Note: This is a retroactive post I put together in December 2011 so I could create a month-by-month recap for our first year in the new house. I’m a little Type A, so here’s everything we tackled in June, presented like a high school yearbook.
Most Improved: Finally painting the kitchen paneling. After living with dark wood for months, we painted the panels and the room immediately felt brighter and more modern. The fresh paint made a big visual difference and set the tone for more updates to come.
Most Annoying: Priming the paneling — a tedious process that took more than a few tries. Properly sealing and priming those grooves was time-consuming but essential for a smooth, long-lasting finish.
Most Destructive: Removing a few cabinets and patching the floor to make room for the paneling makeover. Taking out built-in pieces and repairing flooring is messy work, but it was necessary to get the kitchen ready for its transformation.
Most Goal-Oriented: We declared a new nightly habit: clearing the kitchen table of miscellaneous clutter before bed. It’s a simple routine that helps the whole house feel calmer in the morning, though we’re still hit-or-miss some nights.
Most Snow White-esque: Planting fast-growing evergreens along the side of the house to add privacy. While planting, we also made friends with a frog and a duck—small backyard moments that made the project enjoyable and helped the yard feel more alive.
Most Gifted: Commissioning a sketch of our first house as a Father’s Day gift for John. Framing the drawing in the hallway added a sentimental touch and celebrated our first home in a meaningful way.
Most Organized: Relocating and organizing the notorious junk drawer. Clearing it out and creating order made everyday life smoother and reduced the small frustrations of searching for random odds and ends.
Most Likely To Get Dirt Under Our Nails: Tackling the overgrown mailbox area: we weeded, applied landscape fabric, planted, mulched, and moved a few signs. It was a dirty, satisfying project that made the front of the house look cared for again.
Most Edible: Building a small container garden for farmer’s market herbs using a galvanized tin and a drill. Having fresh herbs at arm’s reach improved cooking and planted the seed for more kitchen garden experiments.
Most Desperate: Making eight curtain panels for the living room by cutting and hemming discontinued Ikea curtains. It was a resourceful solution that stretched a limited fabric supply into a cohesive window treatment.
Biggest Hearth: Painting the fireplace and giving it a fresh look. This small change made the living room cozier and updated the focal point without a major renovation.
Class Hothead: Removing an old wood stove that Clara was strangely fascinated by and that didn’t feel safe to keep. Taking it out improved safety and opened up design possibilities for that corner of the room.
Most Circus-esque: Sharing a wildly weird elephant-related dream that read like a surreal mini-adventure. It was one of those odd personal anecdotes that made us laugh and shake our heads.
Most Incoherent: Going thrifting in Georgia with Katie B and getting way too hyper. Those shopping trips are equal parts treasure hunt and comedy, often ending with stories that are hard to untangle afterward.
Most Colorful: Sewing dining room curtains from imperfect discount fabric. The bold, mismatched material added personality to the space and proved that clever sewing can turn imperfect finds into charming decor.
Class Nomad: Moving a dresser and mirror into the guest room to better suit our layout. Rearranging furniture helped the guest room feel more intentional and welcoming.
Most Superstitious: Making a small “lucky seven” art piece with painter’s tape and a scrap of wood. It was a quick, playful project that added a bit of charm to the wall.
Most Likely To (Not) Succeed (At Least The First Attempt): Dyeing inexpensive slipcovers for the dining room—several trials were needed to get an even color. It was a lesson in patience and experimentation that ultimately paid off.
