2012 Home Goals

The blog world is a great place for ideas, inspiration and support - and a written reminder of what you've committed to! There's nothing like a good kick in the pants to keep you motivated :)

The Nester asked for bloggers to post their 2012 home goals on her site - what a great way to see what others are doing, and to get some inspiration from the amazing bloggers out there.

So, here goes mine:

My main goal for our home is to update the kitchen. Many people would love our kitchen, I know - it's big,  has lots of cupboards and counter space, and is truly the heart of our home.

But . . . I don't love it.

I don't even have a picture to show you - that's now much I don't love it. (Oh, and the fact that the light at night is terrible - although that would make it look worse and you'd totally understand why I don't love it)

What I like:

• the space  - it's a big kitchen with lots of cabinets, a huge island and 9 foot ceilings
• the stainless steel appliances - other than the hood fan over the stove
• the walk-in pantry - the VERY disorganized pantry
• it's the heart of our home - when we have people over, they sit at the island while I work in the kitchen.

What I don't like:
the orange-y oak cupboards - the kitchen looks very dated
the black backsplash tile - they absorb light and make everything look dark
the green laminate countertops - yup. Enough said about those.
And the fact that it's so incredibly dark - even with massive west-facing windows, it is a dark space.

You can see most of what I'm talking about in this picture:

We spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so I really want it to reflect my our tastes - on a budget of course.

While this isn't exactly what I want, it's close:

from Canadian House and Home website

White cabinets on the walls, and a dark island - gorgeous!

Mr. E and I have talked about it and we are going to tackle painting the cabinets and island, and install a new backsplash. We're going to splurge on a new countertop too - but get someone who knows what they're doing to do that part! I found some great tips and tricks at Young House Love - so fingers crossed that it's as easy as they make it look.

That's my main house goal for 2012. Working full time and having two boys in a variety of evening activities doesn't leave a lot of time for major projects. And this won't be a quick or easy project, I'm sure (but don't tell Mr. E that ;))

But, if we have some 'free' time, the other home project that I'd love to tackle is adding 'lockers' to the laundry/mud room to make it more useable, like this idea from Ana White:

I'll keep my fingers crossed and see how much we can accomplish in 2012!

Cheers,
Kim