Top 20

I bought my house (which is now our house) almost 4 years ago. It was my first permanent home away from my parents. I had lived on campus in college, and spent a summer in a rented room in San Diego, but never moved out for good. In the 3, almost 4, years I've lived here, a lot of cosmetic work (Not to mention the new roof, furnace, air conditioner, and garage door opener!) has been done. I had already purchased living room furniture and a queen bed before I moved in. I got new counter tops for the kitchen (including the addition of a breakfast bar), stainless steel back splashes, all new stainless look kitchen appliances, a new washer and dryer, a sofa table, a dresser, and bought about 15 gallons of paint for all of the rooms that had been painted a pinky-beige color. I had a bright blue office/library, a purple kitchen, an almost-black bedroom, and a teal blue bathroom. It was pretty for what it was.

Blue library, still love this color!

Teal bathroom, now gold and a work in progress.

Still think this is pretty, but not so much my style anymore.

Black bedroom, (and P-squared... a story for another day.) we love this room and it's not changing anytime soon.

Purple and white kitchen, now sage and gray. Another work in progress.

Needless to say, my tastes have changed quite a bit since then. I also have husband's tastes to consider now too. He likes Tuscan, rustic, and traditional. I like modern, eclectic, and a little old Hollywood glam. The only thing we've really got going for us is that my draw toward eclectic sometimes means I like rustic elements. This is his first house (other than a couple rentals with his guys friends) and he wants it to reflect his style. I obviously love decorating so I want it to reflect my style. It's going to be interesting to see how our tastes come together to create our home.

One thing we both recognize is that most of the house is currently a work in progress and we want to see it out to completion. Since we're working on paying off debt and building up savings, we're on a somewhat limited budget. So we'll be taking things one piece at a time and trying to do it on the cheap. There are a few projects in each room I'd like to tackle this year. (And husband is going to help, right?)

Living Room 
      1. Shop for and hang Curtains - I've lived here for almost 4 years and never hung curtains!
      2. Shop for large furniture pieces like a TV console, a rug, two table lamps and a floor lamp or    
          chandelier, and maybe a new coffee table.
      3. Style the room with accessories

Dining Room
      4. Shop for and hang curtains
      5. Repaint
      6. Shop for a china cabinet

Kitchen
      7. Style with accessories

Back Hallway (What doesn't need to be done here!?)
      8. Paint paneling and back door
      9. Install new vinyl on the stairs
      10. Update light fixture or replace it

Bedroom
      11. Organize jewelry and clothes
      12. Art for the walls
      13. DIY a headboard

Bathroom
      14. Style with accessories
   
Guestroom
      15. Rework layout
      16. Style with accessories

Office
      17. Organize files and paperwork

Laundry Area
      18. General cleaning and reorganizing
      19. Paint
      20. Style with rugs and accessories

Whew! And there's even more that needs to be done than that. Eventually. Anyone else have their own Top 20 list for this year?