Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How To Make A Whole House To Do List

Exciting times guys. Operation Ditch The Blue Trim is currently in progress! So while we sweat our way through un-blue-ing things on the second floor – that’s four bedrooms, a nice long hallway, and at least 10 doors – we thought it was high time we shared our master to-do list for the new house (and for anyone jonesing for trim-painting info/photos, we hope to finish up and be back with a full report for you on Wednesday).

Trim Painting6

These posts came about when people asked how we organize all the stuff we have on our to-do list. We explained that we basically have one long run-on document that we update as we go. Folks kept asking us to share it and it turned out to be a good time for us since public proclamations help keep our momentum up, and crossing things off gives me a nice mom-buzz. So here’s our first brain dump for the new house. Of course things tend to evolve as we go, so we’ll probably change our minds fifty times, but right now if you were to peel back our skulls and peek into our DIY-loving brains (you’re welcome for that delicious visual) this stuff would be banging around in there. #warningitslong

– The Front Yard (0% Complete) –

Front Before

To Do:

  • Dig up all the quickly spreading ground cover
  • Remove the trees that are dead/decaying/diseased beyond repair (our house inspector helped confirm which ones had to go)
  • Aerate, level, and seed the yard
  • Make planting beds up front and mulch and plant them
  • Repaint all exterior siding and trim (there’s peeling paint, some rot, etc)
  • Redo old cracked concrete walkway from the driveway to the front door (add curves and pretty planting beds on both sides)
  • Add some pretty hardscaping around the front (we’re still inspired by this house’s awesome landscaping – so we’d love to add something raised stone beds)
  • Plant a few green dwarf maples (it’s our favorite thing that we planted one at our current house – you can see it in this post under the window on the right)
  • Add exterior up-lighting (some of the neighbors have it and it’s crazy charming at night)
  • Add low curved brick borders on either side of the driveway wired with lights (some of the houses nearby have ’em and we love them)
  • Get the driveway paved

– The Portico (0% Complete) –

Portico Before

To Do:

  • Repaint the portico (peeling paint = everywhere)
  • Arch the portico ceiling (it’s low and one house up the street has an arched ceiling with a gorgeous hanging lantern)
  • Add a few planters, a new door mat, new porch lighting, etc
  • Paint the front door (we’re leaning towards a rich emerald color but we’ve also always loved a glossy red door)

– The Garage (0% Complete) –

Garage Before

To Do:

  • Repaint garage doors and add some nice hardware to beef them up
  • Add pergola over double garage doors with vines creeping over it
  • Finish the interior of the garage with drywall to create a workshop on one side and storage around the perimeter (add pegboards, shelving for paint and tools, etc)
  • Reuse kitchen cabinets in the garage if we can’t salvage them after the kitchen makeover (they’re dinged up and splintered in a bunch of spots, but would be great for the garage)
  • Redo four steps that lead from garage to kitchen (remove old carpeting and paint them? rebuild them completely?)
  • Build a box on casters for scrap wood storage in the garage (we need a system to keep it from being all over the place)
  • Maybe we should get old lockers and paint them fun colors and remove some of the doors for storage? (love these!)
  • Possibly add plumbing for a utility sink out there (we’ve always wanted one in our “workshop”)

– The Foyer (0% Complete) –

Foyer Before

To Do:

  • Remove the old carpet from the wood stairs
  • Paint blue trim in foyer, including stair balusters
  • Remove wallpaper and repaint the walls
  • Remove the doors that block the flow into the kitchen (and the pretty view out the back windows that will someday be french doors)
  • Depending on how things go as we move in/live there, we might add gates to the stairs and maybe a stair runner (seagrass? a colorful Dash & Albert runner?)
  • Replace the old foyer light (paint existing one? so torn!)
  • Replace tile? (only if it’s un-salvageable – there are a few areas where it’s pretty beat up)
  • Since there are two closets in the foyer and we only need one for coats, so we want to build a craft and toy closet in the deeper foyer closet with a bunch of shelves to store Claraphernalia

– The Half Bathroom (0% Complete) –

Half Bath Before

To Do:

  • Remove wallpaper
  • Repaint all blue trim (and door)
  • Upgrade door hardware & hinges
  • Paint walls
  • Replace vanity
  • New mirror (something larger and higher – John can only see up to his shoulders now)
  • Upgrade lighting
  • Replace tile floor? (only if it’s un-salvageable)
  • Here’s a shocker since this house is covered with old wallpaper, but we’re actually flirting with adding some cool new wallpaper since there’s no tub/shower in there (grass cloth? something charming like this or this?). Could be fun!

– The Dining Room (0% Complete) –

Dining Room

To Do:

  • Clean and re-poly the wood floors
  • Upgrade built-ins (remove scrolly tops? build up to ceiling? paint white?)
  • Paint all of the blue trim
  • Remove the wallpaper and repaint the walls
  • Upgrade lighting and curtains
  • Add furniture, a rug (?) and art

– The Living Room (0% Complete) –

Liv Before

To Do:

  • Clean and re-poly the wood floors
  • Prime and paint the bright pink walls
  • Lose the curtains
  • Prime and paint the thick woodwork that wraps around the bottom half of the room’s walls (we LOVE it, and think it’ll be gorgeous in white)
  • Paint the brick fireplace wall in the first phase of lightening up the room (we always loved how our first house’s den looked after we cozied it up with paint)
  • Retile fireplace (maybe something like this tile?) and get gas logs as phase two after we save up our bucks OR drywall fireplace wall and add a stone lip like this?
  • Add more can lights to evenly light the room (there are just three near the fireplace)
  • Turn the overhead beams into a coffered ceiling (like these)
  • Build/find a nice big built-in-looking cabinet that holds the TV (across from the window, we think)? We’ll have to see where we end up on this one…

– The Office (0% Complete) –

Office Before

To Do:

  • Lose the curtains
  • Clean and re-poly the wood floors
  • Paint walls and trim and ceiling
  • Add double desk work area somewhere – perhaps coming out from the middle of the left wall (or the right wall between the windows)?
  • Bring in storage (bookcase, file cabinet, etc) – possibly cool build-ins around the bay window
  • Add curtains/window treatments
  • Hang art & create a brainstorm-zone on the walls (bulletin board? chalkboard?)
  • Add two large potted plants (lemon trees? fiddle leaf figs?) in front of the two front-facing windows

– The Kitchen (0% Complete) –

Kitchen Before

To Do:

  • Remove the wallpaper and paint the walls
  • Lose the curtains
  • Convert giant triple window into french doors leading onto deck
  • Open wall between kitchen & living room then add built-ins on either side (sort of like the dining room built-ins in our current house)
  • Prime and paint the woodwork that wraps around the bottom half of the room’s walls
  • Full kitchen reno (replace the faux brick linoleum, damaged cabinets, laminate counters, bad lighting, old broken appliances, etc)
  • Perhaps try our hand at heated floors under some fresh tile (that might spill into the foyer and hall bath if we can’t salvage that tile)
  • Organize the pantry with pull out drawers and bins and containers (and paint the door a fun color or replace it with frosted glass?)
  • Amp up the “command center” area across from the triple windows
  • Paint the new kitchen french doors and door to the sunroom (black? charcoal? soft turquoise? white?)
  • Get water filter for under the sink
  • Add window treatment and pendant over the sink & a larger new light fixture over the eat-in area
  • Figure out how to create a drop zone for coats, shoes, etc (maybe in the garage if not in here?)

– The Sunroom (0% Complete) –

Sunroom Before

To Do:

  • Rip up old stinky carpet and padding
  • Seal in the smell somehow (so the concrete doesn’t leech odor forever)
  • Stain or paint the concrete floor as part of Phase 1
  • Permanently remove the broken base heater
  • Eventually retile the floor with outdoor-safe stone to upgrade the old concrete floors (down the line for Phase 2)
  • Convert sunroom to an open covered porch with new columns and no more sliders (many of the sliders are bad and the posts are rotten) – we’re envisioning something like this
  • Build a brick outdoor fireplace off of the sunroom after we open it up? Kind of like this, but different…
  • Add beadboard to the ceiling and paint it soft blue?

– Our Bedroom (1% Complete) –

Master Before

To Do:

  • Remove old carpeting and install hardwoods
  • Repaint all of the cream trim and doors
  • Repaint the off-white ceilings and walls
  • Add built-ins along the entire window wall (with integrated window seats, hidden storage, and display shelves with thick molding)?
  • Add a ceiling light fixture (there’s nothing in there)
  • Maybe add some textured wallpaper like this to the ceiling, just to spice things up…
  • Bring in art, curtains, etc.
  • Add wood blinds to all windows (it gets crazy sunny in here in the afternoon!)

– Our Bathroom (0% Complete) –

Master Sink Before

Master Bath Before

To Do:

  • Completely redo our bathroom (the fun blue hex floor tile is in rough shape and we want to expand the footprint into the sink nook area so it’s all one space (soaker tub? tiled shower as well? double sink? should be fun!)
  • Bring privacy to the window in there (frost it? window treatment?)

– Our Closet (0% Complete) –

Master Closet

To Do:

  • Repaint all of the cream trim
  • New light fixture
  • Organize/build out/pimp the entire space (we’re envisioning cabinetry with drawers, shelves, rods at different heights, etc)

-Upstairs Hallway (1% Complete) –

Hallway1 Before

Hallway2 Before

To Do:

  • Remove old carpeting and install hardwoods
  • Replace the old hallway lights (or paint existing ones? not sure)
  • Repaint all of the blue trim and doors glossy white
  • Get all new hinges and door knobs (they’re not only bright brass, many of them are rusted/corroded so they can’t just be sprayed)
  • Convert hallway linen closet into built-in open shelves or cabinets with shelves over them (sort of like this?)
  • Upgrade to a Nest thermostat (we hear nothing but great things about them, and John is drooling for one)
  • Add crown molding
  • Add thick wood wainscoting (like we have in the kitchen and living room) to the upstairs hallway to break up the long space?

– Clara’s Room (1% Complete) –

Claras Before

To Do:

  • Remove old carpeting and install hardwoods
  • Repaint all of the blue trim and doors
  • Make entire wall of built-ins somewhere? Maybe bookcases surrounding the windows?
  • Build a bench seat in Clara’s deep sloped ceiling-ed closet nook with beadboard on the ceiling and wallpaper on the back wall
  • Prime and paint Clara’s big girl dresser and attach leather pulls
  • Add crown molding
  • Add a ceiling light fixture (boo! there’s nothing in there!)
  • Add window blinds, curtains, art, etc.

– Spare Room/Possible Someday Nursery (1% Complete) –

Nursery Before

To Do:

  • Remove old carpeting and install hardwoods
  • Repaint all of the mauve trim and doors
  • Repaint the dingy ceilings
  • We’re going to hold off on major decorating decisions until this room actually has a use (if/when baby #2 is on the way, we’d love for this to become a nursery)
  • Repaint the walls
  • Add crown molding
  • Add a ceiling light fixture (boo! there’s nothing in there!)
  • Add wood blinds (for light blocking) and curtains

– The Guest Bedroom / Craft Room (1% Complete) –

Guest Before

To Do:

  • Remove old carpeting and install hardwoods
  • Repaint all of the cream trim and doors
  • Bring in a bed and a dresser/desk that can accommodate my sewing machine/crafting so this room can multi-task (it has the prettiest view/light – I’d love to creep in there and sew/paint on Sunday afternoons)
  • Organize and build out some craft/gift wrap shelving in closet (lots of shelves and bins, etc)
  • Add crown molding
  • Add a ceiling light fixture (nope, there’s nothing in there either!)

– The Hall Bathroom (0% Complete) –

Hall Bath Before1

Hall Bath Before2

To Do:

  • A complete redo is in order (the old tile is stained/cracked, the tub and fixtures are crusty enough to make grown men cry, etc). Maybe we’ll do herringbone slate? Marble? Extra long rectangles of tile like this?

– Laundry Nook (1% Complete) –

Laundry Before

To Do:

  • Remove old carpeting and install hardwoods (with washer in a water-safe metal tray on the floor for leak protection)
  • Completely redo nook (new doors for noise control, updated energy star appliances, new counter, new cabinets – or more cabs if we re-use the existing ones)
  • Add tile backsplash and some great art/lighting (I want to make it a fun little surprise jewel box in the back of the hallway)

– Unfinished Storage Room (o% Complete) –

Storage Before

To Do:

  • This will serve as an awesomely large storage room for a while (we have no current need for additional finished rooms), but down the line we’d love to finish it – maybe as a movie room / bunk room for older kiddos? This’ll be waaay down the line, but we dream of:
    • Adding drywall
    • Getting flooring
    • Adding lighting
    • Building out the closets (so there’s still some storage under the eaves)
    • Furnishing the space with built in beds, a TV, a big sectional for lounging, etc – wahoo!

– General Whole House Ideas (0% Complete) –

To Do:

  • Slowly upgrade all lights in the house to LEDs to save energy
  • Replace all of the gold/wallpapered/off-white switchplates and outlets in the house (there are about ten million of those to tend to)
  • Upgrade to nicer frames, drapes, sheets, and curtain rods over time (they’re not cheap, but we’d love to be “grown ups” someday – even if it takes us 10 years or so to get there!)

– The Back Deck (0% Complete) –

Deck Before

To Do:

  • Power wash and stain/seal deck and replace rotten/ warped boards
  • Remove the giant oak tree that’s practically growing into the house (the inspection indicated that the roots could severely damage the house’s foundation if we don’t get ‘er down – which is pretty sad since it’s cute but just way too close)
  • Build a pergola for more architecture and shade off of the back of house where the future kitchen french doors will be (square to the sunroom)
  • Build outdoor furniture like a table or lounge chairs for the deck

– The Backyard (0% Complete) –

Background Before

To Do:

  • Remove random slate paths from backyard and aerate and seed
  • Transplant a few things for a better layout, like the pretty peony bushes in the middle of nowhere (not pictured)
  • Plant holly bushes for privacy from the other houses that our wooded lot backs up to (Phase 1)
  • Build a fun wooden playhouse tucked back into the woods for Clara
  • Plant an edible garden
  • Build a swing set
  • Redo old cracked concrete walkway between garage and deck (not pictured) <– we’ll be whipping up an outdoor video tour for you guys soon, which should help show a lot more than a few pictures can
  • Add more privacy plantings – tiered trees, bushes, and flowers (Phase 2)
  • Build some raised planters and hardscaping
  • Add a patio area somewhere around the deck
  • Make a wooden lean-to in the corner of the backyard with Clara and then plant some vines to grow up around it to make a cool little hideaway
  • Build air conditioner cover with wood boards like this

In summary, we’ve got big plans for this baby. And thankfully we’ve learned that we’re hopelessly in love with the act of upgrading a house (we did this stuff for fun far before we did this as an actual job) and the journey is actually a lot more exciting than the destination is for us (more on that here). We’ve also learned just to take things one day/project/victory at a time to avoid getting too overwhelmed and sucking the joy right out of things. And seriously, is there anything more fun than crossing things off of a giant list called Listy McListerson? (NO. The answer is NO).

As for the method to our “project order,” we don’t really think there is one. We just do whatever we’re in the mood for (barring anything that needs to be moved to the top of the list for safety or other extreme-urgency reasons). And we jump around from room to room just to stay excited and to avoid feeling too forced into doing something that we might not be ready to deal with yet – like gutting a kitchen or bathroom (we like to live in a house for a while to see how we use those spaces before completely retooling them).

As of this very moment, we’re thinking that we’d love to tackle these before we move in a few weeks (might not get it all done, but it’s nice to dream…):

  • repaint all of the trim and doors on the second floor (we hope to be done and share details by Wednesday)
  • lay our new hardwood floors in the four bedrooms and hallway
  • lose the floral curtains in the office, dining room, kitchen, and living room
  • remove the extraneous flow-blocking doors on the first floor (between the foyer and kitchen, dining room and kitchen, and living room and kitchen)

So those are “on deck” for ya. How do you guys make your house to-do lists? Do you keep them on your phone? On post-its? How do you decide what to tackle next? Is there any method to your madness?

Comments

  1. Jen M. says

    What about removing the bi-fold doors in front of the laundry “closet” and opening up that wall, and then adding a regular door at the end of the hallway, giving you more of a laundry “room” ? It would give you more space to work with, and as someone who currently has a “laundry closet” with bifold doors, I would KILL for a laundry room, or any extra room at all (hello to hanging a rod to put hangers/etc on to air dry clothes that can’t do a full cycle in the dryer! and goodbye said clothes taking over my bathrooms and their tub shower curtain rods/clothes-air-dryer-rods!)

    Reply

    • Jen M. says

      PS – and by “opening up that wall” I mean the wall that the bi-fold doors are on – just to open up some breathing space around the washer/dryer a little more — not any other walls which I know border bedrooms, etc. And yes, this would mean the entrance to your attic storage area would be in the “new laundry room” so you might not like that, but it’s just a thought!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We thought about that but the storage room door is to the right of the laundry nook so we thought a room that you have to walk through ti get to another room might be weird, and we also worried making it an enclosed room would feel less open than the current setup. Who knows where we’ll end up though!

      xo,
      s

  4. Linda says

    As in the past, you have chosen to “go white” with many items on your list. Would you please share some SPECIFIC whites (color names/paint brands) that you prefer for various things/spots? With so many different choices of whites, I find myself paralyzed in choosing what color white I should use here, there, and everywhere!

    I am excited and happy for your family–your WHOLE family!

    Reply

  5. Vanessa says

    When it comes to the stinky concrete in the sunroom try oil based kilz. We had cat pee issues and we tried EVERYTHING. We worked our way from environmentally friendly homemade ingredients all the way down the line. We had some enzymes that worked to lessen the smell – but when it came time to seal it (before we had the drywall done) we used the kilz. It says low voc when I just looked it up on Lowes’ website – but I found it to be anything but. It gave me an immediate headache – so I always used a mask and had the windows open. I would definitely keep Clara away (I am sure you know all this). We used it on wood, concrete and drywall. Only thing is now that we are going to drylock (we have an on grade family room concrete slab) we painted the perimeter of the room with kilz and I believe the drylock doesn’t really work over it. Not a big deal because we don’t get water or moisture (like we would in a basement) but we want to seal it before putting flooring down just to guard us against future issues. Hope this helps! So excited for your guys and your new digs!

    Reply

  7. Sarah says

    You only have one thermostat in the house?

    you will have to let us know how you like stairs 6 months to a year after having them. I personally hate stairs. I am a one floor gal. :)

    Reply

  8. McKenzie says

    Holy overwhelmed and excited Batman!!! Seriously, I love lists but that one is INTENSE! I can’t wait to see the progress :) Congrats on the new place!

    Reply

  9. Jennifer @ Miller Musings Blogf says

    I love seeing your Listy McListerson, partly because it makes ours not seems as intimidating! I really do love the new house and am very excited to watch y’all tackle the things on this list! It’s going to be such a gorgeous home!

    Reply

  10. Kimberley says

    While I love love love California (it’s just home afterall), I do get jealous of the beautiful land that you have out there. I’m finding it so hard to find the diamond in the rough because our houses are so close together and no matter what you may do, it can get overshadowed by the neighbor next door who does nothing for upkeep. We have very little outdoor space (which we make up for with great beaches and beautiful mountains), but our CA homes definitely lack the charm of some other parts of the country unless you have bucko bucks for a custom. Excited (and so so jealous) to watch you guys upgrade this great home!

    Reply

  11. katalina says

    Oh My– I a thinking you need to hire movers if you are painting and laying floors! makes my head spin. I can’t even decide on a brand of furnace and air conditioner—

    THAT is the source of the mold smell I smelled–leaky evaporator coil which is only $1500! versus new ac and furnace to replace 16 year old ones….any brands of ac/ furnace in your past houses you liked?

    Reply

  12. Toni says

    I think my jaw dropped when you mentioned new laundry nook doors for sound blocking: it never occurred to me that that was a solution. Can you mention a few options or links to elaborate on that– solid instead of slatted, etc.? I’ve recently struggled with our bi-fold doors because they don’t play nicely with our newer, front-loader model. Before we stack our machines, maybe I should consider new doors (bonus: sound blocking!).

    Reply

    • JG says

      I thought doors for small laundry closets like that had to have( vented doors? (Thus the louvres). I could be wrong…

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Never even thought about that! We’ll have to look into how much space you need in order not to have vented doors (small laundry rooms have solid doors, so maybe it’s about how much square footage there is – we’ll have to see if the nook has enough!).

      xo
      s

  13. Alanna says

    Ya’ll have your hands full and I can’t WAIT to see what you do. I don’t normally spring into action on input since I think you do such a great job all the time but when I saw the office space and your thoughts on what wall would be best for a desk I just had to add that the space seems prime for a floating desk like we’ve seen Katie Bower do and I think Emily Henderson had a dining room table type desk situation at some point as well. Then you wouldn’t be starting at a wall and also wouldn’t have to block a window! I’m sure anything will be great, though. :)

    Reply

  14. Mia says

    It’s too bad about the deck tree, but maybe you could do a stump table–or two–like the house crash in NoVa. Could add some texture and interest on the porch/to be formerly known as sunroom.

    Reply

  15. Kara says

    Among everyone else here, I am also so excited to see what the future holds for you guys in this house and all its projects!

    I’m curious – if you turn the sunroom into a porch, does that affect the “official” square footage of the house (and maybe lower taxes, if it does?)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It does, it would make it smaller but then when we finish off the room over the garage it would make it bigger later, so I think we’ll even things out! Haha!

      xo
      s

  16. Julia says

    This post came at just the right time, thank you! We are moving to our first house in two weeks, and Cam has been panicking because not everything will be done by the time we move in.

    I had to talk him off the ledge this weekend when the too-short dryer hose fell out of the dryer for the third time. It was almost tears. I sent him this post, along with your comment back to Wendy (https://www.younghouselove.com/2013/05/new-house-new-listy-mclisterson/#comment-1539795), and it got him re-excited and focused on the process, rather than having a “perfect” house when we move in.

    So again, a million times over: thank you, thank you. Thank you.

    Reply

  17. Meagan says

    Ahhhhh so excited to see these things happen! You guys have an amazing vision for the house and you must just be so thrilled to be jumping in with two feet now. As someone who would be as excited as you are about those stairs I expected them to have their own list hahaha. They are like a whole sesperate room with so many possibilities! Enjoy!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Well, our first house took us 4.5 years (we did a bathroom gut and a full kitchen reno there, meanwhile at the current house we didn’t redo any of the bathrooms) so we’re guessing it’ll be years and years! Haha!

      xo
      s

  19. Rita from designmegillah says

    Just an idea…I had the same tile in my last house that you have in your foyer and hall. I could not afford new tile at the time so I painted it with oil paint to look like stone, then sealed it with clear varnish. It held up for years and any small chips were easy to fix since it looked like “stone.”

    Reply

  20. Kristi says

    Unfortunately we inherited a slate bathroom. Don’t do it! It holds moisture, becomes slimy, and looks like patio tile. Phew – so glad to get that off my chest ;)

    Reply

  21. Lauren says

    We LOVE our Nest. Can’t say enough good things about it :) Both sets of parents got one from us for Christmas, though we suspect they feel more neutral about it.

    This Saturday is the one year anniversary of getting the keys to our first home, and our MUST tackle projects in the very beginning included: installing the Nest, installing new smoke detectors (they have a 10 year shelf life), and slowly but surely trading in all the off white/almond light switches and outlets for clean white paddle switches and tamper resistant outlets. One year in, and we’re making steady progress on constructing solar shades for all the windows (Arizona heat!). There’s plenty more on our to-do list, which we manage in Trello!

    We’re lucky that our house is only 13 years old and doesn’t need as much love as yours, but I am so anxious to see you tackle the bathrooms and the flooring because those things are on my list too :)

    Reply

  22. Monica says

    Yikes God Bless you both! This house will be “employing” you for several years for sure. Beautiful possibilities though… love the exterior look. Can’t wait to watch the ride. Good luck!

    Reply

  23. Alyssa says

    Haaaaa!!!!! Everytime I read about the new house I get so excited for you guys all over again! I’m so psyched to follow this chapter along with so many others. It’s like I just found your blog all over again:) keep up the great posts!

    Reply

  24. haverwench says

    Guys, before you go out and replace all the brass doorknobs/hardware, you might want to invest in a $10 can of brass aging solution and give that a try. It produces a darker, more subtle patina. Since it’s reacting chemically with the brass itself rather than covering it, a bit of surface damage wouldn’t matter. I just learned about this stuff and I am really eager to try it out on our glossy “builder brass” doorknobs. Or, if you’re really ambitious, you could try one of the homemade solutions described on this site: http://www.steampunklab.com/howToAgeBrass.php

    Reply

  25. Nicole says

    Hope packing is going well! I’m sure you’re sooo busy right now, but when you post about the painted doors upstairs, can you note what finish you’re thinking of going with when you replace those old nobs, hinges, etc.? Orb? Updated brass? Something else fun?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We have a love affair with ORB and think it’ll look awesome with our six panel doors. Like a cute little black cuff link on a white suit ;)

      xo,
      s

  26. Maru says

    I’m so excited for your new house!!!!! I look forward to your posts everyday, reading it is always one of my favorite parts of the day. (Or right now when days are lately not-the-best they are my favorite part of the day haha). Thanks!

    I’m excited about your projects for every single room. Especially – for some weird reason – the dining room. It just looks so closed off right now, i can’t tell the dimensions well from the pictures but will your table fit nicely? That room definitely needs a lot of work and you guys are perfect for the job!!! Can’t wait.

    Also, do sunrooms normally come with heating for the winter? (Not from the states, and where I’m from they aren’t normal features at all). Or are they just rooms for the summer? If so, then I love your idea, definitely will make it a room to enjoy more often.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes we hope our table will fit well in there, and as for sunrooms they tend to be really common here! They sometimes have heat and sometimes don’t but we tend to just use them spring through fall when it’s nice out.

      xo,
      s

  28. Autumn says

    I saw you are thinking lockers for the garage. Our senior center is getting rid of well-cared for lockers TOMORROW. I sent you an email to the old youngsters address if you are interested. They would be completely free and Baltimore isn’t far away. Just a well time coincidence, maybe?

    Reply

  29. Ashley@BiggerthantheThreeofUs says

    I love the house! In many ways, it is very much like the house we bought a year ago. ALMOST IDENTICAL CORNER BUILT-INS. The scroll work on top of ours has to go as well! lol. Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with (Especially in the master bathroom – we have the same separate sink/tub/area). Excited!

    Reply

  30. Shanda Davidson says

    I’m exhausted and all I did was read the list! I’m excited to see how it all turns out.

    Reply

  31. AnnMarie says

    Call me crazy, but I’m a little baffled about you guys selling your house for less than asking price. I know it wasn’t by much….but I was anticipating a bidding war! Maybe I’m a bit bias since witnessing your time and effort with all of the upgrades(?) It’s just hard to accept that it would be compared with others in the neighborhood considering all of the amazing work put into it!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw you’re sweet! We had a number we hoped to get and it was a smidge under asking (we figured most people would bid under but as long as we got X we’d be happy and we got over that so we were thrilled :)

      xo,
      s

  32. Jan says

    It is a beautiful house. I wondered how old it is and how many people lived there before. I will be reading your blog everyday seeing how you two are doing and what exciting new project you are working on next. Once you get the new floors down and the walls painted it will be like a new house!!!! And once you guys add your own personal touch it will be a showplace. I forsee lots of fun times ahead in your new home.
    I bought two copies of your book. One for me and one for my daughter who just bought a big older home.

    Reply

  33. Brenda says

    So glad you are thinking about wallpaper. My husband has been hanging wallpaper for 40 years. He stays fairly busy with remodels not so much with new builds. Love your blog and all the wonderful ideas you have.

    Reply

  34. Katie says

    Ha, this house is so much like the house I grew up in (a 1920s center hall colonial with an early 80s makeover).

    The space above the attached garage was finished in our house, and growing up I thought it was the Best Room Ever. It was the kids’ playroom that never had to be totally clean because it was so separate from the parts of the house that guests would see. The room was awesome for sleepovers because we had a couple of pull-out couches and a big TV and we didn’t wake up my parents at the other end of the house. Good times. :)

    Reply

  35. Alexandra says

    We had a horrendous pet odor smell under carpets in our house when we purchased it. We ripped them up but smell remained. We painted killz on the subfloor and waited a few days to ensure whether we needed another coat. Pet odor free today. I hear that some bases of killz work better than others at sealing so before you choose oil base over another it might be good to check into. Of couse our subfloors were wood we weren’t dealing with concrete so the sealing may be different. Best of luck. We didn’t have to bleach (I think vinegar would work better and be less toxic anyway- at least the vinegar got rid of faint smoke smell). Love the list and thanks for the reminder about enjoying the journey. I was getting overwhelmed at reading YOUR list haha

    Reply

  36. Kellee says

    Aaahhh, I’m so excited!! I will admit to having the sads when you announced your upcoming move (LOVE your current house so much), but now I just can’t wait to see what awesomeness you’ll come up with at the new house!

    Also, this list gives me a mild panic attack to think about because it reminds me of my own entire notebook filled with projects. You all have such a great attitude about it – I will have to adopt your mantra of focusing on the journey instead of getting overwhelmed by the details. :)

    Reply

  37. Cait says

    It is seriously depressing how excited I am for this house. I’ve loved your first two houses but there’s just something so special about this one. I love looking at every single room and thinking what I would do to them, since this is completely the kind of house I would buy. I can’t wait to see what you guys do with each room to make this your own!

    Reply

  38. erika says

    Scotch blue painter’s tape has done such a good job of branding their product that every time I see a picture of your blue trim, I momentarily think that you’ve taped off the whole thing for painting!

    Reply

  39. Suzanne says

    I am so excited for you guys! And I’m anxious to see how that sunroom turns out once you open it up. It’ll be gorgeous!

    Reply

  40. Catherine says

    I am absolutely dying over your new house! I cannot wait to see how you love and transform it over the next few years. Hard to believe its been three years since you moved into your current house!

    Reply

  41. Sally R says

    Whew! I love the list. I see that you’re considering an edible garden in the back. If you’re looking for suggestions, I’d recommend strawberries and raspberries, if you have a sunny area. My kids always loved going out to pick the berries as dessert after dinner, and they come back year after year. Good luck on all your projects!

    Reply

  42. Beth says

    OMG, while reading this post, I had 2 strong feelings, 1- totally overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done (if that was my house I would just want to cry, but I’m not a very good DIY-er), and 2-totally excited to see you guys fix it up! It is going to be gorgeous when you are done–you always do such a fantastic job!

    Reply

  43. Callie says

    I love that you only “plan” to furnish the dining room, unfinished storage room and build deck furniture. Can’t wait to see what you are going to do with all of those empty rooms! Shortly after y’all go ‘furniture-free’ it’s going to hit all of the design mags as the next big thing! ; )

    I LOVE the sexy-fied Sue, The Napkin wallpaper you are looking at for the half bath!

    Reply

  47. Erin says

    I love the theme of no overhead lights in your bedrooms! Our house is the same way and it drives me crazy! The rest of our rooms have overhead lights, but none of them are centered over anything. The big problem with our bedrooms is the lack if outlets, so we can only put lamps in places where it is not quite conducive to the layout of the room. One of our bedrooms only has 1 outlet and the other has 2. I can’t wait for when you tackle the overhead light issue!

    Reply

  48. Rachel says

    This list is awesome! It is so cool for you to walk us through your entire process — I didn’t know about the blog the last time you moved so this is my first time!

    One idea for a post — I would love to see a post about what you finished from your current house on your to-do list (a final to-do list!) as well as some perspective on how your listed changed while living there, and what you would have loved to had done if you stayed a bit longer!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, that’s on the agenda! We’ll do one more Listy McListerson post for the current house with everything we’ve done crossed off, and everything that we would have done if we stayed all bulleted at the bottom of the list :)

      xo
      s

  49. Ali says

    Dude, I slack off reading your blog for a few weeks and the whole world turns upside down. Congrats on the new digs!!

    I don’t normally post but I also live in Bon Air (hi neighbors!), and I saw your notes about the trees. We’ve had to have several huge trees removed over the years, a couple of which were very close to our house and our neighbors’ houses and had a good experience every time. I’d be more than happy to give you a reference if you need one. I don’t normally check out your blog (obviously! lol) but feel free to e-mail me if you need a tree guy.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks so much Ali! We have a tree guy we love (he did a lot of work with a giant split dead tree at our first house) but if he’s not available I’ll hit you up for a reference :)

      xo
      s

    • Ali says

      You’re more than welcome, Sherry. These trees around here aren’t so much trees as weapons of mass destruction once they get weak or die. I was afraid of weakened/dead trees before Isabel & Irene; now I’m a tree ninja LOL.

  50. Stefani says

    Ack!! I’m so excited! I’ve been reading since your first house and I’m the most excited about this one. :) SO MUCH POTENTIAL!! Congrats again guys!! I can’t wait to see the progress!

    Reply

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