Hey, hey! Happy New Year friends! I hope your year is off to a great start! Even though the last year flew by so quickly, we managed to complete a project or two ;). I usually like to share the most popular based on pageviews, but this year I decided to break tradition and share my favorite projects from the past year instead.
January-The Attic Studio
Last January we worked on finishing the other side of the attic. In 2021 we finished one side for my daughter, but last year we finished the other side and turned it into an office/studio for the kids to create music and content.

This project was a labor of love and was well worth it. I painted the floorboards, built a “Floating” desk, and added storage. Finishing the attic provided an additional 300 square feet of living space in our home.
February- Window Trim
February was a slower month, and I was just glad to finish off the trim on a window in our sitting room that had been installed over the previous summer.
I had put off finishing it for so long, so it was super rewarding to finally settle down and get it done.
March-Kitchen Window Seat
In March, I decided to make out the kitchen a bit more cozy by adding a floating window bench seat.

This might have been my favorite project of the year as it seems like a bench seat was meant for our kitchen. It gives the kitchen character and it provides much more space for our family to gather.
April-Courtyard
In April, I took my energy outside and began working on our courtyard area, that’s right off of our breezeway.

It’s a cute little area between our house and garage that we jazzed up with some pea gravel, and some landscaping rocks, mulch, and perennials, I also added a raised herb garden and my potting bench.

May-Tree Cutting
In May, we tackled over 22-100+ foot trees in and around our driveway. I’m not sure why I didn’t get around to documenting this on the blog, but as much as we dreaded tackling this project, we knew from the moment we stepped foot on this property that we’d need to have a lot of trees cut to protect our home and our neighbor’s homes as well.

After a few wind storms, really close calls, and sleepless nights, we decided to bite the bullet and have the humongous pine trees that surrounded our driveway cut.

The experience was truly amazing to watch. And once they were gone, we all slept better at night, even though seeing our yard s bare took some getting used to.
June-Garden Trellises
My favorite project in June was adding trellises to our garden beds which I placed very strategically to disguise the backside of the lower garage.
While I started my garden a bit late this past year, I’m excited to get them all filled up in the spring.
July-Pantry
Okay, this project might be a tie with the kitchen bench seat. For the pantry, we closed off a doorway to the mudroom and built a wall of cabinets, using stock cabinets.
This project created an additional small counter space and a lot more storage for our kitchen.
August-Glass Cabinet in Kitchen
In August, I continued sprucing up the kitchen and replaced my open shelves with a glass cabinet in the kitchen.

I love how it adds character and makes the kitchen look more polished.
September-Added wood backing to the cabinet
In September, I decided to tweak the glass cabinet a bit to add warmth to the kitchen. I stained oak boards and lined the back of the cabinet with them adding texture and even more character.
October-Driveway Sealcoating
October was one of the toughest months of my life due to the loss of my dad, so this project wasn’t well documented as it happened a day after I found out he passed. Needless to say, not much else was done in October.

But seal coating our driveway was 100 percent my husband’s thing, he was pretty obsessed with the idea, and I’m so glad he was because looking back, our driveway was in rough shape.
November-Brick Fireplace Makeover
In November I began prepping for the holidays and kicked off my brick fireplace makeover. I’m so happy with this project, although it’s still a work in progress and I haven’t even taken a photo of it painted yet!
December-Holidays
In December I usually love focusing on simpler projects and holiday crafts, but this year was tough for me, mourning the loss of my dad definitely put me behind–I wasn’t even able to do a holiday tour this year because my spirit wasn’t what it normally is, but I’ve given myself grace during this time.
I hope you’ve enjoyed looking back at these projects, and that you’ve taken some time to reflect on what you’ve accomplished over the past year too. It was another tough one, but we made it through! Happy New Year friends, and thanks for being here!
So sorry for the loss of your dad. You are doing the right thing by giving yourself time to mourn. I loved all the projects you did!
Tania
I found your blog last year through Mackenzie Horan and love following your home projects.. I esp love this collection and look back- great idea!
I’m sorry for your loss. And I’m proud of you for giving yourself permission to do less as needed. Giant hugs to you and everyone who is grieving.
Author
Thank you Corrieđź’•