Now that we’re settling into the new place, my mind is racing with decorating and DIY ideas. I thought I would put together a list for my top priority BIG projects. Things that cost a little bit more, but will have a huge impact in our home.
SO WHAT’S ON MY LIST?
Here’s my Top 5 Big Projects for the New Home…
1. PLAYROOM BUILT INS
When we built this house I kind of tweaked the floorplan so we would have a playroom on the main floor. I figured we didn’t need a formal living room so we converted that space to a small dining room and closed off the dining room to make a playroom. Following me so far? Good.
My main goal for this room is storage. I always knew I wanted built ins along the back with a mix of cabinets to hide toys and lots of shelving above (Ellie is a huge bookworm). Then I wanted a space in the middle of the built ins for a TV. We even thought ahead and put French doors on this room to block out some of the noise.
Well we had planned on hiring someone to complete this task or even try to DIY it ourselves since IKEA is now in St. Louis, but I just stumbled across this wall unit from Home Decorators. It’s almost 100% exactly what I imagined in my head. Oh, did I mention it would fit PERFECTLY in the room? Like within an inch of the walls. It’s on sale until the end of this week for $1599 (still yikes, I know). This upgrade is on the top of my list since I really want to get the toys & games organized, but pulling the trigger on $1600 is nerve-wracking.
2. HARD SURFACE COUNTERTOPS
We didn’t upgrade our kitchen countertops when we built this home. I figured we could always do it down the road, right? In our last home we had laminate countertops and I absolutely loved them… loved them so much we put the exact same ones in the new place.
But for this house I know I eventually want to upgrade the countertops, and I probably want to do so before we add a backsplash. Now the question is what type of hard surface countertop: Granite? Corian? Marble? Quartz? Help me pick! I haven’t even started researching this so any advice would be welcomed.
3. KITCHEN WINE CABINET
To say my family loves their wine is an understatement. I mean do you remember my parents’ living room built-ins? While I’m not looking for anything even close to that size (or expense), I’d love to build a little “wine hutch” in our kitchen. We have a long blank wall in our kitchen/breakfast room area that would be perfect for this…
Nothing too fancy, just some additional cabinets, drawers, and a wine/beverage refrigerator. Since we don’t have a large dining room or a formal china cabinet anywhere, this piece would also offer plenty of storage for those miscellaneous items.
4. PAINT, MOLDINGS & CROWN THROUGHOUT
Yes, the finishing touches. I’m actually trying to pick out paint colors this week for our main floor. I’m looking for a warm color to make this home feel warm and cozy, not as bright as our last home. The problem is because we don’t have a lot of wall breaks in our home, this color will have to cover our foyer, hallway, family room, breakfast room, kitchen, staircase and upstairs hallway. It needs to be neutral, not too light and not too dark. I’ll show you guys some options next week to get your input!
Then once the house is painted I would love to add some moldings. The idea right now is picture frame moldings and chair rail throughout most of the main floor, crown molding in the dining room and bedrooms.
5. BACKYARD PATIO
This project is probably the farthest down on my list. We’re more of front yard people than backyard people since Ellie loves to ride her bike and play in the cul-de-sac with her cousins, but we eventually would love to build a cool stamped concrete patio (like our old house) or even a nice covered deck (like my parents). We have a gorgeous view in the new home so why not take advantage and use that space more, right?
Shoot, I love fire pits so much maybe we should just do stairs out the back door that leads to something like this…
AND SO MUCH MORE…
I also have a bunch of little projects jumping around in my head, like a DIY platter rack in the kitchen, cubbies in the foyer, and even building a new workshop in the basement.
Now just to find the time (and money) to complete all of these ideas!
Emilie R. says
My husband and I just redid our kitchen and we went with Quartz counters. They are so beautiful! I absolutely love them! We like them because they are heat resistant and non porous. Clean up has been easy, haven’t noticed any scratches either. So far we haven’t had any issues with them. So I’d highly recommend quartz.
howtonestforless says
Thanks for the advice, Emilie! The woman that sits next to me at work said the exact same thing and told me to put quartz at the top of my list 😉
Jenny says
The cabinet is awesome for the playroom! Would it be cheaper to put all of that together at IKEA? I wonder. Great ideas, good luck!
Cecilia says
Quartz! That’s what I have and I love them.
krista says
All the diy shows seem to be going to quartz….. and it always looks great.
We have granite in 4 areas so far {as you know, progress & upgrades take time….}….my most favorite was the piece we had put in the laundry room —it’s not made smooth & has a bit of texture & then was sealed. It looks so cool! Some granite places are calling it “cashmere” finish.
When we moved in there was corian –skip that mess! It was dull, scratched & I hated it. The sink was a mess too…used more soft scrub + bleach than I ever had in my life on that thing all the time.
…and I love the wine cabinet, play room storage & fire pit!!
Megan says
That is a nice caninet! But I hear you on the $1600, it’s a big decision… to make myself feel better I would price it out the ikea way and getting it built… If it fits so exactly and is nice quality, it sounds perfect!!
I’ve always liked the way the recycled glass counter tops look. But I’ve never had them, always had Formica. Someday… 😉
howtonestforless says
I’ve actually been pricing out IKEA stuff today… you’ve read my mind!
Dawn Richardson says
Don’t be so quick to rule out the Corian. We renovated our kitchen 10 years ago and at the suggestion of the contractor, ran the Corian up the walls to the bottom of the cabinets for the backsplash.. LOVE it. Cleaning is a breeze. The trick to avoiding the dullness and scratches is to coat it down with Turtle Wax (yes, the car wax) as soon as it is installed and repeat that about every 12 months. The only scratch on ours is where I didn’t have the stand mixer locked and almost dropped it. My mother-in-law put quartz in the kitchen of their new house 2 years ago and hated it so much that they have already replaced it. Congratulations, and good luck with whatever you choose!!
howtonestforless says
Thanks for the input, Dawn! Do you know why your mother-in-law hated quartz?