A Check in on Our New Year 2015 House Goals

On January 1, 2015, I made a list of the house and life goals that I would like to accomplish this year. Since I think that it is fun to make lists and check in on progress, I felt that the beginning of April/end of March was an appropriate time to do so. NOTE that I did not post this on April 1 because I have no sense of humor and do not think that progress reports are laughing matters. Laundry Room: A-

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We did "finish" the laundry room. There are just a few things like the butcher block countertop and maybe something with the floor that are left.

Wall Removal: A+ IMG_2823IMG_5388

WE DID IT AND I LOVE IT!

Crown Molding: D+

We are currently talking with handymen to get some idea of how much this would cost because LB hates math and I am terrified to use a saw. We should totally do this ourselves, but oh, I don't know. We just bought the crown for the main areas (living, dining and hallway). We should really do this ourselves. We remain here:  CROWN MOLDING IN THE FIRST FLOOR OF THE HOUSE. NO PICTURE BECAUSE I AM SERIOUSLY SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING THIS DONE. SHOUTY CAPITALS AND ALL.

Finishing the Master Bedroom: B

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We are so close to totally finishing the master bedroom. We got a headboard and got our TV hung on the opposite wall. After not having one in the bedroom for like 6 years, I am really digging it. We still need to do something artswise in that blank space (baby) but I can't decide what that is. We also want to move that window above our bed so that it is centered. A solid B though. Solid.

Get a new couch: A+++

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Our badboy from Macy's finally showed up!!!! And, it spawned a whole living room re-work that we can now say is done-ish. :) Fully updated living room coming soon.

Do Something with the Table: B+ 

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We stained it. I still need to do another less red coat to see if I can tone down the red and rub 'n buff the metal sides. But we did get new dining chairs!

Paint the Trim Outside: D- A+!

We are not getting an F in this area only because I have had two bids on painting the trim thus far. The first was basically $600. That seems... expensive?!? I don't know. I just hate that painting is something we could do, but this guy was talking about pressure washing and priming and then painting the trim black. Meh. Who knows anymore.

***ME! I know! We found Mario who did it for $300 last weekend!

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Woah. That is where our first list ended. We are killing it this year so far! I think that we might have this whole list knocked off by June. GO US in 2015!

And since we ARE doing so well, why not add three others to the list?!?

Implement this Modified Front Yard Plan Including Front Fence. 

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Even if we leave this as a flower bed and don't plant anything (COUGH likely COUGH), it'll at least be spaced out and create a more finished look upfront.

Gut the Upstairs Bathroom 

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I mean.... Yikes.

Add Granite to the Kitchen and Redo the Backsplash (maybe even get that french door fridge I've been dreaming about)

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Our Rustoleum countertops have been a life/eye saver. They are still looking awesome, but in order to get the best resell value for this house in a year or two, we know we will need granite. Also, the lack of a cohesive pattern with the backsplash has finally driven me totally crazy and we will replace this too. Let the granite color/backsplash planning BEGIN!

Landscape Designer

The front of our house looks like this and basically has since we moved in. IMG_2019

The only major thing that we have done is removed the pine tree to the left of the house. Now, I can fake being a "designer" (whatever that means) inside the house. I basically know what I like and what will work in a space and what will be a hot mess. I can pick out paint colors that coordinate and can buy furniture/redo it with the best of them. But outside I am like this:

When-your-friends-starts-mentioning-stupid-things...

In order to stop the endless feeling of being helpless in this arena, I found Ainslie. Cue the angels. Ainslie is a landscape architect with Ivy Street Design in Denver. She is amazing. Such a sweetheart and totally and completely smarter than I will ever be. At our initial meeting, I told her that I have a black thumb... not even in the green family. I kept saying things like PLANTS FOR DUMMIES PLEASE! I am sure she thought I was joking/exaggerating, but I was not. She scoured this here blog, my pinterest, and my brain and came back with a plan for the front yard that nailed it and took all of the wheel spinning/question asking/what could we possibly do to this space out of my head and onto the page. I will mess up explaining this all to you. It's a fact. But I wanted you to know that there is AFFORDABLE help out there for you and your yard headaches.

Let me help orient you. This picture is the vantage point of yourself in a helicopter/navigating a drone over my backyard looking towards the front yard. Please get your drone out of here, thanks. The two dots with circles are the trees in the front yard and their shade patterns. SHADE PATTERNS PEOPLE. The gray concrete slab is where the current front porch is and the sidewalk is where the sidewalk is (it is widened considerably) and the flower bed to the right is where the red bricks are currently.

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My most favorite thing about this design is the walkway. It adds that modern touch we like and fits with the house. I also love the plants that are up by the curb/entrance to the house. Since we "done with snow" I can finally see my front yard again and it makes me wanna do things (not plant, cause we have established I cannot do that).

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In case you were wondering, she also writes RIGHT ON THE PLANS/blueprints, what plants those circles represent. If I weren't a total gardening moron, I would probably try to tackle this myself. But I'd end up wasting money and my back. #realtalkIMG_5657

And for the truly visual, this what the drawing of the front entrance could look like. I mean, how much more inviting is that?!?IMG_5661

You'll notice on the porch that the horizontal beams are removed (we are going to do that) and a metal decorative element is added along the top (we are not going to do that). I like the idea of just leaving it open and allowing the space to meld into the plants that someone else is going to plant. The only other change to this drawing that we would make is that the shutters and gutters are getting painted black this spring/summer. It is happening. I have the paint.

Oh, and the other thing? She flipping gives you a lookbook with pictures. REAL PICTURES of all of the plants/materials she proposes.

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What I do know about these plants because Ainslie told me so, is that they are great for planting idiots, shade mostly, and Colorado.

The kicker about this whole plan... we have no idea when, if ever, we are going to do this. It all really depends on if we decide to sell our house next year after we update the bathroom and get granite in the kitchen. That whole ongoing discussion is the subject of another post and involves a hard look at the Denver real estate market, which, in a word, is NUTS.

So what changes would you make? What do you love?