My biggest and best makeovers of 2016!
December 30, 2016
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Well HELLO my friends! How have you been?! I don't think I've ever taken this much time away from the blog but it was wonderful to decompress and spend time with friends and family. Our holiday season has been great and I hope yours has been too.
I'm at the same spot I'm at every year at this time -- so ready to put away Christmas decor and get the house sparkling clean. I'm also totally ready to tackle some DIY projects...I've got the itch!
But first I like to finish up the year by recapping some of my favorite projects of the year. This time I'm focusing on rooms that I completed or mostly completed. If you've been around for long you know it sometimes takes me years to redo a room from start to finish, so when I even get close I'm thrilled. 😆
I'll start with the beginning of the year and of course will link to each space as I go!
Early this year I finished up the dining room turned library transformation that had been underway for years! I was THRILLED to get it finished up. Here's a reminder of how our dining room looked for a long time:
Years ago I started by building a wall of built ins:
And I finished up the space with a new light fixture and rug earlier this year:
I've since simplified the bookcase decor some and I'll share that soon. It was feeling a little heavy to me and I love the simpler look!
I've been transforming our bedroom for years now...it's been a long haul. ;) I did get quite a bit done this year and it's SO close to done! I got and made some new bedding:
And finally finished painting each big wall (one at a time) that had been a dark gray/green for ten years:
Here's how they look now:
I ADORE our bedroom now. It's so bright and crisp and still has plenty of contrast with the dark accent wall and floors. Love!!
Our guest room has had a few more updates (I just realized I haven't even shared some of the recent ones!) and it's just a couple more projects away from being done. I ended up painting the accent wall white to make it pop and we got a beautiful new metal bed:
And I finally painted the IKEA dressers (and added some pretty DIY knobs) a couple months ago:
This room is so cozy and pretty, I just love it.
One of the biggest transformations in our home was in the smallest room. The difference paint and new light bulbs made in our son's bathroom was staggering. It was VERY yellow before:
I painted the walls, printed out some art and changed the bulbs...all made a HUGE difference in here.
My hope is that we'll be able to tackle bigger projects in this room this year!
I think our basement got the biggest updates this year. It started when we had a huge flood from our HVAC system into my husband's office. We pulled up the carpet in there and decided to go with vinyl, water-resistant flooring instead:
We loved the flooring so much, later in the year we pulled up the rest of the gross carpet, put this stuff down everywhere and rearranged some furniture:
It was like a brand new space just by moving the sectional around!
We LOVE this flooring! It has been absolutely wonderful down here. I don't worry about it one bit:
You can see above that we started another big project down there too -- the fireplace wall we had planned for years.
I shared the final fireplace wall here...we're obsessed with it:
We spend SO much time down here now...it's been so awesome and has completely changed the feel of the whole basement.
Another one of my biggest and favorite project was changing up our loft/craft room. It's a large space that we were never using well:
Here's a look at how this room looks now -- it functions as a craft room and office so perfectly!:
Our new, large desk is my favorite part and both my husband and I use it almost every day. This room is SO functional now and all the added storage in the cabinets and window seat is fantastic!:
I forgot about another favorite! (I have a lot of them, duh.) Years ago I painted our mudroom a dark peacock blue:
It really is a lovely color, but it just didn't mesh with us or the rest of our house. The difference some white paint made was incredible:
It is so welcoming and bright now (again, the new bulbs help tremendously!) and I feel happy the second I walk through that door! It fits with the rest of the house so much better now.
And finally, this one isn't a room makeover, but it's a project that has been incredibly popular all year and especially since Christmas. You guessed it...it's all about purging! :) I shared my experience with the Konmari method and how it has literally changed our lives:
Usually this time of year I'm starting to purge big time...and I won't need to do nearly what I have it the past because of this method. Changed. my. life. I'm looking forward to going through a few things and then focusing on deep cleaning the house instead of trying to get rid of everything...cause it's already gone. :)
I hope you enjoyed the recap -- is there a room makeover you loved? It's hard for me to pick a favorite but it would have to be between the basement progress and the loft makeover. Both have made such a big difference in our home!
THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for an amazing 2016 and for coming back to see what I'm up to every week. Writing this blog continues to be one of the greatest joys of my life. Have a safe and fun New Year's Eve and I'll see you next year! :)
It all looks so great, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhy did I think your kitchen was finished this year? Did time go by THAT fast?? You are the best at this stuff--hands down. Your tips are great, your work is mostly done by YOU, and you show changes for REAL LIFE. Your photos depict real life, not fluffy, overly propped shots. Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteEverything looks wonderful! I'm so motivated to finish projects and start new ones too now that the Christmas decor is on it's way out. My list is so long though! Yikes!
ReplyDeleteLove it all but my favorite has to be that amazing craft room! Looking forward to more beautiful projects in 2017!
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Shelley
I have been reading your blog for many years now and it is fun to see these transformations. I remember when you did the first makeover and to see it now is pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteAnd now I feel like painting every room in my house white.
I only discovered your blog recently but I'm SO into your makeovers and DIYs (you only have to look on my blog to see I'm OBSESSED with interiors!). I'm going to check out everything I've missed now!
ReplyDeleteCharmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
The Konmari method changed my life too. It's amazing how much junk we have and how freeing it is to get rid of it! I love the metal bed. Happy New Year Sarah!
ReplyDeleteI spy a darling rug under your ottoman in the basement. Source?
ReplyDeleteWow! So many awesome projects. I have to say I adore your craft room, but the basement fireplace surround is amazing.
ReplyDeleteFantastic transformations, Sarah, all around. Congratulations on making such significant changes through great design, mad DIY skills, creativity, and sheer tenacity. Cheers, Ardith
ReplyDeleteAlways great posts full of inspiration. May you and yours be Blessed with a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous 2017.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I love everything you do! But your loft makeover is my favorite from this past year. Thank you for continuing to share with all of us in blog land. You are an inspiration :) Have a happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteSarah, do you have a favorite "white" ceiling paint color? We're in the process of repainting our home with Analytical Gray walls and Behr's Ultra Pure White trim. Love your house and everything you've done with it. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteLove the fireplace in the basement. I have similar tile in our garage waiting to be installed around our fireplace. I'm struggling with using Ommi Grip as many have said the dry time is too long and shouldn't be used with heavy ledger stone for a wall application. Did you run into any issues with this product? Using a premixed adhesive would make this job SO much easier! Any insight you have would be much appreciated!!
ReplyDeleteHello! It worked wonderfully, no problems at all. Once you get the tile on there it sets pretty quick...but not too quick. I don't think you'll have any problems at all, as long as you install like I did. :)
DeleteThanks so much! Looks like I'll be doing some tiling this weekend!
DeleteThe built in wall uit is great... so much storage in those shelves and cabinets!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the new, simplified decor.
Chris @ Contempo Space
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