The Year to Come

Hello 2015! You are going to be .... full. But I'm ready to go and ready to tackle the upcoming projects!
Now that wedding season is winding down, time is freeing up to [finally] pay attention to the Haus blog.  In the next few months there will be posts on new projects I plan on completing, and posts on little DIY tips that I've already completed and documented.  All I have to do is put the pics on here to show you all :)
FIRST LIST: The projects.
The Kitchen will be my main focus.  We did a few big things right before we moved in to spruce it up, and make everything cleaner and safer [more on that later].  It's been sitting, status quo, the rest of the year, and now I'm ready to do the things that will finish it up [or at least finish it until I'm ready to change things, as I'm apt to do.]
On the list are:

1. Paint the ceiling white.  I love the wood ceiling look, but this ceiling has been whitewashed at some point and doesn't have a clean look - it's more shabby chic.  And definitely not 'us.'  So it's either strip it all and refinish, or paint it.  So I'm gonna paint it!  That room is always the brightest in the house, but once we finish that project it'll be soooooo bright and gorgeous - I can. not. wait.
2. Unify the lighting situation.  From what I've deduced while poking around, the three silver cylinder fixtures are original, and worked well with the kitchen's original layout.  The lady who owned the house before we bought it [which, incidentally, we're the house's third owner since 1968!] expanded the kitchen layout a bit, and when she lengthened the counter on the wall, she added in another light that *sort of* went with the house.  And it's kind of bugged me since we bought it.  I have a few ideas of what to do, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears!  I probably won't listen, but if you have an idea, share it in the comments!
3. NEW HARDWARE.  Once the gorgeous quartz counters went in, they made the current hardware look that much more terrible.  I already have the new hardware - bought that last year.  And it's really pretty!  I just have to get over the crippling fear of doing it wrong.  So.  I will work on that.
4. Shine up the cabinets.  The original cabinets are strikingly beautiful in person - they're walnut and have gorgeous graining.  But, over the years, and in a kitchen where things can get spilled on, and water sprayed, they've faded a bit.  My mom and I oiled them really well when I moved in, but they need some more doing.  So when I take off the old hardware and fill the holes [of course I didn't pick hardware that fits the spots that are actually there - hence the crippling fear of effing up] I'll pay them some much-needed attention.
5.  [Finally] Reupholster the chairs.  Not really a 'project' I'll be working on, but it does involve phone calls to actual people, which I really hate.  So if I can get those accomplished, I'll be on my way to having the chairs freshened up!  After waffling on 4 different options, I think we've settled on classic black vinyl.  Indestructible, and if I ever change my mind on color schemes, it'll still work.

Once all of those kitchen things are finished I'll do a full write up on all of the decisions, processes, and befores and afters.  That will be a biiiig post [or a couple of medium posts...]

Also up on the project list, but not necessarily ready for a broken-down list, are:
-Refinishing a very cool wood slab coffee table
-Cleaning, organizing & decorating the laundry room
-Making a larger gallery wall in the living room, with more photos and art that have been sadly neglected and put away all year
-Turning a superfluous coat closet off the kitchen into a pantry [!!!]
-Doing *something* with my master bathroom on the cheap.  It needs a full gut job, but that kind of money should be spent elsewhere at this time, so I'm going to spruce it up with some paint and creativity.  Somehow.  Right now it looks like this: [except messier]

[ That should actually be kind of fun, and I really like seeing what I can do with almost no budget ;) ]

NOW!  Done with the Projects list.  If I add another to the list I may end up overwhelmed and just skip doing anything at all.  Next up is the list of already finished updates that have been documented!  I have all the photos, and all I have to do is write up a post to share them all with you!
If you follow me on instagram, you've already seen sneak peeks of some changes, like:
1. We bit the bullet and seriously upgraded the floor sitch:

 

2. I adopted a new little pet, and her name is Miss Figgy:

3. I also did a quick, almost free DIY planter upgrade that brass lovers everywhere will thank me for [seriously - it's pretty cool.  Maybe that post will be up next!]
4. I added curtains!  Not a huge update or anything, but I was excited ;)
5. I rearranged all of the vintage crap I hoard into something presentable and less crazy on the big built-in shelves flanking our fireplace. I'll share my process of how to make sense of a mess of vintage crap.
6. I rebuilt the exterior sill on the windows.  A confusing sentence, I know, but when I get the post up I'll explain it all.  That may have to wait until closer to spring, because I still haven't taken the 'after' pics after the house was painted.  So when it's not bitterly cold I'll go clean up the sills, sweep off the leaves, and shoot some pics.  It's one of the things on the house that I'm most proud of :)

So!  That's a good list for now.  Expect lots of fun-ness here soon!