Around Home. A To Do List.

When we first moved into our home here, there was very little that I disliked about our house. One of the things that I vowed to change, was the kitchen color. Red is not my cup of tea. But finding out I was pregnant a week after we moved in and taking on a whole lot of sickness for a few months, painting the kitchen was the least of my worries. During Christmas time, it did look pretty festive. Other than that, I cringed every time I looked at it. This spring, I FINALLY painted. Only took 2 years...the new color is above ^^ Old photo below...

I did a coat of primer and then painted Benjamin Moore's Manchester Tan. After I was done, it had a greenish tint that I disliked. I couldn't figure out why but I hated it! I went back to the paint store and picked "Lamb's Ear" which had a bit more warmth and red to it. It was perfect! And so my kitchen is FINALLY painted. Now I have to tackle the laundry/pantry area that leads out from the kitchen....it's still red. I also plan to buy a new stainless stove and dishwasher and sell the old black ones. I think that will update the kitchen area a lot. I tossed around the idea of painting the kitchen bead board cabinets white....thoughts? And a couple of new hanging lights will finish it off nicely. 

We did a lot of work outside this year. We added a playground and did some work on our patio to make it more inviting. We added rubber mulch and got rid of the overgrown garden, leaving just a few plants. I probably won't finish the garden/shrubs until next spring. I really love our outdoor area. It's private and when we get the fountains running, it brings a relaxing vibe to the backyard. Great for entertaining. 

The living room is the room that needs the most attention right now. Our huge tv is sitting above the fireplace in the most awkward of heights. Whoever built the home did a horrible job of putting the beams in a place where our only option was to hang the tv higher than we wanted to above the mantel. So my idea is to take the tv off of the fireplace and put it in the finished family room downstairs. Then add some media consoles or bookcases on the sides of the fireplace and put a smaller tv on those. My only issue is that I have windows there so I have to be intentional when I do buy or build in this area. Then I can just add some artwork above the tv. Another idea is to just buy a new tv since this one is a dinosaur as far as technology goes. It's a Plasma if that says anything! A newer, thinner tv may have more hanging options so that we don't have to hang it so high. We'll figure it out. Of course this comes just after Ty rewired the tv so that the cord wasn't hanging down the wall.....sorry Ty. 

Ty's birthday present to me is to tile our upstairs bathroom. Someone decided it was a good idea to put a carpet in there and for a newer home....it's rather bizarre. So that will soon be gone. I'm having a hard time picking a tile since there is already tile around the tub and in the walk in shower. A brown and tannish colored tile. I would like a lighter floor. 

A couple of other to do's that are not pictured are to buy night stands for our bedroom....long overdue! And to paint my dining room a shade of blue. It's currently sage green which I'm not particularly fond of. I promise to post before and afters as it comes along!