Here’s what I’d like to do in the new year to make our home feel better right now. Little changes we can enjoy straight away. We’d like to move eventually – these are all things we can either pack up and take with us, or that we can accept leaving behind.
Re-decorating
We’re all set to re-paint our kitchen and put up some new shelves, but I’d also like to have our hall and landing redecorated. Four years of sticky fingers and scooter scuff marks have taken their toll. I’d love to have it papered, but I think it would be ruined very quickly. Instead, I’m thinking about what paint colours would work. It’s a dark hall, with poor natural light. It’s beige at the moment with white woodwork, which looks ok, but a bit dreary. It desperately needs character. I’m leaning towards a pale bluey-grey, like Parma Grey by Farrow and Ball. Or possibly Borrowed Light, which is supposed to be great for dark spaces (see below).
Buying new lampshades
I have a small confession – our house has the worst lampshades. Dusty, cheap paper globes from Ikea. I want to ditch as many of these as we can next year, swapping them for something with just a tiny touch more personality. For the hall, I’d love a traditional lantern. I particularly like this one from Laura Ashley:
In our other rooms, I’m looking for quirky, but simple shades. We’ve been yearning for one of Lush Design’s shades for a while. Their Cottages and Castles design would fit in perfectly in our sitting room:
Finding a use for our spare bedroom
It doesn’t have a bed in it, so what is it? A laundry room, mostly – which is a bit of a shame. It seems a little silly to waste any more time using it as a ‘nothing’ room. James and I would both like an office space. We decorated it last Christmas, and now all it needs is a simple desk. Currently I work at the kitchen table, and it would be great to shift all my clutter into a dedicated space. I’d love one of these desks from Ikea:
Creating a vegetable patch and buying a small new shed
We’ve toyed with the idea of building a big new workshop in the garden, but for now, we’d like to invest in a small, inexpensive shed instead. We already have a large shed, but it’s very old, and it would be great to have somewhere dry to keep our bikes. I’d paint it the same blue as our playhouse. We’d also like to create a small vegetable patch at the end of our garden. We once had dreams of raised beds and paths, but I think it’s time for something less ambitious (and expensive). Just a simple patch of earth. Winter is a great time to get digging, so we need to get going. Here’s a picture of an old shed of mine, to give you some inspiration:
I hope that these projects will help us get more out of our home over the next year – to make it a nicer and more rewarding place to be, but without spending too much money in the process. And if we do spend money on it, I’d like it to be on things we can see and enjoy straight away!
What are you hoping to change in your house next year?
That Borrowed Light colour is so beautiful!! Lovely ideas and plans for your home for 2016, I definitely agree that there are so many small and relatively changes we can make that would make such a huge difference. That lampshade too definitely belongs in a hallway, it would create such an impact. Over Christmas I’m going to decide what projects and plans to tackle for next year, it was going to be a out front door but the company who created the bespoke design have gone bust so it’s back to the drawing board to see if the design is patented or not and then find a joiner with the skills! Xx
Thanks Lins! Good luck with your door – always surprisingly complicated in a period house I find! xx
Great inspiration. I love the Farrow and Ball paints they look amazing. Also great choice of lighting. Gemma xx
Thanks Gemma! I can’t wait to get going 🙂
I love your living room! I’m a sucker for a period feature. Looking forward to seeing what you do xx #HomeEtc
Thanks so much Kerry!
Borrowed Light looks beautiful, as does the lampshade with houses on. I love living vicariously through other people’s home projects! I don’t think we’ll be doing anything for the foreseeable, as our house is rented (and already very nice, to be fair!) and we don’t know how long we’ll be here. I’m hoping to find something else vaguely creative to do instead!
Thanks Rachel – I’m going to get a tester pot this holiday and seesaw it looks. You could definitely do lampshades – at least you can take them with you if you leave! 🙂
Love the wall colour idea, and that desk is superb! My hubby made me a similar one for the office (must share it in a post soon) and it is so practical! Oh I just cannot wait to see what you do to your home next year!!!! Happy Christmas, thanks for linking up SO much this year, it has been so good to meet you – and have a superb festive period xx
#HomeEtc
Jess xx
Thanks Jess! It’s been great getting to know you too through your lovely blog. I hope you have a lovely Christmas! x
My list is actually very similar to yours. I want to start the painting in September when my littlest starts school so I’ll have eight months to think about colour schemes. Lighting is also a priority. All of our fitting were bought for when we rented the house out. They okay but not what I’d personally choose. Time to change them one by one but I should probably wait until the rooms are painted so I can get a better feel for them.
I always traditionally ignore lighting – particularly when you’re on a budget, it tend to be the last thing on my list. But it’s so important, and I want to improve things in that department! I’m looking forward to seeing what colours you choose! x
I love that desk. It’s a great list of things that are all achievable – good luck and look forward to seeing the progress 🙂 #homeetc
Thanks Stephanie!
Happy new year Lizzie! I cannot BELIEVE I totally forgot to do all my comments for the last #HomeEtc. So much was going on just before Christmas but that’s no excuse!! Am so naughty!! AND sorry!!!
I absolutely love this post — it’s so nice to see someone else’s vision for the new year. Ours is very, very similar — the only difference being I AM having a workshop (finally) in my garden!! Can’t WAIT!!
Looking forward to starting another year of #HomeEtc tomorrow — I hope that you’ll come and join us xxx
Don’t worry at all! It’s nice to have some time off over Christmas. Ooh, I am very envious of your workshop – I bet it will be wonderful! x
Great plans, they all seem a perfect fit for your lovely home and all achievable (money permitting). I too want to turn my spare room into a home office – it seems such a waste of space for it to be little more than a laundry room. Best of luck with all your projects #HomeEtc
Thanks Molly! The only question is where we will keep all of our laundry?!
That’s something I”m still trying to figure out – it’s going to end up in our bedroom isn’t it? 😉
Yep! 🙂