My TLC and the Year of Completion!!

Hello all, and welcome to 2011!!! I can’t even begin to express how excited I get at the beginning of a new year. I love fresh starts and fresh perspectives.

2010 was a busy year for me, but looking back over the year, I didn’t really feel a huge sense of accomplishment. Busy, yes. Productive, not necessarily.

So I’m declaring 2011 as the Year of Completion for me. I’m taking my tiny little condo (my t.l.c.) one room at a time, and I’m going to finish up all of those little unfinished projects that have been nagging at me for months and months now.  And one by one, I will end up with completely…finished…rooms!!!!

Now don’t misunderstand. I don’t for one second think that I’ll actually completely finish this condo this year. I may end up surprising myself, but I’m not not thinking that I’ll actually be able to remodel the two bathrooms this year. No, my goals aren’t quite that lofty. I just simply want to complete what I’ve started. First up is my kitchen/breakfast room, followed by my bedroom, the family room, and then my office. If I can do all of that this year, then that will leave me with two bathroom remodels next year, and then the place will be finished!!

So starting with the kitchen and breakfast area, let’s see what I have on my “to do” list…

The biggest project will be this bookcase-turned-pantry. A person sees it as soon as he steps in the front door, and it needs to be dealt with!! I have the original door that goes on the bottom portion, and I want to have two additional doors made to cover the top portions. Then it needs to be painted to match the kitchen cabinets.

The pet station still needs to be painted.  I’m tired of looking at this red!!  I also need to stop using the cat bed section as storage for random items, and give my cats their bed back.  🙂

I also want to do some d.i.y. artwork for this wall, and find a more creative storage idea for the dog and cat food bags.


Two of my halogen light bulbs burned out this past week.  Bummer.  Those need to be replaced, and I need to finally purchase trim kits for these recessed lights.  I also need to install crown moulding all around the room.

Dining chairs.  I only need two.  It doesn’t seem like a tall order, but I’ve bee scouring Craigslist for months now, and have yet to find anything.  I’ll continue my search.

The flooring needs to be finished.  The areas around the walls still need tiles, and then I still need to grout.

I need to figure out what to do with this little area between the fridge and the dishwasher.  The rest of the room (and into the living room) has 4″ baseboards, so this looks scrawny in comparison.  So I need to figure out how to get this moulding off, without removing the dishwasher or the fridge, and replace it with something much more substantial.  Then it needs quarter round.

That empty frame…it taunts me.  I finally need to find something to fill it.

Remember my little electrical mistake?  I fixed the electrical problem, but never fixed the tile.  That needs attention.

I created more work for myself a few weeks back when I decided to refinish my countertops.  I’ve only finished the sink side, so the stove side still needs to be done.  I can’t wait to get rid of all of that redish orange stain.

Trim work needs to be painted.  Aarrrghhh!!!  It’s always those little details that I drag my feet on!!

And more trim.  This time, it’s crown moulding.  I seriously hate installing crown moulding.  Anyone want to do it for me?!  Please!!  Pretty please??!!!

This little area needs some color…possibly a d.i.y. artwork project.  Any ideas?!

Now on to the pillows for the banquette.  I finally bought a down/feather pillow insert for the middle pillow, which will be covered in the valance fabric.  Then I bought the fabric for the other pillows.  Now I just need to find time to make them.

More of those pesky details–paint touchups, grout touchups, and caulk touchups, all needed because I didn’t prepare and tape off the areas before I re-stained my countertop.  My lack of preparation has added to my “to do” list. 

I also need to change out the off-white outlets and light switches to white.  I’ve been procrastinating on this because I absolutely…HATE…doing electrical work.  I may actually hire someone to do this for me.

So I think that just about covers all of it.  Again, most if it is just those pesky little details!!!  But I’m determined…they WILL get finished BEFORE I move on to another room.  It’s my Year of Completion!!

Do you have projects you’re determined to finish this year?  Tell me about ’em!  Leave a link to your blog post if you’ve blogged about your project!!