I thought about skipping this exercise altogether hoping no one would notice because I’m so embarrassed by how much didn’t get crossed off. But, in the interest of honesty, transparency and all that, here we go…..

Here’s what got done:

• Get all the art lying around framed and hung.
• Make a decision on the settee in the living room!
• Reorganize closet – install rack for scarves and hooks for bags, organize jewelry, hang art. 
• Finish* guest room #1 -finish art wall, find better night stands.

I’d like to add redecorating the dining room and installing an art wall even though it wasn’t on the list.

In the almost there category:

• Finish* office – hang art, organize.
• Rearrange art studio and organize all art supplies.
• Finish* guest room #2 – get blinds, hang art. (I also want to paint the dresser.)
• Finish* the master bedroom – finish hanging art, find light for entry. (I also want to figure out window treatments.)

And in the epic fail department we have:

• Finish* master bath – find new shades for sconces, get new rug(s), find towel rack, hang art, add mirrors.
• Finish* the family room. (For the love of god, let’s finish this room already!)
• Do something with the laundry room.
• Redo entry – reupholster Napoleon settee, find rug. 

For 2013, I just want to finish up what’s above and finish off the main living spaces so I can start tackling secondary areas like hallways, closets, the pantry, wet bar, etc. I’m also thinking I want to do something dramatic with our foyer and spruce up the garden some more. So many ideas!

I think my theme for this year in all of the projects is going to be elegant but relaxed and above all, interesting – all the things I think of whenever I look at old photos of Hamish Bowles’ Paris apartment like these (which I do often). There are so many things for the eye to fall on and all of it is just so pretty but not in an OTT fussy way.

But first things first, I need to finish unpacking all these bags, do some cleaning, purging and organizing. Doesn’t that sound like an exciting weekend??? Believe it or not, it’s all I want to do so I can start the year off on the right foot.

Have a good one, see you Monday!

(Photo: World of Interiors)

 

I’m doing the quarterly check-in on my 2012 to do list and there are still way too many things that aren’t crossed off but just about item is at least partially done…..

Get all the art lying around framed and hung.
Everything is framed and almost everything is hung so we’re very close on this one.

Finish* the family room.
We’re 90% finished. A reveal is coming very soon.

Make a decision on the settee in the living room!

Finish* master bath – find new shades for sconces, get new rug(s), find towel rack, hang art, add mirrors.
I have a feeling this one is going to go into 2013…..

Reorganize closet – install rack for scarves and hooks for bags, organize jewelry, hang art.

Finish* guest room #1 -finish art wall, find better night stands.
Done! Yay! If you missed it, the reveal is here.

Finish* guest room #2 – get blinds, hang art.

Finish* the master bedroom – finish hanging art, find light for entry.

Finish* office – hang art and organize.
Almost done.

Rearrange art studio and organize all art supplies.
Almost done.

Do something with the laundry room – possibly wallpaper.

Redo entry – reupholster Napoleon settee, find rug.
Still trying to decide on fabric! I know, I’m the worst.

Okay, one more quarter to go in 2012. Realistically I don’t think I’ll get to the laundry room or finish the master bath but I think I can do the rest if I really put my mind to it….. I’m going to start with guest room #2 this weekend. A good friend of ours from France is coming to visit next week and I’d love to have the room 100% done before he arrives. Wish me luck!

Have a good one, see you Monday!

(Photo via Pinterest as linked)

It’s time for a progress report on the 2012 Decorating To Do List.  It’s clear by now that I don’t get around to the things on the list fast enough before I start making changes and creating whole other to do lists. It’s a vicious cycle but we keep trying. Here’s where we are today.

Get all the art lying around framed and hung.
I finally dropped off everything at the framers and they’ll be ready this week!

Finish* the family room.
Almost there. But things keep changing. Most recently, I brought in this bamboo table that I’ve been hoarding forever and it needs to be painted. So add that to the list.

I think I want to paint it cobalt blue. I couldn’t find any pictures of tables but I did find this bamboo chair in the color I want:

I also like red bamboo:

So decisions must be made.

I also decided I want a bunch of white pillows for the couch. I want some sort of white denim/cotton duck and saw that Ikea has these that look promising:

They’re Karlstad and Ektorp and the fabric looks about right:

I’m going to try to check them out tomorrow to see how they look in person.

So that’s the family room. Next…..

New rug for the family room?
I didn’t need one after all.

Make a decision on the settee in the living room!
Done! If you missed it, here she is:

I also got those new orange velvet pillows and am looking for one more perfect one to finish it off.

A few other things got done elsewhere in the house:

Finish* master bath – find new shades for sconces, get new rug(s), find towel rack, hang art, add mirrors.

Reorganize closet – install rack for scarves and hooks for bags, organize jewelry, hang art.

Finish* guest room #1 -finish art wall, find better night stands.

Finish* guest room #2 – get blinds, hang art.

And here’s where nothing’s happened:

Finish* the master bedroom – finish hanging art, find light for entry.

Finish* office – hang art and organize.

Rearrange art studio and organize all art supplies.

Do something with the laundry room – possibly wallpaper.

Redo entry – reupholster Napoleon settee, find rug.

*Sigh.*

(Photos: 1.via Pinterest as linked 2.FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

 

Since tomorrow is the end of the first quarter of the new year (can you believe it?) I thought it might be a good time to check in with my Decorating To Do List for 2012.

• Get all the art lying around framed and hung.
• Finish* the family room – find a side table, find a basket/bin for firewood, maybe get a console. (Decided I didn’t need console or side table.)
• Finish* the master bedroom – reupholster the settee, refinish the coffee table, finish hanging art, find light for entry. (Changed the sofa and coffee table.)
• Finish* master bath – find new shades for sconces, get new rug(s), find towel rack, hang art.
• Reorganize closet – install rack for scarves and hooks for bags, organize jewelry, hang art.
• Finish* guest room #1 – finish art wall, find better night stands.
• Finish* guest room #2 – get blinds, hang art.
• Finish* office – hang art and organize.
• Rearrange art studio and organize all art supplies.
• Do something with the laundry room – possibly wallpaper.

I’m also adding a couple of things:

• Redo entry – reupholster Napoleon settee, find rug.
• New rug for the family room?
• Make a decision on the settee in the living room!

So I’m not as far along as I’d like to be but at least there’s been some progress.

All this is going to have to take a backseat though because I’m starting on a really exciting new project in Chicago! (Chicago always makes me think of Ferris. “Bueller? Bueller?”) I’m flying up there first thing tomorrow morning to see the house and get the ball rolling.  So I’m signing off early here for the weekend and will be back next week with details and hopefully some pictures. In the meantime, if you have home shopping recommendations for Chicago, please leave them in the comments. We’re shopping for everything!

Thanks and see you all back here on Monday!

Remember when I used to keep monthly lists of things I wanted to do around the house? With all the traveling I just couldn’t keep up so I stopped but I miss them. I’m one of those people who always has a ton of lists: errands to run, things to look up later, restaurants to try, things to pack, etc. I have lists in my calendar, in my journals, on post-it’s and on scraps of paper all over the place. I love making them because they make me feel so much more organized and I also love the satisfaction of crossing items off.

I did a lot of organizing over the weekend and of course I made a bunch of lists and a lot of it had to do with the house. I wanted to be realistic since I already have a lot of traveling on the books for 2012 so I decided to make one big list for the year and see how that goes.  I’m sure the list will get amended throughout the year but here are the main things I’d like to get done this year.

1. Get all the art lying around framed and hung.
2. Finish* the family room – find a side table, find a basket/bin for firewood, maybe get a console.
3. Finish* the master bedroom – reupholster the settee, refinish the coffee table, finish hanging art, find light for entry.
4. Finish* master bath – find new shades for sconces, get new rug(s), find towel rack, hang art.
5. Reorganize closet – install rack for scarves and hooks for bags, organize jewelry, hang art.
6. Finish* guest room #1 -finish art wall, find better night stands.
7. Finish* guest room #2 – get blinds, hang art.
8. Finish* office – hang art and organize.
9. Rearrange art studio and organize all art supplies.
10. Do something with the laundry room – possibly wallpaper.

Oh my god, could this list be any longer? Writing it all down I realize it’s almost the entire house. What have I been doing with my time?? Well, at least the living room, dining room and kitchen are done!  So, what are your decorating plans for this year?

*By now, you all know by “finsh” I mean just get it to the point where I’m happy with it. There will always be tweaking down the road.

(Photo: Elle Decor)