{Changes Are A Comin'}

Happy Monday! We had a fabulous weekend relaxing and getting a little deck built in the backyard for our newly purchased "yard barn" that was Alex's birthday present from his parents! We're so excited to have storage for our gardening/pool things which will allow a lot more space in our garage. Be waiting for a little blog post on how the boys did this! 

As I mentioned in our Mac Daddy home post, we have a few (okay maybe a lot) of things that will be changing in this little home of ours. Some of them are things that we just haven't gotten to yet (Hey you...horrible railing in our entry...we're saying goodbye to you in the near future), and some are things that we are changing because we weren't thrilled with our initial decision (While the yellow room is near and dear to our hearts...it's got to go!). Most we will be DIYing, and a few we will be hiring out to professionals. So here's our top 10 list of things to-do in the near future...in no particular order! 

Side Note: We are in no way professional DIYers...that actually makes me laugh a little when I type it! We, in fact, have no clue what we're doing in many of these cases. We are just learning along, researching, and praying to God that we love it! If something turns our miserably... believe me...we'll share it! There is nothing close to perfection when it comes to the Wendels, and we will never believe that's the case! This is just a fun little ride that we're on to make this house of ours a little more us! 

Our List Of Things To Do In 2012

1. Build A Desk For The Office 

Alex and I tend to keep busy on our computers in the evening. Whether it be blogging, working, or browsing, we tend to spend a lot of time with our laptops on our laps. We have a desk that is great for one person, but we felt that it was important to have a place where we can work together. So in comes our inspiration from Young House Love...

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We are hoping to DIY this puppy as much as possible, and can't wait to see how it turns out! 

2. Spray Paint Entry Chandelier

To be honest, I don't think that we put a ton of thought into our entry chandelier. We just saw that Calla Lilly chandelier and said "it's got to go!" The problem with it now is that it is bronze while everything else in our house is silver. I know that people are mixing metals now a days, but I'm just too OCD in my design likes. Our goal is to get it down, and spray paint it silver. If it turns out terrible...then I guess we get to go shopping! We'll see what happens.

Our "before" chandelier...pretty, but not quite right!

3. Paint The Entry/Kitchen/Living/Hallway

This is probably one of the biggest things we will be doing in the next few months. We adore the colors we currently have in our house...but they are just too dark. We are going to be bringing in an electrician soon to add some new cans in our living room, but there is only so much that lights will do. We are currently searching for the perfect shade of light grey that will work throughout the entry, kitchen, living room, and hallway. Here are some of our inspirations for colors! 

Moonshine by Benjamin Moore

Young House Love

Upward by Sherwin Williams 

House of Smiths

Light French Gray by Behr

IHeart Organizing

4.  Install Tile Back Splash

This is kind of a comical thing for us, because we have had the tile for years...literally! We just haven't taken the plunge yet. We were/are a little intimidated by the whole process, but when Young House Love installed their tile, I knew we could do it! So eventually we will get this baby started...but until then...they get to sleep with our coats in the coat closet.

This is the tile we have purchased nestled in the coat closet.

5. Add A "Popping" Detail To Our Master Bedroom

I feel that our bedroom needs something that will make it feel like a "master bedroom." I am known for always wanting a room/outfit to pop. I love having something that really stands out in an area, and there are a few things that we have in mind to make our master bedroom "pop!" We have been fishing around with a few ideas: 

Stenciling. I love the idea of a super graphic stencil to make our master bedroom pop! We won't do the whole bedroom, obviously, but just the wall that our bed is on. 

IHeart Organizing

Or some architectural trim work. Love how this inexpensive trim makes this bedroom look elegant and amazing! Again...only on the wall that our bed is on. 

IHeart Organizing

6. Do Something With Our Railing In The Entry

We have a love/hate relationship with this railing. I kind of love the swirling details, but I absolutely hate to clean it! For some reason this baby just attracts dust, and I kind of want to rip it down for that fact. We are still searching for inspiration for this puppy...but when we find something we really love, we'll share it with ya'll!



7. Build Some Pretty Shelves For The Kitchen And Dining Room

I fell in love with these shelves from House of Smiths. I love the idea of having a spot in our house that I can decorate for holidays without having to decorate the whole house. I also would love something similar in the kitchen to put cookbooks and some of our kitcheny things we don't use all the time (i.e. blender/spices/knife block) So here is what we're going to be working on for this task: 

I loveee me some House of Smiths

House of Smiths

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8. Paint The Yellow Room

So believe me...I love our yellow room! But it's way too...well...yellow. It's so yellow that when we get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, it looks like it's morning because that yellow is so flippin' bright! So we're hoping to go a little more neutral in wall color and bring in accents (or "pops" if you will) of yellows. 

I love this living room! A nice buttery colored wall with subtle yellow in the pillows and drapes. 

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9. Organize Some Of The Closets That Have Gotten Out Of Control

I will admit that I am a near freak and organization NUT! But this whole not being able to clean thing has led to our house becoming a bit of a mess. Wendel has done a FABULOUS job cleaning and keeping the house under wraps, but we have been stuffing things everywhere! So, in a few weeks (when I can walk again) I will be taking one closet at a time and purging/organizing everything! Can't wait! 

10. Pull Out Carpet On Top Floor

This is something that won't happen at least for a few months, but we are in need of a flooring overhaul. We have steamed the heck out of the carpet, and it looks pretty good considering. But when we think about our  future children, we would rather them not be crawling on carpet that may have nicotine in it. There is hardwood under the carpet, so our plan is this: pull up carpet everywhere, re-finish the floors in dining/living/hallway, and put new carpet in the bedrooms. We're hoping to do this in the fall, so right now we're researching colors for the hardwood and which type of carpet we want in the bedrooms! We'll keep you posted on our decisions and why we made them as we make them!! 

So these are the top 10 things we want to achieve in our house this year. Will other things pop up? Probably...but these are the things that if we achieve before the new year...I will be a happy wife! If they don't happen, will I throw a fit? No...the thing that DIYers need to remember is that things happen, roll with the punches, and enjoy the ride! 

What are ya'll working on this year? Anything small or big that you're excited about? Any suggestions for some of our projects! They are all welcomed! Fill me in!