Summer Projects List: The Home Version

As always, I have extremely high hopes for my productivity in these next few warm months. While I know it's not realistic to tackle everything I'm dreaming about, I'm a lover of lists and inspiration, so that's what this is about. I'll be making a few of these lists, but this first go at it will focus entirely on projects around our pretty little house.

Here's what I'd love to accomplish around home this summer:

1. Find the perfect dresser/buffet/credenza/sideboard for added storage in our entryway. Add a mirror, some fun accessories and some sort of plant life, and we'll be hit with instant cheer when we walk through the door.

2. Furnish the front porch for gatherings. I found an awesome leather tufted couch that I was hoping would be the starting point for this little makeover... but Dan swears it smells and I hadn't really thought about how hot a dark leather couch would get on a bright and sunny porch in the summer. I've been watching craigslist like a hawk for the perfect loveseat, and hope that I'll find something uber-cheap soon. Since this was not really a space we were planning to focus on anytime soon, "uber-cheap" is the key here.

3. Add a back to the bookshelf in the living room and paint it a bright fun color. Easy peasy, and bound to add major impact.

4. Pretty up the back porch. I have an awesome little bench with a tiny storage compartment that my gramma tipped me off to when her neighbor put it out on her curb last summer. It desperately needs a good sanding and a couple coats of the brightest paint I can find for it. I'd also love to add some simple globe lights from Target and some kind of plant life that I don't manage to kill in 3 days.

5. Finish our bedroom makeover! Really, this just means painting the walls, hemming the curtains I already have, hanging up artwork (probably wedding photos!) and potentially switching out the hardware on our nightstands. No major furniture purchases or anything needed here, so I'm really hoping I can tackle this one soon.

6. Add a gallery of art/photos to the hallway wall. I got a bunch of awesome white frames on super sale at Ikea a few weeks ago, and bought a couple of fun small prints at a craft show last weekend. Just need to print some photos and pound a few nails in the wall!

7. Paint the front door. Haven't actually mentioned this idea to Dan yet, but someone in our neighborhood recently did this and every time I pass their house I smile. Insta-curb-appeal! (This project could also include adding some bushes out front that we don't kill in one season. I'd love lilac bushes like my Dad.)

8. Add open shelving. Above the kitchen cart. In the bedroom. Maybe in the dining room or bathroom. I love the added storage shelves offer, and layering leaning frames/artwork is something I'm finding myself drawn to more and more.

9. Redo (some of) the kitchen. We've been talking about this for awhile now but haven't magically found the $4,000 or so that we'll need for it. I know it will happen someday, but am finding myself more and more antsy about it every time I cook or do dishes. General plans are to knock out the pantry (replacing it with more cabinets), paint the long wall the same color as the hallway, paint the cabinets white, add a tiled backsplash and get a new lighter-colored countertop. Thankfully, we'll only need to purchase one or two new cabinets, and the counter - all of our appliances and existing cabinets are still just a few years old.

10. Tweak the bathroom. Ideally, this would include painting over the BRIGHT turquoise I insisted on when we bought our house, but we're mostly set on keeping the color for now and just painting over a couple patches that need it and adding hooks in place of the single towel bar. So, this should be a super simple project that costs next to nothing (yay!).

So, I clearly have some big plans! Stay tuned throughout the summer for updates on anything I actually manage to get done :).