Happy New Year’s Eve! In keeping with bloggy tradition, today is the day I recap my favorite projects of the previous year. January 15, 2014 will mark 6 years of blogging for me! It’s hard to believe that I have been at it for so long, but looking back each year it’s reaffirming to see how far my home (and my photography!) has come along during that time.
This year was a quieter year for me in the “major DIY projects” department, and yet there were still some fun ones. My favorite accomplishment of 2013 was getting my kitchen completely finished! This is hands-down my favorite room in my home. You can see the entire process and transformation in my Kitchen Living post. If you’ve never seen the before pictures of my kitchen, it is worth checking out!
Our home’s exterior received a much-needed facelift this summer. It looks so much fresher with it’s new paint job! You can see what colors we used here: Row Home Exterior Paint.
Using some left over paint from our exterior paint job, I painted our guest room and gave it a complete makeover which included a myriad of DIY projects. This space is so much more inviting now and has come in handy when a family member is sick. It’s more of a “quarantine room” than a guest room!
One of my main goals for 2013 was to build some bookshelves in this room that would contain all of my husband’s books. Goal accomplished! You can read our tutorial for Ikea Billy Built-in Bookshelves.
I also did a tutorial on How to Style Bookshelves that you might want to check it if you missed it.
I continued to work with Lowes in 2013 as a Lowes Creative Ideas Blogger. Some of the monthly challenges helped me spruce up our outdoor area with my Pipe Hanger Planter and Chair Planter.
Another fun Lowes challenge was to build an outdoor game. I showed you How to Build a Cornhole Board and bean bags—or corn bags as they are more aptly called ;).
This year included painting a few pieces of furniture. I explained my process on How to Paint and Prep Furniture and showed off my favorite painted piece this year which was my vintage hutch.
We celebrated in 2013 with a bunch of fun parties, and I blogged about a few. The boys favorite parties were Asher’s Harry Potter Birthday…
…and the Back to School S’mores Party.
I worked with some amazing brands and traveled quite a bit for business in 2013. Two of these trips tasked me with creating spaces outside of my home. I was proud of the Dramatic Dining Hall Makeover that I designed with the help of Homes.com. This was for a homeless shelter in Atlanta and it was emotionally rewarding to be a part of this project!
The second space I designed was for the LaZBoy White Room Challenge. This was such a fun challenge!
I finished off the year with improvements to our master bedroom!
Right before Christmas, I built a DIY Plank Wall, and in a few weeks I’ll show you the grand reveal all painted and pretty.
It has been a fun year! Thanks for visiting and sharing it with me. Cheers to 2014!
Miss Charming says
So many wonderful projects, Beth. (And I loved reading about your Lazy Boy room makeover the most.) Happy 2014!
Victoria says
Your home is beautiful and inspiring! You show that you don’t have to live in 3000 plus sq feet to have a nice home. Thanks for the inspiration. Victoria
the cape on the corner says
such great projects, beth, but I think your exterior is still my fave!
Beth says
Thank you! It’s a fun change for sure :).
Tina Gleisner says
Beth, Embarrassing as I missed the other shades of gray as I’m so used to seeing bright, bold colors on Victorian houses, e.g. http://remodelingnewburyport.com/victorian-custom-homes/
Might be fun to collect a bunch of photos & see who similar or different they are.
Agree that I’ve finally accepted I need to learn Google+ but don’t really know much yet or I’d try to help.
Beth says
Yes, when we lived in W. Philadelphia area the row-homes were so bold and FUN! Here, they are very, very quiet so I conformed :). I added you on G+.
Tina Gleisner says
Beth, Can you please add me to Google+ so I can comment there? In addition to above, wanted to say how I like that you didn’t hide brick wall behind the bookcases & curious why you didn’t do any accent painting on your home’s exterior?
Beth says
Hi Tina, I used Dovetail by Sherwin Williams as an accent color which is a darker gray than the lighter Knitting Needles. I also used Rainwashed on my door and porch ceiling. It’s definitely more subdued than before but I love it! Happy New Year and thanks for stopping by! Off to figure out how to add you back on G+. I still haven’t mastered that form of social media yet :).
Tina Gleisner says
For a year when you said you weren’t too busy, you certainly accomplished a lot …
Dana@chocolateandsunshine says
Your home is beautiful. I especially loved it during your Christmas Home Tour.
In your kitchen, did you already have the wood beams or did you add them? Were they read wood or faux? I’m interested in doing something similar to another room in my home.
Love your blog! Have a wonderful 2014!
Dana
Beth says
Hi Dana, thanks so much! You can read about my beams here if you’d like: http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/kitchen/home-stories-a-to-z-kitchen-with-az-faux-beams.html