House Project Plans for 2018

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You know the whole “If you build it, they will come” line? My motto for this post is “If you write it, it will happen.” I’m dreaming REALLY big today, and maybe I’m a tad overly ambitious right now, but that’s okay. That’s what resolutions are for, right? Ha! (Lookin’ at you, New Year’s diet.)

The other weekend leading up to New Year’s, Robert and I went on a little getaway to the mountains in Asheville, NC to collect ourselves after a crazy busy 2017, and while we were there, we couldn’t help but scheme together about all of the exciting projects we’re ready to tackle in the house this year.

He has his wish list and I have mine, and together, it’s going to make a very exhausting (and expensive) but super rewarding adventure ahead of us.

So far, we managed to finish our living room, breakfast nook, powder room, master bedroom, [phase one of the] guest bathroom, and a huge exterior makeover in a matter of 8 months, so it can still be done, right? All the good vibes.

1. The Playroom

When we sold our old house in January last year, we had JUST finished Olivia’s playroom a few months before. We barely got to enjoy it! I’ve been a little salty about that. But those big built-ins did add some resale value to our house, so that was a feather in our cap, for sure.

This time around, we’re planning to still implement built-ins on a smaller scale, but I’ll be diving more into those details later this week with the official plan.

And I think I’ve figured out a few ways to make our smaller playroom even more functional than the old one. Woot!

Here’s what it currently looks like:

Feast your eyes on that Ektorp sofa that now only gets used as a stuffed animal holder. Yeah, that’s outta here, along with a handful of stuffed animals that never get played with, if I can sneak some out while Olivia’s not looking. (To be fair, throw pillows are the stuffed animals of grown women, so I don’t have room to talk here.)

2. The Dining Room

We made great headway in our dining room the last couple of months, but we’re determined to finish it very soon. I’ve been working on an antique mirror gallery wall that is taking forever for me to get just right. The love/hate relationship with gallery walls is so real.

I lurv this one from House Beautiful! Aiming for a smaller scale in our house though.

3. The Back Porch

Since the brick makeover is finally finished (*insert cartwheel and booty dance*), we’ll be tackling our back porch once the weather warms up in the spring.

The wood porch floor really needs some love, so that’s on our to-do list along with figuring out a good seating arrangement and maybe eventually framing out our TV and mini fridge to look like an outdoor fireplace. Just so it doesn’t look like, “Yo, what’s up. I’m just a TV and mini fridge sitting here on the wall.”

How legit would something like this be?

Source: Traditional Home

4. Landscaping

I mentioned already in our exterior makeover post that the landscaping still leaves much to be desired. We probably won’t get to all of the landscaping plans we’ve been thinking up, but the old mulch and pine straw definitely needs replacing, the shrubs in the front yard need beefing up, and we might even be able to do something about our old rickety backyard fence, if we can wriggle it into the budget.

I’m really hoping we can swap out our front door for a wooden one that has a window to allow some natural light into our very dark foyer too. Right now, it’s a solid black door with peeling paint and a glass storm door in front. If not this year, definitely for the next.

5. My Office

This room has been the “dumping ground” since we moved in as we’ve arranged spaces and sorted through items we’ve donated or sold from the old house. But now that we sort of have a handle on the rest of the rooms, the makeshift storage room can finally become my office.

It’s a hottttttt MESS.

I desperately need storage for some of my seasonal stuff. And because this room has an open doorway right beside our front door, we would love to put in a pair of French doors to close off my “work” from the rest of the house. (Maybe even start taking on design clients? Squee!) Sometimes it’s hard to draw that line between work and home when you work from home, so I think this space will help me strike some balance that I’ve been struggling with lately.

We’ll probably build a pair of small closets on either side of that far window, similarly to how our master bedroom is arranged, for storage. The best part is if we add closets and a door to the room to separate it from our foyer, this technically becomes an additional bedroom, which will add value to the house upon resale one day. Win/win.

As for the rest of the office, I absolutely love how Kelley Nan has arranged and decorated hers. Goals!

6. The Master Bathroom

Our master bathroom is at the tip top of my wish list and is begging for a makeover, but it’s going to cost us a pretty penny. We’re talking full gut job. I have no idea if we’ll be able to pull this one off, but a lot can happen in a year, and I’m crossing my fingers and toes on this one.

The tile, the clunky vanity, the dated shower, all of it needs to go. And the new layout I have in mind will maximize all of the wasted space, if it works out the way I hope.

This bathroom layout is giving me lots of ideas already. Except, I’m pretty sure we’ll be holding off on the marble tile to keep a smaller budget in mind.

Source: Decor Pad

So that’s the plan. Or rather the big wish list. I think I need to go find a giant cup of coffee now after all of this. #SaveMe #GimmeAllTheCaffeinne I cannot WAIT to see what our 2018 recap will be. Pretty epic, I bet ya.

Do you have any house makeover dreams on your goals list for this year too? Tell me all about ’em! Any local Charlotte peeps know of a great contractor? I think maybe we’re going to need one.