The year is coming to a fast close and I’m definitely ready to turn the calendar page to a fresh new 2021. I’m hopeful for a better year to come. On the home front, Mark and I sure got a lot accomplished this year in house projects. We’ve been here over 3 years now and it’s amazing when we look around at all that’s been improved and made better.
Our house was a blank slate just waiting for us to get here and make it all better. It’s now 15 years old, but was a clean slate for us to put our stamp on and I think you’ll agree that we’ve definitely done that. I’m going to share our top projects of 2020 today and in the not so distant future I’m going to do a whole post of where we are at this point in house projects. We do have a few more to do, so we are not finished yet. Home Sweet Home is the best!
A current pic of our exterior with the new door we added last year. We sure love our house and it’s fun having you all come along with us on our house journey. Are houses ever truly finished? We have bigger dreams for ours. We always pay cash along the way on all our home improvements, so as time and money permits, we update things.
We completed 4 BIG projects this year, so I’ll start with the first one of 2020, our new Master Bathroom renovation.
Project 1 – Master Bathroom Renovation
Click here for the entire Master Bathroom Reveal post
The before was plain and blah beige, so we really wanted to up the functionality of the bathroom as well as the aesthetics. It was nice to get a completely new bathroom.
We also added a sliding barn door from Sunburst Shutters Atlanta to our master bathroom and that made a big difference in not letting the door swing into the tub anymore. We love this change too!
The new bathroom is such a treat and we both love it.
The old vanity was in great shape and wood so we kept it and painted it, as well as added new doors and drawers in a Shaker style.
This is such a pretty spot now and I’m so proud of how this bathroom came out. We could not be happier with it.
The old humongous tub took up so much space and we hardly ever used the jetted tub.
So we opted to take it out and add a free standing bathtub which will just add value to our house in the future, I think. I use it more in the winter than summer, but it’s a nice soaking tub. Mark did all the board and batten here as well as the water closet and that added a lot of interest as well.
The new shower feels twice as big as the old one even though it’s only inches bigger. We’ve had this bathroom going on a year in February and we love it so much.
Project 2: Shutter Wall and the New Screen Porch
Our backyard has gone through a huge transformation since we moved in. This is the house when we bought it. Nice backyard and a great patio slab, blank slate for us to do what we wanted. This came in stages and we did several projects to get all of this completed and you can see them all below.
We had new stairs added first so we had a way to get from the top deck down to the back yard. This is the wall we permanently built out of shutters.
Mark again did a great job on this project and we completed this one in Spring. It was so fun to get it ready just in time for Summer.
Those Phantom Screens went in and I also did that pretty faux tile concrete paint project which made a huge difference too.
And the finale of the patio and screened porch was finally done this year. We have enjoyed this space so much. I loved working with Dalton Furniture in getting the whole space completed furnished.
It’s the patio of our dreams now and we will enjoy this space for years to come.
Check out all the posts if you want to see more.
Project 3: Master Sitting Room
Just a reminder of this room when we bought our house. The whole upstairs had carpet. We took it all out and added engineered hardwoods.
And the finale of the master bedroom sitting room is this picture frame molding with Moody Blue paint color. You can see all that project revealed above and this link shares the how-to project.
We absolutely love it!
It’s a cozy spot and I often sit in here and watch TV under a throw blanket.
Project 4: Stairwell Box Molding Wainscot
This project was one that Mark wanted to do since we moved in here and he finally executed this beautiful wall treatment just in time for Christmas.
This is how it looked before, just painted drywall. The box molding goes right on top of the drywall and then it’s all painted white like the trim paint.
And here’s the after! Isn’t it gorgeous? We sure love it and it makes such a huge statement in our foyer now. Mark did a fabulous job.
I’ll do another post about how he did it all later, but couldn’t wait to share these pics with you. We did have our painter come back and spray it all with a sprayer and that gave it a really nice smooth finish. We used semi-gloss Sherwin Williams trim paint.
I’ll share the up close details in another post so you can get an idea of how to do this if you decide to try it or have it done at your house.
It sure makes a beautiful backdrop for our foyer and we absolutely love it! After painting, I got my Christmas decor back up and we had Mark’s family over for a gathering on Christmas Eve. It was really fun.
That’s a wrap up on our 4 main projects this year. These were all big projects and we are so glad to get them done. It’s amazing what adding molding will do for a home and all these projects required a lot of work from Mark. I’m so proud of him for all his hard work and learning how to do these things. It sure has made a difference in our house!
Please stop by my friends’ homes and see what they’ve accomplished this year! It’s fun to look back at a productive year and really be proud of our homes.
Take a look at all these ladies too!
Designthusiasm | On Sutton Place | StoneGable
Your house is certainly beautiful and I love all of your updates. I wish that I had just a fraction of your good taste and ability to do these projects! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Pam, that’s very nice of you to say. We love our home so much!
Rhoda, each product is a- mazing. You are so talented. I love your and Mark’s work. It looks like a different house I love reading your blog.
Thank you, Nancy!
Love the journey you and Mark have done as I’ve tagged along! ha For all the accomplishments made in a year I know it would be ‘too much’ for my husband! lol Everything is oak in our home and hubby is a purist so no painting of oak, which limits me in ways to decorating. At best I’ve papered the backs of oak bookcases in amusing myself and love it. Hard to say which project I’ve liked the best, and yet there’s something to be said for that foyer – such detail and perfection!! Awesome job Mark indeed!! Many more years to you both in transforming your house into a home!
Thanks so much, Julie! We’ve enjoyed every single project.
Greetings from Little Rock, Arkansas! Your 2020 accomplishments required planning, hard work, time, and money, and it all looks absolutely wonderful! Thank you for opening your home to us at all stages. I remember your new beginning when you experienced a transition in life, and I am so very proud of you and for you! Your determinate, coupled with grace and a love for the Lord, has spelled success for you, rightfully so. Many good wishes for much health and happiness to you and yours during 2021. I have enjoyed your posts for years now. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Deborah! You all leave me the nicest notes and you are so right, how far I’ve come in almost 10 years. It’s been the best journey (although hard at the time) and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Love everything especially the bathroom 😍. You and Mark have given me so many ideas!!
Rhoda, you took the lemon days of 2020 and made some tasty “home made” lemonade. The final project of the year is my favorite. The wainscoting in the foyer is like the cherry on top of the sundae. So many good updates to take your beautiful home up a notch! Happy New Year to you and all your family!!
Thank you Becky, we definitely used this time at home to make improvements for ourselves. Thanks as always for stopping by!
Can you post the link to your bathroom update? I’d like to paint my oak vanity. What should I do to prep the vanity and what kind of paint is best to use over stained wood? Thank you!
Hi, Lisa, I went back and added that link too, but here you go! You can take a look at this post for all the details on what I used.
https://southernhospitalityblog.com/how-to-update-an-old-vanity-with-new-drawers-doors-and-paint/
Your house is beautiful inside and out. You really have a good eye for what will look perfect.
Hi Rhoda!!
Looking back over your year was one of those, What?!! They did this ALL this year?!!
You both have been very busy. I love all your beautiful changes. Can’t wait to see what 2021 will bring with changes to your beautiful house!!
Have a great week Rhoda!!
Pam
xox 💗
Thank you, Pam, we were busy this year, with a little break between projects. We were glad to get it all done.
Rhoda,
Wow, so may great projects!! I absolutely love the foyer wood trim and also your master bath! Great job on everything! Can’t wait to see what 2021 brings!
xoxo
Lory
Dear Rhoda,
You and Mark complement each other so well! These projects are amazing and I love when you share your DIY expertise! You don’t mind getting dirty and on your hands & knees to get the job done! Your improvements are a very bright spot in a most dreary year for so many. Thank you for sharing them. Believing 2021 will be a year of hope, health and happiness. Love you my dear friend. Vicki
The things you and Mark have done to your lovely home are truly amazing. From your bath to your patio, it looks like a boutique hotel. And it’s just for you!!! My personal handyman isn’t quite so anxious to make my ideas come to life anymore. But it was great while it lasted!!
You have such great taste in decorating! I especially love all the wood details that your sweet hubby added? Did you have to add a layer of smooth wood all over the walls before starting, or were your walls smooth enough to just add the trim pieces? Our walls a very textured, so I think we would have to cover up everything before starting!
Hi Donna, we have smooth drywall here in GA, so we didn’t have to do that, but you’re right if it’s textured you would need a thin board on there. Thank you for stopping by and for the nice note!