2011 Year in Decorating Review

Last year I had so much fun going through all of my design projects for the 2010 Year in Home Review to link up over at Rhoda’s Southern Hospitality Blog. When I heard she was doing it again this year I knew I had better hop to it because I’ve been a busy little Boppy this year.

So here we go, a month-by-month review of my top DIY home design projects this year.

In January my first DIY project of the year was a big transformation when I spraypainted the brass dining room light fixture.

In February I posted about moving Garrett from his toddler bed to a new big boy bed. Later I followed that up with a big boy bed take 2, since we had to coax him back into his room after an unfortunate ghost named Lucy apparently moved in.

In March the gardening bug bit me and I started filling hanging baskets with diaper innards and planting all sorts of pretty flowers in the blue pots in the backyard.

April was a big month. I kicked things off by throwing a rustic elegant couples shower for my coworker.

And then, I posted what might be one of my most popular DIY projects of the year- this Pottery Barn inspired ladder turned chandelier with mason jar lanterns over the patio table.

In May I created these monogrammed succulent wreaths. These guys also helped raise money for the Alabama tornado survivors.

At the end of May I showed the reveal of Garrett’s beach themed Parrothead playroom mural even though it had been painted earlier in the year.

June began The Great Big Basement Remodel Project, which I kicked off by drawing a remodel concept sketch using Google Sketchup. If only I could slice my house in half right now you’d see that the basement turned out exactly like the Sketchup drawing.

I got crafty with the glue gun and some burlap and gave my lampshade a new look in the post Everyday I’m Rufflin’

Because matboard is boring, I stole this idea on how to hang a photo without any glass in the frame.

And then came the painters. This isn’t a DIY project, but choosing the paint color was hard enough so I’m including it here.

First the kitchen was transformed from yellow to blue.

Then we took the dining room from green to smoky blue paint.

And after the paint dried I decided to tramp stamp the china cabinet.

Next up on the blue paint train was the sunroom which we painted Sherwin Williams Seasalt

And last but not least (since it got painted twice) was the living room, foyer and balcony. They were painted Restoration Hardware Silver Sage.

Once the paint was all finished upstairs we moved to the basement and used all those paint samples to give the staircase a facelift. There was also some non-DIY board and batten revealed. For the full reveal make sure to check out my guest post at the DIY Showoff.

And we finally had the big finished basement reveal.

Whew! I’m not going to post all my DIY Christmas decor since it’s just a few posts back.

It’s great to recap all of these projects and see just how productive we’ve been this year. I’d like to say a huge “THANK YOU!” to my awesome husband for every single thing he’s done to improve the house DIY-style. I’m so blessed to have a handy husband who is willing and able to be my Mr. Fix-It. I didn’t even blog about him replacing the pool pump and booster pump over the summer, or all of his lighting and electrical skills. Not to mention all the nightly baths he gives Garrett and the countless loads of laundry he’s helped me wash and fold. I love you, J! Couldn’t do any of this without you.

And, Thank YOU, blog buddies and internet friends, for reading my blog and sharing your lives with me. I love being a part of this community of creative and talented people who support one another. It’s been so much fun getting to know you all this year! I look forward to meeting even more of you next year. Thanks again, for reading and contributing with comments and facebook feedback and twitter mentions. You’ve helped me stay motivated, because I love blogging about my projects for the feedback you all give me. This blog wouldn’t be as much fun without YOU! So thanks. 🙂

Here’s to a safe, happy, prosperous and even MORE productive 2012 for everyone. I am interested to see what it will bring for our household and yours.

For the complete Archive of my DIY adventures click on either of these posts:

2010 Year in Decorating Review

2011 Year in Decorating Review