12 Projects We Knocked Out in 2017

1. The Guest Room. We finished our guest room first thing this year--and I love that we have been able to host so many guests this year. Whether for weeks at a time, or an overnight--it's been nice to send our family and friends to their own space where it's quiet.

While I love this room, and we have gotten such positive feedback from our guests--it feels like a cool boutique hotel!--I still, to this day, get overwhelmingly nauseated when I go in the room to change the sheets or prep it for guests. We worked on this room when I was pregnant with Polly and very sick and the visceral memory of that kicks in every time I enter. Luckily, our guests have no such association. Ps. Those antelope antlers are one of my favorite things in our entire house. Read more about the guest room and all the sources here!

2. Our Home Office. Ahh, our home office. It's hard to believe we only completed this less than a year ago, because I don't know what we did before we had this space. I'm down here nearly every day working on projects and posts. We also recently got an intern three days a week and she works in here with me, too. Those box panels on the wall have my heart, but if you listened to last week's podcast you know that this room didn't get a perfect report card. Chris rarely works down here and he was the one gunning for a standing desk, while I wanted a more traditional height desk. I'd love to re-work some things in here in 2018 to make it more suitable for the people using it, while still keeping a similar vibe. Read more about our home office, that standing desk we DIYed and all the details and sources here!

3. The Baltimore Kitchen. In perhaps one of our most challenging projects to date, we renovated this old kitchen in Baltimore in a weekend for this year's Lowe's Spring Makeover, and for less than $5000, including appliances! Although exhausting, it was also one of our most fun projects, because we got to pick our team--aka. some of our favorite people!--and the after was completely worth the all-nighter and swollen pregnancy ankles.

Right!? More about this kitchen right here.

4. The Nursery. We participated in the spring One Room Challenge and gave the nursery a facelift in anticipation of our third little girl's arrival. This was one of my favorite projects this year, from the wainscoting, to the wallpaper and the blue accents--I still love spending so much time in here day after day. Read more about the nursery here.

5. An Indoor Playhouse. We always love paying projects forward when we can, and this year we were able to do a lot more of that. Like this indoor playhouse that started out like this:

And we transformed into this!:

Read more about that in this post.

6. A One-Day Master Bedroom Refresh. This is another project we had so much fun with that wasn't in our own home--A master bedroom in dire need of feeling masterful. The before was stuck in a post-dorm room state and we were given the task of overhauling it in just one day!

The after is grown-up and serene and I'm happy to report the homeowners still gush over it on the daily. Love these kinds of projects! Read more about this bedroom makeover here. 

7. The Launch of our Sofa Line! Launching our own furniture line with Interior Define this summer has been a dream come true. We designed a a full line of pet-friendly, kid-friendly pieces that are sturdy, but comfortable and look real good. We called the collection “Charly” after our big, beloved dog. Sadly, we lost our big girl this fall. We miss her snuggles every day. See our whole completely customizable line, including chairs, sofas, sectionals and sleepers (in over 7o fabrics!) right here.

8. The Backyard Playground. Whipping our backyard into shape has been on our to-do list since we moved in and this year, we were fortunate enough to make it happen. It wasn't cheap, but man, was it worth it. Our girls (and the entire neighborhood of kids) lovingly call our yard the "playground" now and I love peeking out the kitchen window to watch them play.

We still have plans to customize the playset we got from Wayfair (this one!) in the spring, but that's stopping no one from fully enjoying this space now--snow and all. Read more about our backyard "playground" here, including the budget breakdown.

9. The Girls' Bathroom. Lest you think all the projects we do are speedy, the girls' bathroom took more than half of this year, but we couldn't be happier with the outcome.

Having a tub downstairs and double sinks and better lighting--the game has been changed. The girls love their new bathroom and still want to show everyone that comes over. See more about the bathroom here. 

10. The Finally Functional Entry. Adding a plug socket to our entry changed everything! We could add lamps, at last! Which meant something for them to sit on--and why not make it a bunch of storage. The entry got whipped into shape this fall and it just feels good to have a space working for your family. More about the entry here!

11. The A-frame! We ended the year with a major foreshadow into our 2018--we bought an A-frame nestled in the mountains on the Palisades Reservoir in Idaho with a spectacular view. We have already made so many memories here in the few short months we've owned it. We can't wait to renovate it over the next year or so, and eventually Airbnb it, too. Read more about our cabin, and see before photos, here!

12. Our Family. On a personal note, 2017 was the year our family finally feels complete. After nearly 8 years of combined infertility, Polly's arrival in August, rounding out our daughter count to three, is literally a dream come true. Seeing all of our girls together tops any and all projects we tackle from day to day. They what make our house a home, are our favorite creations and what we work the hardest at, truly.

We also added Willow to our family this year and she has mended our hearts after Charly's passing in ways that we didn't know possible. She belongs in our home and we're so grateful for the love she so freely gives and spunk she brings, day after day.

Lastly, 2017 was a wonderful year, in large part to you--our loyal readers who cheer us on and check in with us day in and day out. Whether you've joined the ride this year, or have been following along for all 9 (!!!)--thank you. Thank you x a million. Can't wait to unlock 2018's potential and share more projects with you!