WOW!!!

Ask Becca — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:00:27 -0600

This is quite an go get them list you have made. Are you sure that you can do all of this? I know that I would tackle one and call it a year. Good luck and keep us updated!

Becca

Please visit me at http://www.askbecca.com

New Year Resolutions, DIY Style

chris — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:01:53 -0600

This time of yeardoing home renovations is the last thing on my mind. I don't want all my decorations getting dusty. And this is the only time of year that I feel my house looks "finished" or company worthy.

Thinking about home renovations is another story.

Let's look back on the list I posted last year and see how much of it has been done.

1) KITCHEN. Tear out everything that is there and replace it. This is huge. This is exciting. This is messy beyond all levels of messiness and inconvenient beyond all levels of inconvenience. I will want to complain about it every day, but will try to refrain and look on the bright side of not having to cook.

(This was just recently completed. And it is everything I hoped it would be. I love my new kitchen. And, yes, I did complain every single day while the renovation took place.)

2) Finish painting and trim work in the dining room.

(YES!)

3) Finish painting the odd random bits of trim in the foyer.

(YES! Well, except for one small piece of trim that I noticed when I was decorating for Xmas. I'll have to get to it soon. Soon being relative, of course.)

4) Refinish wood floors in foyer and dining room.

(YES!)

5) Landscape the front yard.

(Uh, no. Not one thing did we do to the front yard. We did get estimates, but in the end decided to spend our money on the kicthen renovation.)

6) Rebuild front porch. Why did we buy a house with such a large wrap around front porch? Oh yes, so we could sit out there on our porch swing and sip our mint julips. Maybe when we are 90 we will be have some free time.

(No. Just ran out of time this summer. And money.)

Anyway, that is just the tip of the iceberg. The bigger of the projects that we have in mind. There are lots of smaller ones too like replacing doorknobs in the house (DONE!), hanging new light fixtures (DONE!), cleaning out the gutters (Mostly DONE!). But those are the sort of projects we tend to do on the spur of the moment. The ones that make us feel like me are actually accomplishing something on our weekends. The sort of projects we add to our list after we have done them just so we have the pleasure of crossing them off.

So what are other DIYers resolving to do this year?

In February of last year, The Stevens Family posted their home improvement resolutions for 2007. I am eager to see their post at years end to find out how they did.

Eye on Howard Hall Farm posted their short and sweet list which includes restoring an old beehive oven in their home in time for giving hearth cooking classes. Wow. I just want shiny floors.

Casa Caudill is looking to replace all of the windows in their house. I am weeping tears of happiness for them while I listen to my old wood windows rattle in the breeze. I also like to tell myself that they are original to the house and feel somehow happy about it, but really that is just how us old house renovators like to feel good about bundling up indoors. She also has resolved to pick a color for her kitchen. As someone who struggles with the choosing of paint colors I realize the enormity of this resolution.

Aimee writes her resolutions to spruce up her outdoor living area with a deck. We don't have a deck, instead a screened porch, and I love it. It ranks up there as the best thing we have spent money on. I could probably just sip my mint julips out there and let the front porch fall down.

At the ever famous Houseblogs.Net, Jeanne asks everyone what their resolutions are for 2008. Read the comments and become inspired. Or perhaps strengthen your resolve to never buy an old house.

I hope they all post a recap and let us know if they accomplished what was on their 2008 list. And how many of the projects will be carried over to 2009.

Wishing all of you a Happy New Year.

When she is blogging at Notes From the Trenches, Chris is trying to rescue her house from a century of neglect and bad taste.

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WOW!!!

New Year Resolutions, DIY Style