Yearly Project Pulse Check - 2023
/4 Big Projects We Tackled This Year
It’s that time of year again to step back and take a look at what we actually worked on all year long. And maybe even share some loose plans for next year, too!
The Office
At the end of last year, my husband, Lucius, had a vision to turn an old local hair salon into his real estate office. So we got to work! We spent the first quarter of the year demoing and rebuilding. Then I spent another couple of months with finishing work - like painting and laying tile and stone.
It was an incredibly challenging project. By the summertime, we were able to actually begin using the building. There are still tons of little things I’d like to finish up before I begin to officially share the spaces, but don’t worry! Reveals are coming!
Related Office Posts
Charlie Foursquare
While working on the office, Lucius also decided to purchase an investment property that we hoped to turn into an Airbnb. The house was beautiful, but it took a lot of work to clear it out.
So, on the days I wasn’t at the office tearing down drywall, I spent my time at Charlie Foursquare cleaning up the huge amounts of junk the previous owners left. Then, I moved on to ripping up the gross carpet that covered every room.
Much to my sadness, we ultimately decided it wasn’t the right time to move forward with the Airbnb and are currently in the process of selling the property. I was really excited about the design challenge this property presented and am pretty bummed I don’t get to follow through with our plans. But that’s investing for ya!
Related Charlie Foursquare Posts
Powder Room
After I renovated our laundry room for last year’s One Room Challenge, I was excited to take part in it again. This year, I tackled our powder room.
I had a blast shooting for the moon with my design and finding ways to see it through (on a budget!) I’m thrilled with how this space turned out, and I gained so much confidence with all the new projects I got to try to make it happen.
Related Powder Room Posts
Playroom
Several months before I began the powder room renovation, on a whim I decided to start renovating the playroom. I planned on doing some simple updates to make it more aesthetically pleasing until we were ready to take on the big renovation. But with some egging on from Lucius, we jumped right in a completely demoed the built-ins.
I spent the next several months slowly rebuilding everything until the One Room Challenge devoured all my time. Now that the half-bathroom is complete, I’m turning my attention back towards this room. I’m excited to finish the built-ins and fireplace, and I have several more ideas to make the best use of this space. Make sure you follow this project in 2024!
Related Playroom Posts:
What’s Next?
I used to write really thorough lists of exactly which projects I wanted to accomplish each year. But after renovating properties for a while, you learn that you can’t plan that far in advance.
As you can probably glean from the above projects we worked on this year, sometimes an investment pops up when the time is right, or you decide you just can’t take looking at <insert room here> anymore and pick up a hammer.
That being said, here are the spaces that are bothering me enough to be high on my to-do list currently.
The Mudroom
Our mudroom has felt like the slowest renovation in the world… probably because we’ve never actively said, “Okay, this is what we’re renovating next!” But I think I’m to the point where I’m ready to say just that.
It’s been bumming me out a lot lately that this room has the potential to be incredible, but it’s just been used as a passthrough since we’ve lived here. There have been two major things that have kept me from tackling this room so far:
One - I wasn’t sure I could build the cabinets and bench I envisioned in this space. But now that I’ve proved myself with the built-ins in the playroom, I feel a lot more confident in my abilities.
Reason number two is…
New Flooring
We’ve never liked the flooring on our main floor. Not only does it look and feel cheap, it’s really dark. You might think that would be good for hiding crumbs and dirt, but in reality, it shows everything! For a long time, we’ve discussed replacing it. And I think this is the year!
Here’s a good view of the current floors:
It would be ideal to carry the new flooring into the mudroom for a more cohesive feel, hence why I’ve been holding off on that renovation. But at this point, if I get to the mudroom before we get new flooring, I might just have to pivot and come up with a new plan (tile, maybe!?)
Storage Closet
Before we moved our laundry room upstairs, it used to be its own room in the mudroom. However, since then, that room has become a poorly designed catch-all storage closet. This is the year I’d like to change that!
We don’t have an attic or a basement in our house, so a large, functional storage closet would go a long way. And this is the perfect room!
I would start by removing everything that’s currently in here, repairing drywall, repainting, and building/installing floor-to-ceiling shelving on both sides of the room.
Of course, I’m also trying to think of some way to insert an exciting design element into the space.
Final Thoughts
It’s hard to say whether my list is ambitious or not ambitious enough. Either way, I’m excited to jump in and start transforming these spaces. Keep following along to see how they turn out!
