2024 Plans for our Home

I actually love making NY Resolutions. In our heads it sort of puts deadlines to good intentions. We keep ours up on the fridge & actually do revisit the list from time to time to see how we're doing. Some things are more important than others of course. Completing a 1000 piece puzzle doesn't rank quite as high for me as taking strides toward a non-toxic home or prioritizing reading my bible. One thing is for sure about New Year plans year after year though...we have a separate set of goals for the house & the many projects we wish to take on. This year is no different. Along with photos of these spaces in their current state because it makes the "afters" more fun...here's a list of projects we'll definitely be doing this year, projects we *might* get to this year & even a list of projects we absolutely won't be doing! Maybe for good measure...maybe it's actually an attempt at holding myself accountable for not repainting the same rooms over & over. Your guess is as good as mine.

Projects we HAVE to do this year;

Coming in hot at #1 is our laundry room. This one got a color refresh last year with painting the batten board & coat cabinet but we have some serious functionality to troubleshoot in here. It's a large enough room (we think it used to be a bedroom) so there really isn't any excuse to not foster it toward it's full potential & the possibilities are endless. There's a rough draft stored somewhere in this head of mine of what this room will turn out to be but nothing concrete. When I put together an official mood board...you guys will be the first to know. One things for sure, we had to cut into our drywall to fit a massive mahogany finish linen press through the doorway here recently so that will be staying. It was also super heavy...I was told.

There seems to be a recurring theme this year in our home because most of our projects won't be as glamourous or as "aesthetic" as they will just be solving problems/creating more functionality in the already "pretty" spaces. Next up & probably something Austin is actually more excited to tackle this year than me is our kitchen pantry. Our pantry didn't exist when he bought this home. After I thrifted a vintage door from FB Marketplace (Don't cringe...the coolest stuff in our house is thrifted - read more here) our dads framed in & drywalled this little corner for us & thank goodness they did. I can't imagine not having a pantry honestly. I'm head chef in this house so it is important to me, there just isn't a ton of creative freedom when working on a project that has to make sense for day to day life & has such little sq footage.. that's all.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox because the next project WILL be fun..I hope. Sonny's room. Yep, Sonny is our pup. Yep, she has her own room. Although not as flashy as it sounds, we did designate a little 6X9(ish) room to her. It's right outside of our bedroom & there's a door leading to the outside fenced in area of our yard, it's small but she's not locked up in a crate this way so a room that was almost a nuisance to us for the past two years has actually become our most used. She stays in here when we leave the house & currently it houses some of her doggy essential items, like her bed. Austin had to (way ahead of schedule) lay new floors early in December because someone started peeling off the temporary tiles we had in there & eating them. Not sure who that was but Sonny told us it wasn't her so we totally believe her ;) This one could use a little magic by way of functionality too but it's DEFINITELY getting a new paint color but surprise surprise...we're undecided about what color that'll even be. I've heard dogs can see the color blue?

Projects we MIGHT do;

-Wet bar in our basement. Ahhhh the wet bar. She's been started & left hanging 3 or 4 times. It must just be that we're not prioritizing it. Who knows. Maybe we'll muster up the energy to finish it this year. I love a good mystery movie.

-Roof and siding. Ugh...the bill for this one is why I very easily scooched it down to the maybe list. The outside of our home doesn't do the inside any justice though...so it is time to start chatting with contractors.

-Our bedroom. Our room is ~okay~ but she's nothing special & nothing but the best is good enough for me. HA. (Frank Sinatra fans??) I not so accidentally painted our study the paint color I was reserving for our bedroom & as much as we love it, now we have to decide if we want our relaxing sanctuary to boast the same color as our work space. Well done, Carrie truly your best work.

Projects we WON'T be doing this year;

-Every room on our main level with the exception of the laundry room. The living, kitchen/dining, bathroom, guest room & study are set. These spaces are telling our story & our personalities shine through our design choices in these rooms so we will NOT be so much as painting these rooms in 2024. Okay, maybe I'll allow ONE of those to be painted...just in case!

-Adding a bathroom on the lower level. This is one major upgrade we're still on the fence about. It comes second on the priority list to us right now to a new roof so I would have to win the lottery to do this on top of the "maybe" list this year. (My toxic trait is thinking I could win the lottery when I don't even play)

-A new deck. This will have to be addressed at some point but there are a lot of logistics to figure out first so yet again, the outside of our home just won't be the best it can be. Yet.

-A home gym space. Sorry, honey. Just making sure you still know it can't happen in this house.

Below are some inspiration pictures for our laundry room. *Photos pulled from Pinterest, these are not my photos - exact sources are unknown.

Thanks for being here!