The 2014 To-Do List

Well, it's been a while since I've been able to put together a to-do list for our home! The last one I put together was in early 2012, but we didn't get to tackle most of it as we began preparing to move in early February. So, a new year is upon us and after tackling a few projects in my office, the kitchen and Halle's room last year, 2014 proves to be exciting! Here's what's on our list:

The Exterior

Details: Top of our list is a railing for our front porch. We'd like to build our own that looks like this, between the two posts on the front porch, and along the side.

Landscaping: We definitely need to work on the existing garden, but we'd like to add more to the front lawn as well... we just need to come up with a solid plan before Spring arrives!

The Dining Room

Seating: We need to find chairs! Two chairs at the heads of the table isn't going to cut it for much longer. I have some ideas of what I would like, but it's all going to come down to what we can afford. The search is on (and has been for a while already actually!)

Lighting: After removing the tiny, builder basic chandelier that hung in this room ages ago, I've spent a lot of time drooling over beautiful light fixtures for the dining room. (My top pick is this beauty from Restoration Hardware). Since my top pick is well over our tiny budget, we've opted to go the DIY route. We've already started to purchase materials, it's just going to come down to finding the time to assemble it all! Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later that we get the chance to shine some light in this space!

Storage: That niche that currently houses our too small IKEA bookcase needs to be addressed! Our plan is to fill it with some beautiful built ins. I'm thinking of something like this, but with some cupboards (rather than drawers) on the bottom.

Paint: The grey is actually quite nice (they picked the right shade), but it's becoming a bit overwhelming in a climate that is generally very grey! I'd like to lighten it up, but it's a matter of finding the perfect colour (I'm thinking cream or pearl), and then finding the time to tackle it. It's going to be a big undertaking and will mean painting a few rooms as the dining room is open to our living space and front entry way.

Artwork: It is quite obvious that we have a huge empty wall glaring at us! I've gone back and forth on how I'd like to fill the wall with artwork. I think I've finally come to a conclusion and would like to put a number of enlarged personal photos from our travels in this space. I just need to decide what I want to use for frames. I have a few ideas.

The Master Bedroom

Bedding: We've been struggling with sheets that do not properly fit our mattress since we first bought it in the spring of 2012. 2014 will be the year to FINALLY correct this!

Paint: I'm thinking a rich deep blue. I think it will really cozy up the room for us!

Storage: Since this photo was taken we've brought two nightstands into the room, but we need to do more! Our tall, narrow IKEA dresser is not really cutting it. We could use the extra storage space, and a longer dresser will fill the wall at the foot of our bed much better. I'm really liking the Emmerson 6 Drawer Dresser from West Elm or the Hendrix Extra-Wide Dresser from Pottery Barn.

Lighting: It's funny that when we first bought our home we said that the light fixture in our master bedroom would be the first thing we would address. Here we are, almost 8 months after we got the keys and the old fixture still hangs in our room! Maybe this year it will finally get the boot for something more our style. 

Halle's Room

Toy Storage: At the moment Halle has a lot of toys in the living room and basement, but I think more should be kept in here to play with. The only storage we have in there at the moment is her dresser and bookshelves. I plan to build some crate style boxes that we can stack up for books that she loves the most and some of her soft toys as well!

Big Girl Bed: We had a double bed in her room at the rental, but it takes up far too much room in this space. After some searching and discussing, B and I have agreed to tackle building her a bed this year... maybe in the spring/summer?

Curtains: We've got the curtains hung, but they are too short. I am still searching for the best fabric, and think I have found a winner - now it's just a matter of ordering it and adding it to the bottom of her curtains!

Lighting: I'm not a big fan of the, uh, FAN in Halle's room but it does serve it's purpose in the summer months. Just like many homes on the West Coast, this place is void of central air conditioning. However, since it really doesn't get all that hot here and the evenings cool off nicely, I'd say her ceiling fan is not entirely necessary and we could get away with replacing it with something much prettier and buy her a fan that could sit atop her dresser or a future nightstand! We'll see how this all goes. This is more of a "nice to change" item.

The Kitchen

Storage: Since we've redone the cabinets (updated photos to come this week!), we've also discussed adding a seating bench in the window nook, using cabinets. We plan on looking at both Home Depot and ReStore to see what we can find. This will not only add some cozy seating, but also an opportunity for some extra storage in the kitchen (and we can make whatever cabinets we find match using leftovers from our Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation kit!). 

Lighting: We've already replaced the light fixture over the sink, and are planning a new light for the dining room, so we'd also like to address this light over our kitchen table. It's not bad, just not really us!

The Back Yard

Gardens: Just like out front, we need to address the landscaping in the backyard. Right now it's pretty bland, and we've had some issues with the dogs digging holes. This year we'd like to make some changes and hopefully even include some raised garden beds where we can grow some of our own vegetables.

The Back Deck

The Back Deck

Seating: Our back deck is pretty huge, and a great spot for entertaining. Last year we managed to purchase a pretty nice dining set off craigslist (from a family whose home we viewed and I fell in love with... but it didn't tick enough boxes off of our must have list), but there is plenty more room to fill. Last year we talked about building an outdoor sofa using old pallets to put at the far end of the deck (pictured above). Maybe this summer will be the year for us?

I know this seems like a pretty long and ambitious list (I'm good for those), but nothing on this list really NEEDS to happen this year - most are just, nice to haves and we'll see how well we do! We'd like to make our house a home, but we also want to focus a lot of time on our family and enjoy Halle's littleness! 

Do you have a list you plan to tackle for the new year? What big projects are you hoping to start and/or finish in 2014?