A Big To-Do List

Front Yard

  • Expand mulched beds to be in front of walkway as well as behind
  • Plant said beds with a variety of Zone 9 plants with thought toward color, height and ease of care
  • Tear out boring, boxy green shrubs
  • Build narrow planter boxes for the front porch
  • Find a bench for the front porch, make outdoor appropriate pillows
  • Possibly hang ferns from front porch
  • Get and hang American flag
  • Plant lantana around mailbox (maybe)
  • Get more roses for front of house?
  • Tear out straggly bushes on left side of house, replace with bulbs and hostas (? maybe)
  • Lay pavers from back gate to walkway
  • Mulch or plant ground cover around pavers to avoid having to mow that narrow area
  • Rehang back gate so that it is no longer sagging and will open fully without requiring great strength

Front Door/Entryway/Hall

  • Replace porch light
  • Remove curtain from window beside front door–replace with frosting similar to this
  • Replace entry light
  • Replace hooks
  • Replace louvered closet doors with paneled ones (if possible)
  • Hang pictures (add photos to frames already hung — we’re so classy)
  • Tighten front lock or replace entirely

Dining Room/Nook

  • Replace knobs on corner cupboard
  • Add decorative decal to bottom door of corner cupboard
  • Move oak bookcase to kitchen (paint first) [decided not to paint]
  • Refinish dining room table and chairs
  • Replace brass chandelier
  • Build and hang ledge shelves  [new idea for this area, scrapping plans for ledges]
  • Move curio cabinet to spot where oak bookcase was
  • Move china cabinet about 3 feet
  • Figure out some sort of window treatment (I know what I want but am not sure how to get there)
  • Create a “design wall” for my sewing projects, collage one side so it can be semi-arty and presentable when we have company over
  • Repaint legs on sewing table
  • Cover bookshelves on either side of sewing table with fabric to create a more uniform look nixed this–I really hate fabric covered stuff like this, so not sure what I was thinking here. I guess maybe just hoping for a way to control clutter and keep things looking uniform. Not that big of a priority after all! :)
  • Hang a ledge shelf for my inspiration boards
  • Re-do bulletin boards/inspiration boards
  • Find and hang artwork over sewing nook

Great Room

  • Distress some long wood planks and create around the corner type bookshelves for nook near fireplace
  • Shelve books and “style” bookshelf
  • Put casters on wooden crates to create game storage
  • Finish canvas “art” for mantle
  • Find a simple but attractive fireplace screen
  • Mend bottom of armchair
  • Find rug for in front of fireplace
  • Possibly buy a side table?
  • Find two lamps for table behind sofa  going to nix this idea and just get the lamp for between the sofa and armchairs
  • Find a great standing lamp for corner between sofa and armchair
  • Replace large armchair with two smaller slipper style chairs (found the ones we want, just need to get them here)
  • Buy an expedit for behind armchairs
  • Find a lamp for expedit that will shed light on those sitting below (again, know what we want, just need to make the trip and get them) Actually just used something from another room and replaced shade. It works for now and will be good enough until we decide whether to actually change it out or just keep it.
  • Replace current entertainment stand with something made of wood, preferably a rich brown, possibly rustic (well, it’s Ikea manufactured faux-wood, but an improvement on the earlier…)
  • Mount tv on wall, replace surround system
  • Find a great orange rug for living area (first determine how large said rug should be!)
  • Replace carpet in great room/dining room/hall with tile or hardwood (definitely a longer term goal)
  • Replace unattractive window treatments (again, know what I want, not sure how to get there)