My Top 10 Favorite Projects of the Year

I seriously can't believe that 2015 is coming to a close. It was a great year. After years of struggling with unemployment due to the sucky economy, Shane has been employed at his current job for over 2 years and we have dug ourselves back out of the pit unemployment throws you in.  We still had many unexpected things pop up (surgery, and a million things breaking) and things are still tight, but it was the first time in a long time that I didn't go to bed every single night stressing over money.

We were able to SLOWLY get some projects done on the house. I wish it could have gone faster but I am glad we paid as we went and didn't go into debt. I have the hardest time waiting! Fingers crossed we can get our bathroom done this new year :) The basement seems like a pipe dream at this point, but who knows!

Of all the things that we did get done, I have chosen 10 of my favorite projects. Some bloggers chose their top posts (the ones with the most traffic or pins) but I like to simply pick my favorite.  So here they are, in no particular order (because it was hard enough to narrow it down to 10).

 

#1. Dining Room Chalkboard

This was actually part of a Styled X3 challenge (my favorite new series I started this last year). I added old fence pickets around the chalkboard I had painted on the wall and then added a little wall planter to hold the chalk. I started out thinking it would be for the week's menu and/or shopping list but we actually use it for our family's weekly scripture now.

 

 

 

#2. Painted Turkish Kilim Rug

I love this rug! I became obsessed with kilim rugs this year but couldn't find one I liked that was small enough for a door mat. I decided to paint one of my own!

 

 

#3. Kitchen Open Shelves

This was one of my most recent projects and I am smitten with the look! I bought the brackets about a year ago and have been waiting to get them up ever since. Now I am just waiting on new kitchen cabinet doors and the kitchen will be DONE!

 

 

#4. My Office Floors and Cabinets

My whole office got a makeover! I haven't revealed the whole room yet because I had to send my wide angle lens for my camera to New Jersey to get fixed. But I just got it back so stay tuned for the full room very soon! I painted the damaged wood floors since it was cheaper than replacing them and while I know that the bold black and white stripes are not everyone's cup of tea, I adore them! They make me smile every day. I also gave my white cabinets a makeover. You can see the up close pics and the process over on the HomeRight blog. The latch hardware gives it a fun vintage vibe. They are the same ones I want for my kitchen.

 

 

#5. Tree Stump Planter

When our tree fell over during a horrible storm a couple of years ago I swore I would use as much of it as I could so it wouldn't just all end up as fire wood. This was one of the many projects I did using part of the trunk. It is so fun! I added hairpin legs because I love adding something modern to something rustic. I love the unexpected. This is one of my most pinned projects so I guess others like the unexpected too :)

 

 

#6. Service Project with Home Depot

I have been honored to work along side the Home Depot Foundation for the last 4 years and while I always love going to the different job sites and either building or fixing existing housing for veterans, I loved this trip to New Orleans the most because Shane got to come along and see for himself how amazing it is to serve our countries heroes. It fell on our 15 year anniversary and I couldn't think of a better place to be :)

 

 

#7. Checkered Kitchen Ceiling

Before painting them black and white, we had painted our ceiling in light and dark green (sage) checkers. I brainstormed on ways to make our SUPER small kitchen feel bigger and I knew I needed to paint it a bright white. I couldn't bare to get rid of the checker pattern after enjoying it for so many years, so I changed the colors instead.

 

 

#8. Reclaimed Wood Desk

I made this first as a desk for my son but it actually is now in my office with the keyboard on it. When I redecorated the office I wanted something nicer than the black metal stand the keyboard came with so I switched it out for this desk.

 

#9. Gallery Wall

I added a new gallery wall above my couch.  I just love gallery walls! I also love changing them every so often. This one will probably stay for quite awhile though because I think it really fits the space. You can see the full wall in my post here and read about the staghorn fern art here in this post.

 

 

 

#10. My Book (& the Terrarium Side Table)

I gave birth to a book this year. While most of the projects were completed at the end of last year, the book didn't make its debut until June of this year. It has been my baby and I poured all of my time, energy, and passion into it. And while I sometimes think "Oh I should have done this...." or "That picture is too dark." I am incredibly proud of it. Our of the 35 projects in the book, I think this terrarium side table is my favorite.

 

 

 

The other day I was looking around our house and feeling like I had not done very much. I was focused on the things that I didn't get done and was down on myself. A few days later I was going through all my blogging paper work and trying to get organized for the new year. I found many to-do lists and realized I had checked off most of the things. I realized that I had really worked my butt off and even if a lot of those things were projects (like re-texturing all the walls) that weren't as obvious as some of the other ones.

So here's to another year filled with family, projects, and service :)