This Year’s Project List

Usually at the beginning of each year, I take an inventory of all the things I’d still like to do around my house.  With that, I create my project list which usually just continues to grow throughout the year, but we decide what we can tackle and pick a few to do.  This year, we’ve come up with mostly projects that will be build outs of closets and such, but ones we think we can take on by ourselves.  So, here’s our 2023 Project List with inspiration photos too!

Closets!

Ella & Olive’s Closets have been on my list for a while now.  Ella’s is more of a walk-in than Olive’s but they both have no real organizational aspect to them.  For these, we aren’t sure if we we’ll build them out ourselves or grab a few premade closet systems, but either way these closets need to get done this year!

While I’d really like to do my own master closet too, I want more time to think about that space and it’s one that might be professionally done.

Pantry!

Our pantry is a walk-in pantry and I remember how big I thought it was before we moved in.  I would walk in while the house was being finished and think this thing is HUGE!  But, then we moved in, filled it up and found many faults with it.  The wire shelving in there is not cutting it and the space isn’t used to it’s fullest.

This we’ll most likely build out ourselves but we haven’t settled fully on a plan yet.  Can’t wait to figure that out, but until then, here’s a few pantries that might play into the final design.

Garage!

Apparently this year is about getting organized?!  Feels like we’ll be master cubby and storage builders after this year! My husband has been wanting to “fix up” our garage space since before we moved in.  My only requirement is that it look pretty.  I’m sure it won’t be everything I want, but in the end as long as it is organized and makes sense, I’m good with it.

We’ll do the floor, built-ins, and storage.  Here’s a few garages that I’m personally using as inspiration, but I’m sure my husband will have other ideas.

Half Bathroom

I’ve been dreaming about redoing this half bathroom for at least about a year.  We painted and shiplapped our island black last year and I’ve been wanting to use the Tricorn Black in more places.  I’ve been wanting to paint our hallway bench that color too but have settled with the bathroom for now.  The plan for me is to do floor to ceiling board and batten, in tricorn black, with brass accents and some whimsy prints.

Here’s the current mood board for that…

Pergola

Last year we had our patio put in and we are still totally loving it.  Going into that I knew we’d have to tackle that whole back space in phases and that was just phase one.  Phase two should be the pergola and shade structure as well as real landscaping. But first we need to figure out how we’ll do the pergola.  It’ll either be using a Toja Grid or building our own.

Here’s a few designs I’m eyeing.

Finish Olive’s Room Board & Batten

When we moved in, I quickly had my husband hang a few things we already had, including picture ledges in white from Ikea.  We used those to break up the wall in Olive’s room where the wallpaper stopped on her accent wall.  We left the bottom half the builder gray and I had planned to make it finish it long before now, but this year we’ll be adding a few vertical boards and painting white to match the ledges.

I think it’ll brighten up the space for sure.  Then maybe I’ll even paint the rest of the room white too!
Who knows?!  Maybe I’ll go crazy!

Start Framing the Basement

Our house has an unfinished basement.  It was one of the things we weren’t willing to go without when we moved.  Even unfinished, it’s a great extra space that we occasionally use when {lots of} guests are in town and for workout equipment.  Plus, it’s one of my favorite places in the house because I hate storms!

This year we plan to clean it all out and start framing it on our own.  We know we can do it, but one neighbor recently started doing it themselves and it really boosted our confidence that this is totally doable.  And just because I’m dreaming about the days it’ll be finished, here’s a few inspo pics I’ve saved up…

So there you have it, our 2023 project list.  For some it might seem like a lot, for others it might be small.  But there’s lot to think about when considering projects… timeline, budgets, schedule, exhaustion, etc.  So, we’ll start with this and see how far we get!