apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

If the corroded pipes finally burst.... new pipes are #1. Otherwise, getting the poor bushes out of their pots and into the ground. Sigh. : ) Nothing decor-related comes in until a distant #2: choosing one of the FOUR shades of green currently making a poor-man's-Rothko out of my living room and finally painting the walls.

Well, I *was* hoping to get the kitchen back splash tile finished before the puppy arrived... So I guess that's top on my list, but it'll have to wait for a bit until I can board him for a day or so. Runner up is excavating the old planters on my back stairs and planting... something. Anything!

buy a mattress for the guest room

Build a deck!

So many things. I think I'm going to work on the wood of a new (old) cabinet with Howard's products (Feed-and-Wax and Restore-a-Finish), if I can get a weekend day where I can open the windows for ventilation. And, I want to put handles on the doors and add legs to it.

making our new place look cooler than our last place (no money, lame layout, too tired from pregnancy)

my big challenge for summer is to do less! i'm just focused on purging as much excess as possible, and NOT letting myself pick up anything new (unless i really, honestly cannot resist :-p)... because i'm moving mid-August. then comes DIY-time!

Landscaping: plant annuals like impatiens and petunias

Exterior: replace my downspouts. remove carpet from porch and repaint porch floor and stairs

Kitchen: repaint! new counters and maybe new doors if the budget allows

Basement: repair water damaged concrete floor and walls.

Can someone give me like, half a million dollars so I could just pay someone to do all of this? /cry

Finishing my curtains (I did the sides and the top and let the bottoms go unfinished... I know it can be done so quickly but I've been putting them off for the longest time!); saving up for an area rug and tiny dining table or something; and finishing unpacking the last straggling boxes from my move 3 months ago.

Painting the bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen...and hanging shelving for the living room!

Stain the dining room table; replace the lights in the bedroom; replace the lights in the basement; replace the towel bars &c in all three bathrooms; closet organizer systems! (any recommendations for the latter?)

-install a firepit in the back yard.
-build a new front porch before our current one collapses under us!
-Sew curtains for the kitchen
-Plant another indoor herb pot and hang up
-tend to the garden and stay on top of my lofty preserving plans

Oh yeah, and sew cushions for the patio set
and find a new kitchen table and chairs for the price of $0.

New cushions for the daybed, paint and install shelves, upholster and install a headboard.

Install a door on my 2nd floor and create a balcony/roof outdoor space.

Finish putting up my window panels!

Buy a coffee table, barstools, rug

Mount my new 47" LCD

1. Finish reupholstering my Eames lounge knock-off
(this is going to be the most fun! - I'll be documenting the process as I go on my blog http://redjetwhistle.blogspot.com/)

2. New paint for BR, DR & bath
3. Organize the craft/sewing room chaos!!

~ Pick a wall color for the remaining unpainted lr walls.
~ make lr curtains
~ Paint bedroom
~ make bedroom curtains, spread and pillow covers
~ f ix up "new" buffet/tv stand (new handles, scratch repair)
~ replace kitchen hardwear
~ revamp old tv stand in to coffee table and paint.
~ Print pics and frame for lr walls
....and on, and on , and on!

I actually prefer to tackle home improvement projects in the winter, when I wouldn't really want to be outside anyway. Summertime is the best time of year in Chicago to get outside and explore, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

fix foundation! the cement is crumbling!

Summer is for landscaping (winter is for interior) at Chez Kuroneko. Repaint or replace the fence, clean up the flowerbeds, paint the porch. I try to get at least a little bit done every day.

It is a very mundane project, but if I get my carpet cleaned with the machine I bought months ago, I will be very satisfied (and forever shoeless after).

Install hardware on kitchen cabinets, hem family room curtains, clean out a closet and small storage room, fix a lightbulb pull, exchange seasonal shoes (spring—>summer), measure, buy, and install a hallway closet system, finally finish purging and organizing the office. And oh yeah, GO PLAY OUTSIDE!

lizaboo: We did a comparison between Container Store's Elfa system and Bed Bath's Schulte system and went with the latter.

Clean out the garage! We have a ton of stuff stored in there from when we moved... most of it waiting for a garage sale. Once it's cleaned out and the stuff is gone, then we're going to work on organizing/finishing the garage so it's more of a functional outside room rather than just a crammed storage shed.

Must-do projects:
* Landscaping: plant perennials and annuals in the new bed where my microscopic front lawn used to be.
* Exterior: repaint my garage door and front door, replace the hardware on my front door.

Probably-do projects:
* Kitchen: repaint walls and ceiling, new counters, and either paint or replace the ugly pinkish pickled oak doors.

Possibly-do projects:
* Guest Bedroom: Finally furnish it

and... in the "yeah, as if that's gonna happen" file
* Replace the carpeting

*Remove wallpaper in guest room, then paint.
*Purge and take junk out of the house
*Set up better recycling area

Painting the bedroom.
Staining or painting my wood craft table.
Putting another coat of paint on the living room ceiling. I did an embarrassingly bad job the first time, but I'm not ready to tackle it until I'm done with the bedroom.
Continuing my decluttering/purging efforts.

1. Remove ugly carpeting in MB and kid's play room
2. Buy FLOR for the above rooms (area rugs)
3. Finish redecorating dining/office/whatever room
4. Finish my very first Nakashima-style redwood coffee table and present it to my mom (inspired by AT and CasaSugar)
5. Start and finish ANOTHER Nakashima-style walnut coffee table (for us)

pretty much it for now....

Finishing the kitchen renovation I started with the Spring Cure. I will be done ... I will be done ...

1) Scrape off popcorn ceilings, prime and paint (in progress). [Yes, we had it tested, and it's non-asbestos.]
2) Re-caulk bathroom fixtures
3) Weather-strip windows
4) Paint every room
5) Paint kitchen cabinets and add new hardware

We'll probably only get partially through #4 before the summer is over, but oh well...

Paint the kitchen, including sanding and painting the hideous cabinets.

Drill some holes in the brick wall outside my deck and hang some planters for herbs and flowers (since we can't have anything on the porch)!