Our 2023 Projects and Plans

As we welcome the new year, we always strive to set goals for ourselves, both individually and as a family. And while we usually have a running list of house projects in our minds, this year we decided to actually write them down, in hopes that it will guide our decisions and keep our plans on track.

We moved into our home nine years ago, in 2013, and we’ve been slowly transforming it from the day we walked through the front door. This transformation has happened through both large renovations and more immediate and affordable methods, like paint and decor. We truly love working on our home and creating a space that feels like a safe haven for our family and friends.

Even though we have been here for nine years, we still have a lot of projects we’d like to complete, like renovating all three bathrooms and our laundry room. But we understand these types of projects take both time and money and so we’ve narrowed down our 2023 projects to 10 very achievable ones.

1. Primary Bedroom

When we moved into our home nine years ago we thought we had finished our primary bedroom, but as the years passed our style has changed and our bedroom needs to as well. I’ve created a design plan and we’ve been working towards creating a space that feels cozy and cohesive with the rest of our home.

It’s going to be a budget-friendly approach. We will replace and update our bedding, lighting, art, and paint, while the furniture will all remain the same.

After updating the girls’ bedrooms (see them here and here), I am really excited to see our room come together too.

2. Reconfigure Our Closet

While we are working on our primary bedroom we would love to tackle our walk-in closet as well. It’s a good-sized spaced, but it lacks any real functionality for us. It’s a poor use of space and because we have so little storage in our home we need to make sure we are using it to its full potential.

We plan to use the Ikea Pax system and Nick’s carpentry skills to create a custom built-in look (we love this one). It’s going to be amazing to have a closet that can be well-utilized and organized!

3. Finish our Dining Room

Our dining room is another space that we once felt was complete, but as our style has evolved and our kids have taken a toll on our furniture, we’ve quickly realized it needs some changes too.

Nick recently built this beautiful sideboard to replace the one he built six years ago, and we completed a simple DIY on an existing Ikea hutch (we will share more on this project later). We also plan to change the table, chairs, and chandelier this year too. I’m not rushing into any decisions yet though as I am still a bit unsure about the pieces I’d like to incorporate.

4. Laundry Room Renovation

We were thrilled with our laundry room when we moved into our home. At first glance, it looked like a large room with lots of counter space and storage, but we soon realized it actually needed a lot of work. The cabinets were obviously secondhand and were not securely installed and the washer and dryer had seen better days. Still, we felt fortunate to have a space for laundry with a little extra storage. And because our laundry room is in our basement where only we see it, we lived with it for many years.

It wasn’t until last year when we needed to replace the washing machine and dryer that we gave much more thought to it. The washer and dryer we purchased were larger than the original pair so we had to rip out the cabinets and countertop to accommodate them. Again, this project has taken a backseat and we’ve just lived with the unfinished space, but we are determined to tackle it this year.

5. Finalize the Playhouse Building Plans

This one isn’t so much a house project, but it is a project we will finish this year. Nick built the girls’ this adorable playhouse a few years ago and we’ve never actually shared the plans on our blog, but we are asked for them daily.

Nick will complete the step-by-step building plans so we can make them available to anyone wishing to build their own sweet playhouse. We will also finally share a glimpse of the playhouse interior!

6. Changes to the Playroom

We renovated our basement four years ago to create a family room, playroom, and home office for our family. It was one of the best decisions we’ve made for our home! It provided us with so much more living space and the girls have made great use of a dedicated playroom.

However, our girls have done a lot of growing in the past four years and the way we use the space has changed a lot. While they certainly still use the space as a playroom, we want to make a few small adjustments to suit their growing needs. Movie nights with friends and more homework mean we need to rethink how we are using the space.

7. Replace Our Front Door

While costly, this is a relatively quick project we hope to tackle this year. Our current front door and sidelights are dated and in need of replacement. We really hope to install a door that will let in more light and help brighten our front hallway.

8. Finish Our Kitchen

If you’ve been following along for a while, you might think, “didn’t they already finish their kitchen?” The short answer is, yes, we renovated our kitchen by ourselves last year. But I’ve come to realize there are still a few changes and additions I would like to make. These are things I didn’t really realize our kitchen needed until the renovation was complete and we had lived in the space for a while. While I love our white kitchen, it needs a bit more warmth and character.

We are going to install picture lights above the open shelving which will help fill in that empty space. We will also replace our white counter stools with a set made of wood that incorporates woven texture to really warm up the space.

We’ve also been toying with the idea of painting our island. I keep wondering if a shade of cream or dark green or blue would help give our kitchen a bit more interest. But I am not sure if this is the right answer, so we haven’t made a decision yet.

While those are the large-scale projects that make up our list, my overall goal for the year is to continue adding to each room in our house to create a home that feels inviting, comfortable, and filled with character and depth.

Now, we want to know, what’s on your 2023 project list?