Home Improvement Projects?
With this extra time we’ve all had at home, one of the things that I’ve heard a lot about is how all of my friends have taken on some new home improvement projects this year.
Last year, we took on a major main floor renovation in our house – prompted in part by a leaky pipe and the messy aftermath, but something we had been contemplating for awhile before that.
Back in April, (at the same time as I was Spring Cleaning outside) we did a major deep clean of our basement. Not as exciting as renovating, but one of those things that we had put off doing for years. After 15 years in our house, we found boxes of things that we had moved with us from our previous house, and not touched since. We purged, a lot. And found some treasures that we kept as well.
I try to find the balance between keeping the special things over the years and getting rid of things that we just don’t use or need anymore.
What home improvement projects have you taken on during this extra time at home?
I’ve heard from friends who have finished basements, landscaped yards, built fire pits, re-painted kids’ rooms, or re-arranged the various rooms in their houses over the course of this crazy time. What have you all been up to?
Are there any new home improvement projects that you’re contemplating?
One thing I have learned this last year: if there is something you want to do to change your house, don’t wait! Figure out what you want, and how to make that happen!
When we finished our major renovations last year, we wondered why we had waited so long. I love my house! (Really, I loved it before, but it’s amazing what a kitchen renovation will do).
Friends, you can make a big change in your house for the cost of a can of paint…which is not that much, in the grand scheme.
That said, my youngest is begging to paint her room in rainbow colors right now, and we are resisting. Partly, to be honest, because I am sad to see our baby room go away. We have had a Noah’s Ark theme in that room for almost nine years – since my middle was a baby – and I haven’t been ready to cover up the hand painted giraffe mama and baby that look down on our little over her bed.
That little girl starts Kindergarten next week. I’m going to give in…just not yet. It won’t be rainbow, but we will have new colors in there. Probably pink and white. And the giraffes will be replaced by unicorns and rainbows. Maybe.
Over the years, each of my kids has re-vamped their rooms to highlight their own wishes. My oldest (at age 6) picked sour apple green and cotton candy pink on her walls, accented by gerber daisys all over…and when she moved into her current room (almost 6 years ago), those colors gave way to cream and a basketball orange with sports decals for our boy. The current teenager room has 3 white walls and one bright blue.
If you are leery of giving your kids artistic freedom with the color of their rooms, remember that you can always re-paint later. We did manage to cover the cotton candy pink with cream. And we used to have a deep red office, which is now cream and kind of a khaki color. Paint is a little thing, and if it makes them happy, why not?
A quick Google search for kid room ideas gives a wide variety of pictures that will bring you some inspiration if you need it.
Whether it’s painting one room, one floor, or your whole house – any color change can make a big difference!
What else can you do?
Our main floor reno included new flooring (water damage in the kitchen necessitated that), a new kitchen sink and tile backsplash, and chair-rail height tile in the bathroom for a new look. We painted our kitchen cabinets, splurged on new countertops and lighting, and refreshed the paint colors on all the walls.
This week, after repainting the kitchen and family room (we decided we didn’t like the colors we picked last year), our oldest is happy to have new paint in the upstairs bathroom that she uses – and mom and dad gave up our wood finishes for her to have a new look up there.
Friends, houses are fluid places. I do not have a single room in the house that is just painted white – and it is fun! I have a variety of colors in each room, and the different rooms and different colors make me happy!
We are constantly finding new décor items, paintings, or fun knick knacks to add to our variety. I also change out my décor and my pictures around the house with the various seasons – with Fall coming up, here come the pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, turkeys, and orange and red flowers and leaves! Right now, I have a lot of American flags, candles, and some flower arrangements that I leave up most of the year. I do an almost complete change of décor for Christmas, keep some of the snowmen and trees up through February, and then change it all over to springtime flowers and Easter bunnies and chicks.
Above all, remember that anything you don’t like can be changed, and moving forward on some of those home improvement projects you’ve been talking about for ages is a good way to distract yourself from everything else happening in this crazy world!
With all the various seasons of life that we have – being single, then marriage and babies, toddlers, and kids growing up; the post-college poster collections to being able to afford real art – how we decorate our personal spaces is the best way to take care of ourselves. Giving spaces a fresh new look and feel can create so much peace in your life.
I know that any time we give a room a refresh, it always feels so clean and new. And it makes me happy! Here’s to happiness – always. Whether you change paint, paint or refresh a piece of furniture, get a new decoration or frame a picture, my advice? Always have fun!
I’d love to hear about any home improvement projects you have already done, or new ones underway. Happy decorating!