Twelve Months of Favorites
December 29, 2010
It’s roundup time right? My good friend Rhoda is hosting a fab party, and how perfect is a ‘Top Projects’ post this time of year? Here are my favorite projects from 2010, the ones that gave me the most satisfaction, taught me something new, scared the bajeezus out of me, or simply made my world a better place.
January:
That ‘Five Days to a Fresh Start’ series where I kicked my booty into gear with some serious decluttering, recycling, filing, and all natural cleaning.
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February:
I repainted my kitchen island and walls. There are more improvements on the horizon next year for this space, including a new backsplash just behind the range. The white tile stays, the yellow can say ‘buh bye’.
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March
I refurbished this patina dresser, but not before I dealt with two kinds of strippers.
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April
We upgraded my stepdaughter’s bedroom in shades of turquoise and white, added silver leaf to her lamp, and a new DIY tufted headboard.
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May:
The Laundry Room makeover! Project breakdown here.
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June:
I had a close encounter with a black widow spider while trying to makeover a bistro set.
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July
The kids’ playspace got a few upgrades and a new cornice to go with the painted laminate media center (faint glimpse to the right).
And we finally added wainscoting to the living room.
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August
IKEAhack! This Hemnes dresser was given some fun trim for my boy.
And our family room got a little sprucing too. Can you tell I’m a fan of blue?
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September
I found a free chandy at the local Restore, rewired it, and gave it a little love.
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October
Hands down, my favorite DIY project this past year, the new staircase !!!
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November
A new storage solution found with this credenza makeover.
And a favorite color appears on this very vintage dresser.
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December
Check out over 600+ amazing links from the Christmas Craft Link Party. Bookmark it for next year!! I’ll be browsing there again in 2011, that’s for sure.
You can also see the full Holiday Home tour here.
What a strange, wonderful, amazing year this was!! It was so fun going through old posts, laughing at so many things that have happened, and appreciating so many of the ‘Before’ and ‘Afters’ shared. I’ve enjoyed every day interacting with all of you who stop by to visit, and I look forward to the New Year as we all grow in our skills and continue to inspire each other even more.
Cheers to yet another amazing year in 2011 !
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Tags: top projects, year in review
OMG…that spider still gives me the creeps!! LOL I love everything you’ve done this past year, but I am really coveting those stairs!!
Of all of your fab projects throughout the year, your staircase is also my favorite. My staircase is also oak treads and matching colored rail and now I really want to transform it. It will have to wait but yours is a real inspiration, and so, so beautiful!
It’s weird to see one of your projects that feels like yesterday, and then read you say, “in March…” How has this year flown so quickly?!? Our kids will be graduating before we know it! (Think we’ll still be counting down our top projects that year too?)
I’ve enjoyed, and learned, so much from all of your projects Kate! Thanks so much for sharing…so thrilled to have ‘met’ you this year.
xo, Cassie
Kate, you have really accomplished a lot this year! BIG projects to boot! Looking forward to seeing what you’ll be doing in 2011! Happy New Year!
Love all of your projects Kate! Such a great year for you. :)
Can’t wait to see what you have in store for 2011!
See you in a few weeks. :)
L-O-V-E you Blog! These are such great projects!
Great projects! That spider is creepy! Whew. Your staircase makeover is definitely my favorite as well.
Wow…you accomplished so much and each one makes such a big difference. You’ve inspired me to try to complete at least one DIY project a month this year. Have a Happy New Year!
Your makeovers are beautiful. Love the staircase. One of my favorites is the Ikea dresser makeover. Can’t believe the before pics on that one.
BTW, if it was me vs. that spider I would have run screaming like a little girl until my husband ‘secured the premises’.
Totally inspirational! I’d be thrilled to bits to achieve just 2-3 of these in a year, never mind 12.
That said, our home decor is slowly moving in the right direction and I made a big career change, so 2010 was not idle for me.
Struggling to be Stylish is now The English Organizer – visitors welcome :)
Thank you for sending a bunch of {sighs} my way! Much more fun than looking through my faves of 2010! :) And, I do not remember seeing the patina dresser & family room pics before -so something new to sigh about!
You have done some very impressive projects this year! I absolutely love your family room and the your new chandelier in your kitchen is perfection. Thanks for sharing.
Lori
Hi Kate,
A year’s worth of wonderful posts – love each and every one of them. The stairs and laundry room are my all time faves of yours!
Happy New Year,
Gina
Thankyou for a fab year of inspirational projects . I Love your choice of colors and your beautiful house. Cheers to another year of creativity. Happy New Year!!! Love your blog <3
I’m a new visitor to your blog and your projects look great. I was wondering if you have used oil based paint before (like what you used on your kitchen island)? I have heard that it turns yellow over time, which is why I would be leery of using it. Do you know if that’s true?
Thanks for sharing this link party and it’s a lot of fun going back and seeing the whole year of posts…and very hard to narrow things down to one favorite project per month. Wishing you all the best for 2011. Fondly, Roberta
I just found your blog from a link on Clover Lane! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your stairs. I have about a bizillion projects on my list for this year. I think I will add my stairs. I have some hideous dark mauve carpet on them. Do you have any DIY tips for staining all your floors. I figure that will be too much of an undertaking but thought I would ask. I’m a new fan!!
Thank you for all the inspiration this year. I am a chronic lurker but I have gotten so much joy from your blog. I was even inspired to tackle putting tile in my kitchen. The hubs helped or rather I helped the hubs but we finished it TODAY. You make all of this look easy and fun. So much so that I started a blog of my own!
Kate you are so inspirational – I love your projects that you accomplished this past year and am always impressed with your photography and writing in your blog. Centsational Girl is just an all round great package. Thanks for doing such a great job.