As the year draws to a close, I always like to look back at all the projects we completed this year. We didn’t actually do that much DIY ourselves, not as many projects as we usually do. But, I did go down to Louisiana 3 times this year to help my sister with planning and then doing projects with her as they prepared to move in their new house. I shared all those with you too, so we will look back at all of those projects as well. We did accomplish plenty!
At our house, the BIG BIG project of 2022 was getting our pool completed. That’s enough of a project for a few years actually, since putting in a pool requires so much time, attention, and planning. We are absolutely thrilled to have it finished and we’ve just gone through our first fall/winter season with a pool.
Just a reminder of our backyard when we bought our house and moved in, back in 2017. The backyard is smallish, more long and narrow, but plenty big for our needs. We had no idea then that we would actually put in a pool, but it’s fun to see the changes from the beginning. There are so many projects done back here to get it to where it is now. Some were DIY and some we hired out, but all make our backyard beautiful. We have done a lot in 5 years!
Another angle of the backyard when we moved in. We were fortunate to have that big patio already in place.
After the pool went in this year, it now looks like this. If you missed the pool reveal, definitely go back and look at it. It does take effort to keep it clean and looking this good. Mark is really good about getting back there and cleaning the pool and surrounding landscaping and I’m glad for that. He has a gas blower that helps too. He still takes care of the mowing and all the maintenance in our yard. He’s a hard worker! No backyard is maintenance free, is it?
We’ve just gone through our first fall with a pool and we put a net on it for about 2 months. It wasn’t that pretty with all the leaves falling, but now they are done and it’s not so bad keeping it clean back here. We have also stained the fence since these pics were taken so I’ll have to take new pics this spring.
We love how it turned out and we can’t wait to get back in there come summer next year. We are still waiting on the gas company to run a larger line to our gas meter so that we can run the heater. It should be done by spring, but we had no idea it would take this long.
It really is our backyard paradise and we are grateful to have it!
We have really enjoyed the artificial turf too, it’s low maintenance and we love how it looks.
This is our biggest project to date and we are very proud of it. It’s the perfect outdoor entertaining spot.
My sister and brother-in-law moved into their new lake house in Covington, LA. I shared all the projects at my sister’s house too and we did all this wicker spray painting when I went down in October after they moved in. What a difference it made on their porches to have all this done. See all the after shots of the porches in that post. They are really enjoying their new house. Don’t miss the lake house post if you missed that.
I shared all the before and after of the wicker painting in this post, so check it out. The green chair above was the curbside find (vintage Lloyd Flanders) from my neighborhood with a FREE sign on it. I finally dug back in my photos and found the original pic of the chair on the curb. I could see it from our house & could not let it go, I had to rescue that chair! And now I have an after shot of it to share with you. You can see it was mismatched paint colors and the cushions were dated. I remember that fabric. It just needed some TLC.
My sister got the cushions covered here in Marietta at Fringe Benefits. The fabric is a performance fabric so should hold up fine outdoors.
And here’s the after! This is a really comfy chair and I know they will enjoy it now. I had picked up the cushions for them and they took them home at Christmas.
Here are some in progress shots of us painting all the wicker. It all turned out great and filled up their porches. All from the curb, Facebook marketplace and consignment shops.
Projects are always worth the effort. All it takes is a little bit of DIY to completely change things up with spray paint and paint in general.
Just before Christmas, Mark and I tackled one last project at our house in the master bedroom. As I mentioned in the reveal post, we had talked about doing real brick, but the expense and the mess deterred that plan, so we opted for brick wallpaper instead.
We are so happy with the outcome and really love how it turned out. Everyone that has seen it loves it too. It totally warmed up our room so much and it was such an easy project, only took 4 hours to do. We tackled it in one day and the room was put back together!
That’s a wrap on our projects this year. A big one and a few small ones are what we have to show for the year. We always have something going on around her and I expect next year will be no exception. We have a few more things we want to do here at our house. Mark has a coffered ceiling planned for our family room. We have one more bathroom to do upstairs and then we will move to the basement where we plan to start finishing off the middle section down there, from the stairs down to the main room. We have a lot of decluttering still to do in the basement and a lot more organizing to do too, but that will be our last area of improvement. We just want to get the middle section finished to make it feel like a real room down there, so we will see what we come up with on that. It’s still in the thinking stages.
It feels good to DIY and get things done around a house, doesn’t it? We are very proud of our house and how much we have completed in 5 years. If you missed my post How we Upgraded our Builder’s Beige house, you can see all the before and afters we have completed so far in our home. We love our home and have no plans to move anytime soon. We have fallen in love with our town of Acworth and love where we live.
Barbara C says
Rhoda, you have done so much to make your home special! I love that brick wallpaper and may consider doing something like that in one of our bedrooms. Thanks for sharing your lovely home!
Sher says
Love all that you have done. Just a thought… When we had our built-in pool put in (former house) we hired a plumber who put in a larger gas line to our pool heater. I don’t know if that’s why you’re waiting longer for the gas company to hook it up. I could see that could be a delay. Blessings and all the best in the new year.
Rhoda says
Hey, Sher, apparently we have to get a larger gas line run from the street and that’s the hold up now. It’s been a long time waiting, but I think we’ll get it done by spring.
MARY-ANN (FROM CANADA!) says
Your home is so beautiful! You and Mark have done a wonderful job with everything.
I really like the brick wallpaper in your bedroom. It looks so nice! Great job!
Hope you and Mark are blessed with a wonderful New Year!
Anita says
The chair and ottoman you found for your sister turned out to be an awesome piece after the paint and new fabric!!! Also, the wallpaper in your bedroom changed the entire look of that room. It’s so warm and cozy now and I like the different textures!
Jan D says
I love your home and all that you have done. We are the same. There is always a project going. We get such satisfaction out of all of them when they are completed! Your pool looks beautiful!
Linda Hickey says
Photos of your home are so beautiful. And the transformation y’all did in the back is a outdoor oasis. I love it.
Sue Davis says
I always enjoy looking back at the DIY’S! You & Mark have really done a great job with your builder beige house. We’ve been in our home 3 years now….and there’s always a project to be done.
Thanks for sharing your home and your family with us.
Happy New Year to you!
Diane Moore says
You have really done a lot! You two have the ideas, experience, and drive to do projects that really beautify your home!
Chelle Daniel says
I grew up in Acworth. Actually, right behind where your mom and dad are on Worth Street. You can see the Dogwood and stuff from my granny’s old house. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Dogwood, too. I know the apartments are a little small there but the layout is well done.
I’ve enjoyed your blog for so many years, Rhoda. You were going to come to my house in Cartersville to help me figure out my living room once and I never forgot that offer. You have an eye for decor and what looks good like nothing I’ve ever seen. You are able to look at a blank canvas and envision how it would look best. Your blog has helped me, encouraged me, uplifted me, and given me peace when nothing else did. So thank you. SO much.
Chelle