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year 2 – 2012 house renovation plans

January 10, 2012 11 Comments

2012 marks the beginning of our second year in this house. Some days it feels like we have been here forever, other days I still can’t believe we moved. We have made a lot of progress in the past year but there is hopefully a lot more to come in 2012. At least I really hope so. While I love the renovating, I am looking forward to a bit of a rest for the big projects. I’m going to do my best to get a good photo tour of the house in the current state done in the next few weeks. Let’s hope for some decent lighting from nature and motivation on my end. 

We have four major projects that are on our plate this year. There will be countless little projects but these four are my top ones that I hope we can finalize before we hit our two year anniversary of closing. In no order…

Master bedroom – 
It doesn’t look this bad anymore, there is actually drywall on the ceiling and a closet around the AC but I would really love to be actually using our master by the end of the year. It is kinda lame to have such a huge master bedroom space with such potential being used as our own personal storage unit/tool warehouse.

Landscaping – 
We are in massive need of some real landscaping to take advantage of our beautiful climate. There is a ton of old, ugly stuff that will be ripped out and replaced with a ton of nice new plants in the front and back yard. The one drawback to living in South Florida? It is hot…even in January. I don’t really feel inspired to be be doing dirty yard work when it is pushing 85+ in January. 
Family room – 
We’ve actually made some pretty incredible progress in here. The brick has been painted, the ceiling refinishing has started and a few ugly things were covered here and here. Once the ceiling is done we will move to the floors and decorating. This is the biggest room in the house so once it is done I think it will have the biggest impact. I’m hoping it will make the jump from looking like our house is a real renovation project to one that is comfortably being lived in.

Exterior – 
Besides the landscaping, updating the actual exterior is another major one on the list. We already started this in late December but to be honest, painting the exterior of a home this size sucks. I question our decision and laugh at how little progress we’ve made since we started on December 23rd. I know our neighbors are all glad we started work on the outside to help with the curb appeal but I’m sure they are not that thrilled with the half painted look we are going for. 

In case you missed it, here is the sneak peak of what we’ve actually started in the exterior updates. Does it look like the same house? 😉

So those are the big plans in 2012. Big or small, house related or not, what is on your list to do this year?
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~Anna

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Filed Under: home decor, renovations Tagged With: backyard, exposed beam ceiling, exterior, family room, insanity, master bedroom, renovations

About Anna@DirectionsNotIncluded

Hi there! I'm Anna, the voice behind Directions Not Included. I'm a marketer, crafter, DIYer and lover of all things home related. You can usually find me covered in paint, cuddled with one of my pets or in front of a computer or other digital device. Thanks for reading Directions Not Included. I hope you stick around.

Comments

  1. ✿ⒹⒺⒺ✿@ A Lapin Life says

    January 10, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    Hi Anna,

    You do have a lot to do around your home. In the end it’s going to be wonderful. I’ve been working on the same goal.

    Dee

    Reply
  2. Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says

    January 10, 2012 at 1:37 pm

    yeehaw! you know i love it all so far and love where it is going and oooooh that front door color. i am actually contemplating a similar color for my door when it is warm enough. that or orange… our house is such odd colors and the roof is a weird color that i am having a really hard time. but right now it is painted chocolate brown and i don’t want that.

    Reply
  3. Carol@TheDesignPages says

    January 10, 2012 at 4:42 pm

    I can so relate to this. All those things that you calculated to take a month somehow stretch to years when you’re in the house. I look forward to seeing the big reveal on the completed projects soon!

    Reply
  4. Nikki says

    January 10, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    Oh, man! You’ve come a long way, and yet still have quite a bit to go. I remember moving into our master bedroom after about 8 months of living in the guest room. Our big motivator was having 2 house guests coming at once. That lit a fire under our asses. On another note, you say January is hot in Florida? Good for me, I’ll bring my bikini! My bf has a work conference and I’m tagging along for the weekend!

    Reply
  5. Alexander's Mommy says

    January 10, 2012 at 2:28 pm

    Your house looks absolutely wonderful. I can’t wait to see the what you do in 2012! 🙂

    Reply
  6. Alison says

    January 10, 2012 at 7:53 pm

    Your master bedroom looks just like our living room at the moment…! My husband is refering to it as his workshop/store room 🙂 Here’s hoping that by the end of the year you have a master bedroom and I have a living room!!
    Alison
    x

    Reply
  7. Shannon and Andrew says

    January 11, 2012 at 1:47 am

    I grew up in Miami and your house before pictures remind me so much of many of the houses down there during my childhood. I LOVE the new front door the paint color is perfect for S. FL. Good luck with the Master redo. I have recently found your blog and I’m enjoying it very much.

    Reply
  8. Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says

    January 11, 2012 at 8:17 pm

    Good luck with everything! The outside looks SOSOSOSO much better already!

    *First time visitor!*

    Reply
  9. Emily @ EAKaHouse says

    January 12, 2012 at 5:16 am

    At least you have a really big storage space for your tools! I can’t wait to see how your family room turns out. The beams are looking great. Cheers!

    Reply
  10. Louie says

    February 6, 2012 at 10:41 pm

    I can’t wait to see the outcome of the renovation project! I think it would look wonderful. I love your backyard, by the way. It’s so spacious and warm.

    Louie Cunningham

    Reply
  11. Alejandra Hutchcraft says

    September 11, 2012 at 2:23 pm

    I love your ideas! Your house already looks beautiful in those pictures, Anna. So, what more after the renovation? I’m sure your whole house will look mighty fine, inside and out. It’s very commendable that you guys are focusing both on the exterior and interior of your house. It just goes to show how dedicated you are to improving the look of your new home, which you will all be living under for the rest of your years. Nice!

    Alejandra Hutchcraft

    Reply

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dnirssyellow dnipinterestyellow dnifacebookyellow dniinstagramyellow AnnaDNI2014 Welcome to Directions Not Included. I'm Anna, the voice behind the blog. I'm a marketer, crafter, DIYer, and lover of wine and sushi. Oh and I love my husband Ray, too. I also seem to be a magnet for scruffy mutts and cats. Want to know more about us and what we are doing? Learn more here.

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Directions Not Included follows the DIY and craft adventures of two humans, three dogs and two cats as they take one old Florida home and make it theirs.

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