While we truly love where we currently live, Evan and I are pretty certain that this is not our "forever" home. If we thought it WERE our forever home, there are a number of big projects we would do to improve this house because we would get to enjoy the fruits of our labor (and more so our investments) and we wouldn't be concerned with resale value. However, since it is likely not our forever home and our house appraised about as high as it could when we refinanced recently, we will forego these projects and instead save the time, energy, and money. Here is a list of the projects we WOULD do but probably wont do:
1) Paint the house a true white.
It's hard to tell in pictures, but our house is actually an off-white color with a yellowish tint. It drives me crazy. I haaaaaaaaaaate it! I didn't realize how much it would bother me when we first bought the house, but it wears on me more and more every year.. However, it is brand new siding so to repaint it would be purely cosmetic and I just haven't been able to justify that purchase!
2) Replace the front two windows with french doors and redo the front stoop.
The front two 1st floor windows are the only two that have not been recently replaced. If this were our "forever" home, we would replace them with french doors and extend the front stoop, similar to the design of the house below. It would allow us to open up the house and get tons of fresh air, which I would LOVE! Additionally, in our neighborhood, there are a thousand kids that are always playing in the front yards so to have a stoop with comfortable chairs where we could sit and have a glass of wine in the evenings while we watch the kids would be seriously awesome! We certainly would not get any return on this investment though, so we are kissing this dream goodbye.
3) Makeover the Backyard
- Extend the fence
- Install a new deck/patio
- Install a pergola and outdoor fireplace
- Add beautiful landscaping
We haven't done many improvements to our back yard since we moved in other than add a few flower beds and stain the deck. However, it has a ton of potential that we have not tapped into! We love being outside and it would be great to transform it into an awesome space. Here are someinspirational photos of what I'd want to add, but probably wont:
4) Put crown molding throughout the second floor.
Currently we only have crown molding on the first floor, but I think it would go SUCH a long way if it were carried throughout the house! I would especially love it in our master bedroom. This room desperately needs some character!
5) Add 1000 outlets.
Our house was built in 1940, and there are two outlets per room - always in the worst places. If this were our forever home, I'd seriously rewire the whole house and add a ton of outlets throughout our home!
6) Buy the house for sale down the street and give it a makeover!
Ha, it is realllllly ugly and I just want to amp up the curb appeal so it would be more pleasant to look at ;)
Overall this list isn't actually too long, when you think about it. We have finished most of the projects in this house that we had set out to accomplish. (And the journey has been a BLAST!)
