Home Improvement Goals for 2021
/Home Improvement Projects to Tackle in 2021
Now that we’re already about a month into 2021, I figured we should set some home improvement goals for this year.
We accomplished so much last year – it’s a little crazy to look back on. When you’re in the thick of it, sometimes it seems like projects move at a snail’s pace. Especially when I compare myself to bloggers who don’t have a separate full-time job. But considering our circumstances, DAMN, we made some progress!
But of course, a house is never done! So here’s what we’re hoping to accomplish in 2021.
Finish the Renovation
At the top of our list is probably pretty obvious: to finish the renovation. We’re getting there! But I can’t wait to actually start utilizing these beautiful spaces we’re creating. They’re going to be SUCH a huge improvement from what we started with. I still scratch my head at why the master suite was built the way it was in the first place.
Since the renovation involved so many spaces, let’s break down the specifics, shall we?
Master Bedroom
The master bedroom is so.stinkin.close. to being completed! We FINALLY had the floors delivered and Lucius wasted no time installing them (sorry, I don’t have a good picture of them yet!). Now we just have to install the doors and trim and then I can go to town painting! After that, all that’s left is to do is move back in.
Related: Master Bedroom Mood Board
Master Bathroom
Lucius has been hitting the construction of the master bathroom really hard lately – determined to just get it done! We’ve started hanging drywall. Then it’s on to tiling, painting, and permanently installing everything.
Related: Master Bathroom Mood Board
Laundry Room
The laundry room is a pretty small space, so luckily it shouldn’t take long to finish. BUT, it’s also lower on the priority list so it may be a while before it’s actually complete. We have some of the drywall up, but still have a few sheets to hang. Then we need to install the floors and the sink. Then it’s on to paint and finishing.
Related: Creating a Functional and Stylish Laundry Room
Hallway
When we started this renovation, I don’t think I realized how impacted the hallway would be. I mean, I guess I did in a sense. Of course, I knew there would be demo and rebuilding, but it didn’t really occur to me all the drywalling we’d have to do. On the plus side, the hallway is becoming a design element of the house and a space I can actually make look good instead of the tiny, crowded landing we started with. I’m excited to start thinking of ways to make it a design element.
Related: Hallway Progress and Plans
More Posts Related to Our Renovation:
Fix Our Hot Mess of a Yard
I shared a tour of our yard several months ago and… it still looks like that. We were so focused on the master suite renovation all last summer that the yard had to take a backseat. But we’re hoping we can finish up the renovation before it gets nice out and spend the warm weather getting the exterior in shape! Again, there are a lot of spaces out there that need attention, so here we go with the subheaders!
Grass
Bottom line: we need some. Okay, the front yard has some grass, but admittedly it’s mostly weeds. Which is surprisingly better than the backyard, which has zero grass. Last fall we got a quote on how much it would cost to completely start from scratch on our yard and it was pretty reasonable. So, come spring, we’d like to follow through with that plan!
Garden Beds
I tried to weed and make our garden beds work, but by the end of the summer, I was so lost as to what was weeds and what was actually supposed to be there. I did, however, learn the hard way where we have poison ivy!
We have a few different garden areas and they were all equally overgrown when we moved in. I’d honestly like to just pull everything up and start fresh. I may not be able to tackle them all this year, but hopefully, I can get a good start!
Deck
I love having a deck in our backyard, but it is definitely due for some love.
First of all, we still have the giant hot tub hole that we need to board over (way at the end of the deck in the picture above). That’s probably at the top of our outdoors to-do list. But on top of that, the deck really needs to be painted and I’d love to get some nicer furniture to replace our cheap-o plastic Adirondack chairs. I’m picturing a table and chairs on one end of the deck and a seating area on the other end with some pretty lights strung through the pergola. And Tiki torches! (The mosquitos in our neighborhood don’t mess around!)
Front Porch/Entrance
Our front porch is… lacking. I made a minimal attempt to make it more inviting by grabbing a cute entry mat, but beyond that, I haven’t put much effort into it. I’d definitely like to figure out how to add a little more somethin’ somethin’.
The View Outside our Living Room Window
I’ve learned to love how tucked away our living room is, but the view is pretty “meh”. The fence right outside the windows above is, simply put, boring. So this summer I’d really like to grow some clematis vines along the part of the fence you see looking out the living room windows.
In the yard right outside these windows, I’d like to build a raised garden. My older daughter asked a little too late in the season last year if we could plant a garden, so this is our year!
Kitchen
The kitchen is very close to being done, but I still need to install toe-kicks under the cabinets and replace the trim. In a perfect world, I’d replace the lighting in there too, but we’ll see where that falls into the grand plan.
Related: Green Cabinet Inspiration
Playroom
We have loathed the ornate design of the fireplace in the playroom since we moved in, so we’re hoping we can modernize that and the surrounding built-ins this year. I’d also like to make this room more functional for our girls. We have a lot of their toys in here, but there’s a lot of unutilized space too. We haven’t really put any thought or effort into this room thus far so it’s way past due for some attention.
Foyer
Behind the scenes, I’ve slowly been working to make the foyer a more inviting entryway. It’s one of those things that I can kind of work on between projects with no real timeline or rush. There are just a few more tweaks I’d like to make in this space before I call it “done”, and I think I can easily accomplish that this year.
Mudroom
I imagine our mudroom eventually as an insanely functional space with cubbies and storage galore! However, right now, it’s definitely looking worse for wear as we had to remove some of the drywall to get to some of the plumbing for the renovation (the master bathroom is directly above the mudroom). I doubt we’ll be able to tackle the mudroom fully this year, but I’d like to at least replace the missing drywall and hang our coat racks back up. Baby steps.
Final Thoughts
It feels like there are a lot of items on our to-do list for this year, but honestly, this is my restrained version - ha! But in all seriousness, priorities will shift and some of these items will get replaced with other projects. And that’s okay! I’m already looking forward to covering all the projects we tackled in 2021 this time next year!
