to see how everything comes together, and to come back next year and check in on our progress. Thanks for being here and stay tuned!
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