Our Top 5 Projects from This Past Year and Initial 2023 Project List

Happy new year! I've never been one to make (or keep) resolutions but there is something about that great flip of the calendar year that provides for a perfect opportunity to reflect and reset. 2022 was a big year for our forever home and we're so grateful for all we've been able to accomplish so far. We didn't make it through the entire project list so our 2023 list has a few rolling to-dos that will get us started.

Top 5 Projects from 2022

In true New Year's fashion, let's count down from five...

5) Landscape Lighting

Seems like a silly thing for something so small to make our top 5 list, but adding cheap outdoor solar lights to our front landscaping has made such a difference to our nighttime curb appeal. Super impressed by what $7 lights can do. Read that blog post to see the before and after here.

4) All Main Floor Trim is Painted

It took two years, but we finished painting all the floor and window trim white on the main level with the four season room as our final big space to tackle. The windows and screens need painted still but planning to do that this spring. See the before and after on this blog here.

3) Finishing the Deck

Converting the old deck from what it was when we moved in to what it is now has been a multi-year labor of love. After removing the lower level and adding steps and railings last year, Zach's big project this summer was cleaning, stripping and painting the deck. Read all about it and see the before and afters here.

2) Our Primary Bedroom Upgrades

Our biggest unplanned change of 2022 was having to replace the window in our primary bedroom due to water damage. Further surprise was that the water damage was so bad that we couldn't replace the main window without having to also replace the arch window - which was an enemy of mine anyway. So we were pleased to be able to completely remove the arch as part of our primary bedroom overhaul. The room feels much cozier now. Long term there is more I'd love to do structurally in this room but for now we're happy in here with only a couple tiny loose ends. See it all on this blog post here.

1) The Pool

This was the big one! It was fun to read back to our initial project list for 2022 where we said we wanted to get "the pool process started." Still can't hardly believe we actually got it FINISHED. It took all our attention and energy for weeks, and money too!, so most of the other 2022 projects were put on the back burner but I'm not mad about it. We've been dreaming and planning for a pool for YEARS, and was about 95% of the reason we moved. And while we only got a few swims in before the cold set in, we're excited for many fun summers to come! We need to still install the chlorination system and buy patio furniture so those will be on our '23 list. Lots of awesome progress, and before and after blog posts to catch up on, but this last one with the time lapse video is a good quick summary for you skimmers. (Pun totally intended!)

Our 2023 Project List

Starting with the projects that were on our 2022 list but didn't get done...

• Paint the Interior Doors on the First Floor - this will be a new challenge for me since I've never painted interior doors.

• Replace a Couple More Ceiling Fans - the piano room, four season room, kids bedrooms... pretty much any ceiling fan we haven't changed out yet

• I said last year that I wanted to also possibly paint the kitchen cabinets... maybe. I'm dragging my feet on this because we know it will be a big job, and I may want to wait until we can do a bigger overhaul with counters we like. And since the floors are looking like they will for sure need refinished soon (add that to the list) I don't want to make BIG choices on expensive things that could eventually not coordinate. Plus I also fear we are going to start needing new appliances soon so I'm thinking this is going to snowball. Maybe one more year... we'll see. But these are going to add up.

And those new for 2023:

• Figure out our back patio space needs and buy furniture in time for pool season.

• Zach's got some more rehab to do with rebuilding the lawn and planting new landscape beds after pool construction.

• Our living room furniture is literally starting to fall apart. We did a quick temporary fix in there right away after painting and adding some floating shelves, but I'd like to make this room more useful and grown up.

• We've got some water spots on our main floor ceiling from some second floor bathroom flooding. Ugh - Don't ask. But need to get those looked at and hope we don't uncover too big of problems.

• Zach would like to tear down a wall in his basement man cave if we find it's not load bearing to open the room up better, and lose an unnecessary (and non-functional) door.

• Our garage floor needs some attention. There are some uneven areas that hold huge puddles of water that come off the cars and other areas that are just cracking and crumbling. So a not very sexy project, but one I think is going to need to be done sooner rather than later.

• Our primary bathroom needs painted and a little more style. Long term it's in need of a bigger renovation to modernize and make it more useful for us but that's super low priority. For now, I just want the vibe to flow nicely from our bedroom.

Yikes! Seems like a lot when you write it all down! Hoping with the new pool we don't lost ALL motivation for keeping our project list going! Haha - going to need to make the most of the rest of the year! Buckle up.