2023. Somehow that just doesn’t seem like a possibility. A new year. New possibilities. And a time to reflect on all the events of the previous year. 2022 was not what we anticipated in many ways. There were various trials, losses, and disappointed hopes. There was also much hope, joy, growth, and an abundance of blessings. And of course, a few home projects. We had vowed at the beginning of last year that we would avoid any big home projects. We were going to “take a break” so to speak. The only problem with that effort was that we blew it in about two weeks. The truth is, I’m not sure we know how to take breaks very well. The extensive project of the year was our basement renovation (which is still far from finished I should say), but we also did a number of more modest projects throughout the year as well: painting the ceilings, painting our bedroom, and creating a functional mudroom space at the top of the basement stairs.
This small area of our home became a catchall for anything that needed to go downstairs into storage or the laundry. It was a blank canvas that served really no purpose other than to house an assortment of random belongings that I was too lazy to bring down and properly put away. It was bland, dull, and became a total clutter magnet. A white, boring box with the potential for something more. It was a project that I had wanted to tackle in 2022, but was content to leave be…until we worked on the basement. With the basement and stairway taking shape, it suddenly become more obvious how much of an eyesore that area really was. I was dreaming of beauty, drama, and functionality for that space. So we decided to go ahead and tackle it. Here is a look at the before. You can see not only how drab the space looked, but you can notice the unsightly plaster lines on the walls. Not the most beautiful to look at.
Now, there isn’t a great deal of space in the nook. After some thought, I felt the best way to upgrade the space was to add floor to ceiling bead board for added visual height and to install hooks to hang our jackets and sweaters that are commonly used. It would relieve some space in our front closet and make it easier to access items in a hurry. We could make it serve as a minuscule mudroom of sorts. It isn’t shown in these photos, but the bead board does wrap around that entire space.
It was also a way to tie in the bead board and color that were used in the breakfast nook. A way to “expand” the breakfast nook without any real demo or renovation. You’ll notice in the photo directly above that the colors look different from the breakfast nook into the mudroom. The breakfast nook receives a great deal more sunlight than the mudroom. In harsh afternoon sunlight, the color does appear much lighter. But in the “before” photo, you will see how the color looks without the direct afternoon sun and how the two colors are in fact the same.
I won’t pretend that this project was easy. In my uninformed mind, nailing up some floor to ceiling bead board would be a breeze. I failed to calculate the important elements like uneven floors and ceilings and walls that bowed out and wouldn’t take to being nailed in. My poor husband. It’s in those moments where I regret all my crazy ideas. I never realized how much time, effort, and calculating it would take to make this dream little space a reality. Sounds pretty typical of life doesn’t it? The things we want usually come at a higher price than we generally anticipate. And this was no exception.
Despite its challenges, Ryan did a spectacular job of putting it all together. And once his work was over, my turn began. The caulking and painting is usually my job, and I love it. The paint color is Roycroft Bottle Green by Sherwin Williams. There is still come caulking and touch up paint to be finished now that the hooks have all been placed, but I couldn’t be more thrilled with how this “simple” project turned out. It made our space more visually appealing and added some functionality that we were in desperate need of. It also adds that English country flair that I love so much.
Will we decide to make plans for any more home projects in this new year? We aren’t sure. Our goal is to stick with small, more manageable projects that won’t take a great deal of planning and effort. Regardless, you can be sure we will continue to strive in simple ways for a home that we love and thrive in. And I hope you will too. Thank you for checking in with my first post of the new year. Here is to a blessed 2023, my friends.
