Saturday, March 3, 2012

Room by Room

Does anyone else remember these two…


Matt Fox and Shari Hiller of Room by Room?  Okay, so maybe I’m one of the few who watched HGTV religiously in the late 90’s before it was the HGTV we know today (which I sadly no longer know, cable-free home here for almost 3 years).  It was a home décor and home improvement show, a little bit country and a little bit corny (I guess that’s how mid-90’s decor was though).  Matt and Shari acted like a married couple, although we all knew they weren’t because no married couple can stay that blissfully cheery while working together on home projects.  Apparently it was the first show to air back in 1994 on HGTV and the first decorating show of its kind.  They  helped launch HGTV into what it is today, and for that, I say thank you Matt and Shari.  And so ends your HGTV history lesson of the day.

Well today I have decided to go “room by room” through our house and make a list, a “to-do list” if you will.  I was lying in bed at 7:00am this morning and these project lists kept running through my head.  I thought that if I write them down that it might be the motivation I need to get started on more projects.  My motivation for home projects is like a roller coaster.  Once I jump in I tend to go full-force for several days or even a week or more (remember the back-splash tile project in January?).  Well now I’ve reached one of those low points, so here’s hoping that list making will bring me out of it.

Disclaimer:  The following lists are in no particular order or prioritized in any way.
Disclaimer for Jason:  Do not be overwhelmed.  I repeat, do not be overwhelmed.  This is a long list of every project I ever want to do in our house, so do not be overwhelmed.


Kitchen To-Do List
- Prime and paint cabinets
- Put on new cabinet hardware
- Buy table legs and shelving supplies for island/additional work area
- Cut, sand and refinish butcher block counter-top (a recent Craigslist 
   purchase)
- Caulk along tile edges
- Construct island/additional work area (it’s not an island, not even a 
   peninsula, but I don’t know what to call it)
- Cut wood trim to cover rough tile edges
- Buy and install baseboard trim for cabinets
- Paint all trim and doors
- Buy and install lighting above sink
- Find/make artwork
- Find floor covering
- Make Alton Brown shrine (I have a signed head-shot and cookbooks from
   meeting him many years ago)
- Paint area just outside of kitchen leading to garage
- Make new coat hanger for area just outside of kitchen leading to garage
- Create storage solution for extra shopping bags (maybe move to garage?)

Dining Room To-Do List
- Convince Jason we could use some sort of easy-to –clean area rug to define
   the space
- Move old pantry cabinet to my parent’s house
- Fix broken chair
- Paint trim, crown molding and ceiling

Living room and Entry To-Do List
- Spruce up bookshelf
- Make new pillow covers for Spring
- Make roman shades from mini blinds out of linen fabric
- Paint trim, crown molding and ceiling
- Paint front door and mail-box drop on inside of house

Hallway To-Do List
- Paint trim, crown molding, doors and ceiling

Master Bedroom To-Do List
- Reupholster bench
- Buy and refinish used dresser for Jason
- Make 2 remaining roman shades from old mini blinds
- Make new pillow covers for throw pillows on bed
- Find/make new jewelry storage
- Find rugs/runners for sides of bed
- Find pillow storage solution
- Create dresser –top organizers for both
- Alter wall paint?
- Find/make more artwork
- Arrange artwork

Main Bath To-Do List
- Paint trim, door and laundry shoot door.

Guest Bedroom To-Do List
- Scotch-guard spray reupholstered office chair
- Donate old office chair
- Organize paperwork/files
- Paint trim, doors and ceiling
- Find area rug/runner for next to bed
- Find better solution for plant table

Upstairs Area To-Do List
- Paint walls, stairway and trim
- Create a “Library”
- Buy a comfy chair/chaise lounge for reading
- Buy/make bookshelves
- Find new homes for all of our “junk” (it’s not junk, just looks like a junk
   room)
- Make window coverings

Craft Room To-Do List
- Organize, organize, organize
- Make/buy large craft table
- Create gift-wrapping station

Basement To-Do List
- Touch up paint
- Paint trim and doors
- Paint bathroom
- Find more artwork/décor for bathroom
- Find/make large coffee table
- Have Daniel make artwork for walls
- Buy a new sectional/couch and chair (currently a source of contention)
- Create more distinctive areas (bar area, card table, TV watching)
- Make a dog bed for Winston

Garage To-Do List
- Better organize shelf

Outside To-Do List
- Have window trim replaced
- Paint or buy new shutters
- Paint front door a fun color
- Buy new storm door
- Paint mail drop slot
- Buy/make new house numbers
- Overcome my fear of snakes
- Spruce-up and add more landscaping
- Help Jason fix our grass
- Re-do patio area with pea-gravel
- Widen driveway to be able to park a car double-wide
- Create a planter out of old tree stump
- Make a new welcome mat
- Add large planters on either side of porch
- Set up my new EarthBox!
- Make/buy a compost box
- Create a build-in fire pit
- Make new outdoor pillows
- Find some sort of shade solution for patio


There you have it.  An exhaustive list that will surely overwhelm my husband (sorry, Jason!) but will hopefully help get me the motivation to tackle a few projects on this beautiful weekend ahead of us!  I’ll keep you updated as I cross off my projects “room by room”.

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