February 01, 2011

THIS OLD HOUSE

Nate and I have lived in our blue cottage almost 4 years (in March). When we first bought it we thought it would be our home for about 5 years - at which point we'd sell it for a killing and upgrade to a bigger/better home. Reality check time. First of all, no one is really selling their homes for a killing or even a tiny profit, so that part of the plan is both sad and silly. Then, for some reason we thought we'd need more room. The 1700 sq feet on the main floor basically keeps us content. We have another 900 upstairs and we hardly ever go up there. So there really isn't any need for a bigger abode.

So I started thinking about ways we could make what we have better and I came up with a few small projects I'd like to work on in 2011. Of course this requires that we spend a lot of money which really isn't a strong suit for either of us. So these projects will be a big challenge. Bring it!

1. Rip out ugly tile around fake fire place and remove tiny mantel. Get a carpenter to build out a luxury fireplace more appropriate for the great room.

2. Get a dining table and chairs and finish the dining room.

3. Change out many of the light fixtures that came with the house and choose some that don't look like ceiling boobs.

4. Replace the leather chairs in our great room with upholstered chairs that have a colorful pattern.

5. Figure out what I want to do with the half bath on the main floor and turn it into an interesting room. It's so boring right now.

6. Apply some style to our upstairs. There are three great rooms up there and they are begging to be adored. This will include adding some well planned furniture in much needed areas and adding art to the walls.

7. Add storage shelves in the garage so we can be more organized with our stuff.

8. Organize the basement and take like a gazillion trips to D.I. and Goodwill to get rid of stuff we don't need.

9. Get a table and chairs for the back patio so we can have people over for some backyard fun. Also get a comfortable couch/chairs for the front porch - it's so big and could use a little TLC and curb appeal.

10. Decide what we want to grow in our garden and be committed green thumbs this summer.

That's basically all I can dump on my plate right now. It's definitely a stretch to get all this done in one year, but with some good bargain shopping and purposeful planning I think we can get most of it done.

Go Team!

8 comments:

ali said...

You can do it! Well, maybe not all of it, but definitely a few of the items. I'm excited to see it unfold.

Still think your house is so cute.

Whit said...

What is up with ceiling boob lights anyway?? I thought I must just be a creeper for thinking those fixtures looked like boobs, but they totally do. And they're ugly to boot.

The Mortensens said...

My favorite "LOL" moment from this post: "ceiling boobs." Haha! I think it's awesome that you're going to turn your place into something you love rather than saying, "I'll be happy in our 'next' home." I hope you'll post pictures of before and after. Those are always so fun! Good luck!

chaussures converse said...

that you're going to turn your place into something you love rather than saying, "I'll be happy in our 'next' home." I hope you'll post pictures of before and after. Those are always so fun! Good luck!

Anonymous said...

You should probably check how the man of the house feels about it before changing the ceiling boobs. When it comes to boobs, you really need a man's perspectivie.

Laur said...

Oh my gosh your cottage is my dream home.

Amara said...

Me too! About the ceiling lights! >.<

Unknown said...

PLEASE SHARE THE COLOR AND PAINT BRAND ON THE EXTERIOR OF YOU HOME.
THANK YOU,
LINDA
LHOLBROOK54@GMAIL.COM