A Year of Home Improvement and DIY Decorating Projects
It has been two years since we moved to live on the shores of Lake Murray, South Carolina. When I look back it doesn’t seem possible.
This time a year ago, I posted about all the home improvement projects we took on the first year after we moved to start making the house feel more to our liking. Remember the staircase makeover, removing the wall between the kitchen and living room, and making over the brick fireplace to stone?
Today I thought I would look back to remember all that I did to the house this year, 2017.
The biggest was finishing up the kitchen makeover. Having this done gave the first floor a whole new vibe. It made a HUGE difference that was worth all the time and effort.
The most amazing transformation took place when I painted the brown Formica counters in the kitchen to look like Carrara Marble. They came out fabulous. I used a special paint kit and would do it again as the paint finish has held up wonderfully. If you dislike your counters and don’t have a budget for new ones, I highly recommend painting them.
The other major change we made was in the two-story foyer. We added a hidden closet under the staircase. A few readers named it The Harry Potter closet. 🙂 I store my cleaning supplies in the closet and a few seasonal items.
We finally took on giving the “hallway of darkness” a brighter feel by adding new flooring, lighting, doorknobs and white bead board on the lower section of the walls. I used a faux painting treatment to make the walls above the bead board look like grasscloth wallpaper. I also added a fake transom over the exterior door.
In the“hallway of darkness” there are 5 doors in the narrow hallway. To make the space have some character, I made and placed a sign on each door telling what the contents are in each. I am even making another sign to put on the new pantry. I will be posting that next week. So stay tuned.
I have been tweaking my studioffice to make it better for the way I work since the day we moved into the house. I finally added another work station so I now have a desk, a work-station for sewing and paper work and also my worktable where I can make a mess…
…like when I painted this plain vase using craft paint.
My laundry area used to be brown and dingy. Now I don’t mind doing laundry at all. Seeing the maps all over the walls makes me smile every time I open the doors.
I love when a breeze blows though the house when the weather is nice. I couldn’t have a swing-out screen door to our garage because the garage door track is in the way. Installing a retractable screen door took care of that problem.
Back in the spring I took on the Color Lovers Challenge with a group of other decorating bloggers. This guest room got a makeover that included lots of color pops to make it cheery and inviting when family and friends come to stay with us.
I also took on making over the guest bathroom for the Color Lovers Challenge.
Someday I want to replace these doors, but for now, painting them using a faux woodgrain finish made me happy. I like the finish so much that in the spring I may even do the same paint treatment on my garage door.
My dining area needed a pop of color so I added blue and white chair cushions that I made from scratch. Instead of making ties to tie them onto the chairs, I made them sticky so they would stick to the seats, no ties needed.
I have always like the rattan ottomans in my living room. I have had them for a long time. To give them a new look I made fun and flirty new covers with large pom-pom trim.
Adding shutters to the lake side of the house was the post that received the most comments I gave ever received on my blog in one day. They really do make the house look much better.
Now that 2017 will be history in a few days, I am ready to start 2018 with new creative ideas and DIY projects.
The first being how I gave my small pantry closet a makeover.
I will be posting it next week. Stayed tuned.
Hope you are enjoying the holiday week.
Wishing you a Happy New Year!
