Our home improvement goals for 2017 are ambitious, but if we work hard and keep up with our timelines, we’ll get them done and have some great living improvements to enjoy.
Check out our home improvement goals for 2018 here.
Last year we had three major projects we wanted to get done around our house: landscape the backyard, renovate the wall with wood paneling around the fireplace, and remodel the kitchen. Well, accomplishing 2 out of 3 isn’t bad, right?
The backyard is landscaped. We installed irrigation valves, a sprinkler system, and a drip system, then put in grass. And we repaired and refinished the deck. Plus, we put in a succulent garden and a fairy garden. The backyard looks great, and we use it almost every day.
The wall around the fireplace is almost done. We took down the wood paneling and put up dry wall. Then we textured and painted the wall. So, itself the wall is finished, but the fireplace still needs a mantel. We are about halfway through building it. A post about our modern-style mantel is coming soon. (At least, I really hope it’s coming soon!)
The kitchen, well, it didn’t happen. I started planning the layout and materials for a new kitchen, but then we went through a job change and life happened. You know. So remodeling the kitchen is first on our list of home improvement goals for the this year.
Home Improvement Goals for 2017
Remodel the Kitchen
To help make sure we move along with this goal, I’ve set a timeline for us. The kitchen cabinets really need to be replaced soon because the cabinets are literally falling apart onto our dishes and food (yuck). So here’s the plan:
Create a scaled and detailed plan by the end of January. Build the partial wall that we planned near the fridge by the end of March (I’m hoping for the end of February, but we’ll see). Build cabinets around the fridge in April and May, then spend Memorial Day weekend, and the week or two or three after installing the rest of the cabinets and appliances. It will probably take another month or so to finish up all the details, so our kitchen should be done by the end of summer. That’s the plan. Wish us luck. I’ll keep you updated.
Replace the Side Yard Fence
The fence on the side of our backyard is falling down. The only thing holding it up is a few tree trunks and plants on the other side. Plus, it has about 5 layers of paint that are all peeling off (peach and turquoise just to name a few of the colors). It looks terrible. And it’s outside of our huge dining room windows. If you look closely in my posts about our midcentury cabinet and our restored dining room table, you can kind of see it. I did some Photoshop work so it wouldn’t be too obvious.
Where the dilapidated fence ends, a chain link fence begins. You may have seen that fence behind the fairy garden. We plan to replace both fences with a modern-looking cedar fence. That means the fairy garden will need to be evacuated for a little while, but I have confidence that they will rebuild even better than before.
Replace the Lighting in the Kitchen and Living Room
This update goes with the kitchen remodel, but it’s less urgent which is why it’s last. We have a single, dim light fixture in the center of our living room and another in the center of our kitchen. The lighting is terrible. Plus, the kitchen lighting is fluorescent tubes that buzz. We plan to replace both light fixtures with recessed lighting. That will mean removing the old fixtures and patching the ceiling, then running new wires and installing several can lights in the ceiling. It’s going to be a pretty big project, so it might not get done this year. I’m hoping it will, but we’ll see.
Those are the three major projects we plan to tackle this year. I’ll post about each as we finish them. Plus, there will be lots of other DIY posts about our home, our garden, the crazy things we make, and our awesome parties. Stay tuned!