Report Card on My 2019 Projects

At the beginning of the year, I made a list of projects I wanted to complete this year. I thought it’d be fun to review how those went. You know, went I actually did and what I didn’t get to. Here’s my report Card on my 2019 Projects-

Report Card on My 2019 Projects

2019 was a busy year in term of projects! It was the first full year of owning our house and we got a TON of work done.

Side note, Chris Loves Julia does a report on their year too and it is always so fun for me to read. Thanks to them for the inspiration for this post! Let’s get started.

1. Office/Guest Room.

Here’s how my office looked at the beginning of 2019:
First of all, the poor office was the place where we would dump everything. So, it didn’t start off as a room with a defined purpose. It just housed all our “extras.” Sigh!

This picture was from the time that we were doing the Playroom renovation, so that’s where we stored all the furniture.

But then, I gave it a makeover at the beginning of the year and it made the biggest difference!

We painted it, got new desks and redid the layout. While I was really happy with it and I kept it like this for several months, we kept debating on what we needed this room to be.

Since I do so much work in the evenings from the couch, I just wasn’t using the space for an office as much as I thought I would. And when we had family coming into town for Thanksgiving, we decided to switch some things around to make it a guest room!

So we added a bed and a few other pieces to make it more of a guest space!

Oh, and we can’t forget the rainbow wall mural I also added!

To be honest, the layout of this room still bothers me (the room is shaped like a T with lots of doors which makes it hard to decorate). This room is still where the extras go. But it’s much better than when the year started!

Office-turned-Guest-Room Score: B-

2. Living Room

Next up, the living room! If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that my living room has gone through a lot of transformations throughout the year. I started the year by tearing out the textured wallpaper and the lath and plaster. That way, I could add insulation into the wall and drywall.

I love how the new white walls look- before they were a beige that I hated. Plus I added the rainbow art that I made. It was super affordable and makes a huge statement!

Another development is that I have recently sold my wood burning stove (that I also hated). This weekend I tore out the tile floors- luckily the wood floors went under the tile. Make sure to watch my Instagram stories to see how that transformation is coming.

Also, adding this chinoiserie wallpaper to one part of my living room has been one of my favorite additions.

Finally, this is what the living room looks like with the new mantle. Gosh I love this site!

Living Room Score: B+

So, in my post, the number one thing I wanted to work on was adding some fun detail to the ceiling. So while we redid the walls, tore out the old fireplace, and added a new mantle, the ceiling wasn’t touched. In awhile, I’d like to tear out the wall between the kitchen and living room, so maybe it’s ok that the ceiling didn’t get the detail I’d wanted at the start of the year.

3. Patio

At the beginning of the year, our backyard was full of rocks and dirt. It was NOT fun to be in at all.

However, the backyard of our house got a lot of love this year when we installed the pergola and the patio!

We also got this fun stock tank pool that Don can’t get enough of. And neither can I honestly haha!

Last but not least, we also added this rainbow fence next to the She Shed, and boy do I love it.

Patio score: A

I am so proud of the back yard. We have TONS of work to do back there, but by the end of the year we had a fully done patio, we painted the whole house white, installed a sprinkling system and it has became a place we love to hang out. We poured a lot of time and money into the space and I’m really proud of it! We didn’t get around to the playhouse or updated fire pit, but I’m still happy with what did get done.

4. Front Yard

Here’s the front of Fairview Cottage from the beginning of 2019:

She had a good bone structure but needed some more love!

The exterior of our home has gone through huge transformations this year! Our house just keeps becoming more and more of my dream as we go. Like when we painted the outside of it a few weeks ago. And also added a picket fence on a budget!

Front Yard Score: A+

Again, the outside of our house is just something I’m so proud of! The new trim, the pink shutter, the picket fence- it’s all so fun and looks amazing when you drive up to the home. Gosh, I love it!

5. Laundry Room

Let’s take a peek at the laundry room before we worked on it this year:

The room was a later addition to the original home, so the ceilings were lower, but we were able to vault them.

The laundry room got worst before it got better. We found major rot in one wall so it had to be rebuilt.

Thankfully, it all came together really nicely! From the tiled and wallpapered walls, to the water heater, to the new washer and dryer, I love this space now!

I had fun painting the floors with rainbow stripes. Aren’t they cute with that cabinet?!

I love the laundry room, it makes doing laundry so much better. It’s probably my favorite room in the house!

Laundry Room Score: A+

I was lucky enough to be a Featured Designer in the One Room Challenge. That’s probably the only reason this room got such a complete makeover. We worked long days and nights to finish the space in 6 weeks. It still looks amazing and I really love this space.

6. The Stairs

Here are the stairs before we worked on them:

My rainbow stairs have been such a fun addition to our home! I love them so much and they’re just pure joy. When people come over, the stairs are the first thing they want to see.

I love decorating them for each season. If you saw one of my latest posts, you’ve seen how I added some fun vinyl letters on them for the holidays.

My stairs are definitely one of my favorite projects from the last year!

Stairs Score Card: A+

Out of all the projects I’ve ever done, this is the one that gets the most shares. I’m known for these stairs- which seems so crazy! But I love them and and still so happy with how they look! Especially with the rainbow gallery wall.

2019 Extra Credit

Well, that was the progress from my original 2019 plans. But we actually were able to cover a few more projects that we can count as extra credit. 😉

Extra Credit #1: The She Shed

Here’s the She Shed last March:

And here it is now-

I love the she shed so much. Don and I have the best time doing projects out there. It’s so light and beautiful.

It’s such a fun place, I love how it’s so pink

The she shed is so much fun. If you love outdoor projects, I would highly recommend sprucing up your shed!

She Shed Score: B+

The one thing I wanted to do in here, but didn’t get to was making a concrete floor. I’d also love to have a small heater/cooler because it gets really hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Maybe next year! I’m still really happy with how it came together! Especially because we weren’t planning on it.

Extra Credit #2: Little Library

Here’s what the Little Library began as:

It was an old cabinet that I pulled down from my kitchen so that I could do open shelving. Here’s what it turned into-

Another one of my favorite spaces from 2019 was the little library! It sits outside of my house and people passing by can leave books or take some new ones to read.

At Halloween, we decorated it with some fun DIY window clings! It’s a lot of fun making it festive, and Don loves it too.

The little library has been through a lot already! It’s gotten knocked over a couple of times in the wind, so we had to secure it. But now it’s doing great!

Little Library Score: A +

This is one of my personal favorite projects. It looks cute, but best of all, it’s helped me connect with my neighbors and community. I’ve had to add magnets to keep the doors closed in the wind. And it’ll need some upkeep after this winter. I love this cutie!

Extra Credit #3: The Playroom

Take a look at the playroom before:

Another one of my favorite rooms from the year is the playroom! It’s the first room you see when you come up the stairs, and Don just loves it.

And the tiger wallpaper is sophisticated yet still really playful.

This is definitely the room where all the cousins beeline to when they come over!

Playroom report card: A-

I love this playroom! It especially gets a lot of use in the winter. The only thing I don’t love is the rug- it’s snagged a bit. And the side chair from the after pictures got broken (one leg snapped off). But overall, I love this space!