The Design Slice: 2010 Action Plans

I'm not one who generally sets resolutions each year, but this year I thought, "What the heck! Who doesn't need a swift kick in the rear sometimes, right?" I have set some financial and personal goals which may or may not involve running and Starbucks Chai, but I'll keep those to myself so that I'm not embarrassed come January 1, 2011. On the other hand, I do have a few home goals that I am not afraid to air across your bandwidths (and share with Justin for the first time). I don't have many, but the some of them require major moola and lotsa time, that I seem to keep running out of.

1) Paint (and lots of it)
Actually, Justin and I set a February 28 deadline to paint our grand foyer and large 2-story tall living room (that we previously asked for your help with). But with 5 days of January ticked off the clock, 9 days reserved for our trip to Hawaii, and the never ending debate on what colors to choose...we'll need your prayers to get it done by then.

2) Hardwood floors
I'm not sure if I have shared this housetime (duration we have owned our home) goal with you as of yet, but it is my dream to tear up the carpet in our living and dining rooms and continue the honey oak hardwood floors throughout those two spaces. I have various reasons why, but I will share those with you when the time comes.

3) The Office
It only takes two words to make my skin crawl The. Office. I absolutely hate our office. It is a disaster and has no style and with those two reasons alone, I can not work in it. Kinda defeats the purpose of an office, no? It is so awful that I refuse to let anyone in there besides Justin (and only when he has to). I also refuse to post a photo of it's craziness here, at least until I have a gorgeous after photo to share with you.

4) Lights (Camera, Action!)
We have three guest rooms upstairs and none of them have overhead lighting. I know that some architects and professional designers alike swear off overhead lighting, but once those rooms are filled with kids, I want to be able to flick one switch and have light. So, another goal is to get those rooms wired for overhead lights.

5) Flowers, Shrubs, and Trees
Oh my! That's right, you heard it first, I want to spruce up our lawn with some strategically placed landscaping. I think that some nice trees and a little spruce of the current landscaping in the front of our house would create some nice curb appeal and wouldn't give our wallet a whomping.

6) Garage
Last on my list is the garage. By no means have the contents taken over, but I would really like it to be a bit more organized. We can still easily fit both cars, but I know it could get worse and it can be improved. We'll get our bikes (not pictured) and ladder on hooks and maybe create a little garden spot for my tools and extra garden things (also not pictured).