Welp, today is officially closing day! My signing hand is ready to go and I am so excited to get to tackle the many projects that have been swirling around in our heads for this little beaut! This to-do list could literally be one bullet point (UPDATE THE ENTIRE HOUSE!), but to get our head wrapped around everything that needs to be done to create our dream home, here is our to-do list for the next hundred years or so. 🙂 It will probably grow and change throughout the process, but this is what we consider our starting point.
Driveway:
Clean up space-new rocks or re-paving
Pergola over garage door a la Young House Love
Paint Mailbox
Rain Garden in sunken area
Trim azalea bushes
Take down trouble trees, if any.
Front Door/Walkway:
Remove and Replace screen door
Give front door a fresh coat of paint
Weed, plant some pretty plants, mulch
Get some pretty planters to flank the front stairs
Backyard:
Patio and/or deck area
Fence around AC unit
Build fence
Pathway from patio to shed
Create a space for an edible garden
Garage:
Add Peg boards/Organization
Laundry Room:
Create folding area or Island with built in storage for baskets
Paint and organize cabinets
Paint floor with a fun design or stripes
Renovate bathroom space
Back Hallway/Foyer:
Create bar area on back wall with kegerator and wine fridge-hanging wine glasses etc.
Paint doors and trim, baseboard heaters, ceiling and walls
Replace faux brick linoleum with new flooring
Add reading nook/benches
Living Room/ What we call the “Hunting Lodge”:
Remove some built in shelving – Paint the back built ins flanking fireplace
New window treatments
Paint or whitewash ceiling
Paint or replace paneling
Stain exposed beams
Stain/clean up brick around fireplace
New furniture
More lighting
 
Kitchen:
Phase 1:
Paint Cabinets white
Stain fireplace
Bright window coverings/stained glass?
Paint Wood paneling
Paint Baseboards
Remove wallpaper
Phase 2:
Create island or peninsula
Rework layout issues
Add dishwasher
New counter tops
Pretty Backsplash
Create corner seating area
Move or build in fridge
New lighting
New Flooring
Dining Room:
Paint Paneling, trim and walls
New light fixture
Front Hallway:
Organize coat closet
Remove carpet steps
Install a runner for stairs?
Install new pantry sliding doors (or use that space to build in the fridge and make a smaller closet here)
Paint or remove paneling
Close in living room door – create alcove area
Formal Living Room & Downstairs Bedroom (aka, Our Dream Master Suite to Be!):
Phase 1:
Remove portion of wall separating Living Room and Bedroom to create a large master suite (the wood paneled wall above!)
Remove Ceiling tiles & Drywall ceiling
Figure out how to make flooring in both rooms connect to each other where wall was taken down
Phase 2:
Build walk in closet
Open wall between bathroom and bedroom
Build new bathroom
Downstairs Bath:
Completely gut and re-build
-
New Tile Floors
- New Toilet & move toilet location so that your knees don’t hit the vanity!
- New Vanity (hopefully double sinks)
- New Shower
Upstairs:
Remove ceiling tiles and replace with drywall
Remove paneling and replace with drywall
New carpet in bedrooms, closets and hallway
Upstairs Bath:
Completely gut and re-build
-
New Tile Floors
- New Toilet
- New Vanity (hopefully double sinks)
- New Shower
As far as what we are going to tackle first: we will spend this week scrubbing the entire house from top to bottom since it hasn’t been lived in for months. We will also select our paint colors for the kitchen cabinets and dining room, since we’d like to finish the cabinets prior to unpacking all of our kitchen stuff. After the cabinets, we have no idea what we will do. We will take things on one project at a time so as to not end up as one of those people who demolishes every room at once then never finish anything.
The first and most important thing is taking our sweet Tucker boy over to the house tonight to sniff around and get acclimated. He is anxious since we are packing and got rid of his favorite chair, but I can’t wait for him to see the amazing backyard we bought just for him!! 🙂
AHHH YAY! It is almost time to get our keys!
The Whole Damn House 