I hate sounding cliche, but this year seems to have flown by. It might be because so much of my time was devoted to thinking about and working on the manufactured home that we purchased a year ago. We absolutely love our home, but it seems like our “want” and “to-do” list is never-ending. Though we had our home built and were able to pick out flooring, cabinets, and countertops and tweak the floor plan a bit, there are so many things we hope to improve on in our home.
Let’s look at what we’ve accomplished so far…
- Landscaping – I don’t think I can call this item complete, but for now it will have to do. We planted drought-tolerant plants in the small, front yard and realized that grass just won’t work out there (too sunny all day long). We had one Tuscan Rosemary plant die on us and I have yet to yank it out, but the front looks okay for now. The back area is a work in progress. We planted willy-nilly and have decided that a section where we planted grass will eventually turn into concrete. Our back area is just too small and we’d prefer more patio space.
- Lighting – We ordered covers for our recessed lighting and replaced our pendant shades over the island with something more dramatic. We had no say in the light fixtures in our house, so needless to say, they are very plain. We changed two back patio light fixtures to match our style, and to match in general (the exterior lighting the house came with is very hodge-podge).
- Pantry – We converted a coat closet into a pantry for more food storage space, which is more functional.
- Back patio – Our big goal this year was to furnish the back patio. We are partially there with a great conversation set, small bistro table, two umbrellas, and a really nice BBQ grill.
Now for our wish list for the near future (not in this priority, per se)…
- Back patio completed – Our ultimate back patio goal is for it to be an outdoor “room.” That means adding more concrete and a dining table along with additional lighting. We also are contemplating a fence along the perimeter. Currently, it’s a very “wild” patio with coyote roaming within feet of our home on a weekly basis and the winds whipping dust from the hillside onto the patio every now and again.
- Lighting fixtures replaced – I have my eyes set on a Tiffany-style inverted pendant light for our dining room to better match our new island lighting (but more mission style, not floral). I’ve been told this is not at the top of the “want” list! Two ceiling fans are also on this list.
- Finish the landscaping – We ripped out the dying grass in the front yard and are thinking of replacing it with faux grass. However, we’d like to level off that sloping hill, so that will take some work in terms of filling it with dirt and supporting it with a border of some sort. I also need to replace my rosette succulents and rosemary. Eventually, we’ll add concrete to the side of the house that will provide more back patio space as well.
- Paint some rooms – We selected a blush-colored interior paint instead of bright white throughout the house. However, we’d like to add some color to a few of the rooms to make it less monotonous. We’re still debating on which colors will go where and how to tie it all together without it looking ridiculous. I also think that we need to opt for cooler colors to tone down our warm-colored flooring and furnishings. I’ve been searching for color combinations that would go well with what we already have.
- Add pull-out cabinet organizers to the kitchen cabinets – One downside to our home is the lack of storage. Our kitchen cabinets are small and few, so to make up for the lack of space, we’re hoping to add some pull-out organizers to utilize the entirety of the cabinets which is more efficient.
- Bar stools for our island – We’ve had terrible luck finding stools we like. We’ve order THREE sets of stools. Yes, THREE, and weren’t happy with any of them for different reasons. We know what we want, but are having a hard time finding the right height and finish. They are Tolix stools and easily found online, but having them delivered and being the right color, finish, or height is a whole other story. We hope to have this item completed by the end of next week (crossing our fingers.)
I know there’s more on our wish list, but these items are the ones that bear more weight at the moment. I know one year isn’t very long, but I have high hopes to have many of these wish list items done by next year. Until then, I’ll just keep chugging along and crossing off one item at a time.
Wishing everyone Happy Holidays and a terrific New Year!