12 by 2012 update:

December 14, 2011


I started the 12 by 2012 project just because I have been pretty unmotivated all year. Just going through the motions, but feeling like I am going nowhere. So #1 on my list of goals was "Living Room Project (new paint / new floors / new furniture)"

I don't know why but I was super unmotivated to get our placed cleaned up. Have you ever noticed I never post any pictures of our place? It's so hard when we are surrounded by the most lovely blogs filled with photos of beautiful homes and everything. I always think these bloggers and designers live such fabulous lives, their blog translates into their lifestyle and everything they own is beautiful. The beauty and 'inspiration' found in all the blog in a way made me unmotivated to do it. Probably because in my mind, it seemed like a big project. So I just put it off. and didn't make it a point to do anything with our place.

But I think at some point, things just have to where you just force yourself with everything in you to do something, anything. I procrastinated at the at the beginning of the year for a few good months. It was so messy and embarrassing - I wouldn't even let friends in. (Lillian knows what I'm talking about, I've never invited her in, haha) I was embarrassed to let friends use the bathroom (but Ruby got in one time - I had to let her in because I couldn't deny her 3 year old to use the bathroom!) May/June rolled around and I figured I should do something. By July I finally listed all our furniture on craigslist and sold it all to clear out the place. But then nothing. Then October we finally got the walls painted and on November 16th, I am happy to report, we finally got the wood floors installed!

Here are some images that I took to document our progress.

First we had to start with paint. It is hard choosing a color. Really hard! We went through a lot of samples. I don't mind it much because I am going to turn all the testers we bought into chalkboard paint for different projects. But I am an indecisive person. Anyway, we hired a painter and there was some big-time drama and I didn't even end up liking the color! So Nick just re-primed and repainted everything. But then it was finally all done and it turned out great.

Next was wood. This was also hard to decide on. With all the craziness that happened with the painter, I wanted a professional and reliable job - I didn't want any drama again. So I hired these guys that I found on Yelp. We ended up going with laminate instead of engineered wood. It turned out quite nicely and was done in a day. Just like that. Months of trying to get going on this and it's done in a day. I wish procrastination didn't exist ;)
Wood never looked so good, we had a completely new place.

We also ended up getting wood stairs installed... courtesy of my older brother's friend. More drama there which I totally wanted to avoid but can't seem to.. I won't go into it. Oh well, what's done is done I suppose! Note: this was a pretty big project that took my brother and his friend 4 days and it still didn't even get finished completely. Not recommended unless you know some seriously handy and patient people.

Also on my list was #8 - Clean out our garage. Warning: some very embarrassing photos ahead. Please no judgements ;) Okay, so this was our garage:
and after only a few hours, we got it sorted and organized. It may not look it, but we added some extra shelves and marked the bins. We donated and threw a ton of stuff away. It was lovely.
hmm, at least you can see the floor now! Which is a big improvement from before.. which was, there was hardly any floor to walk on. Unfortunately with getting everything cleared out of our place for the wood floor installation, our garage has returned to being a big mess. But we still have time before the new year to go through it. I know it was major horder-level status. Please someone out there tell me your garage is a twin to mine ;)

So that's my 12 by 2012 update. I've been meaning to post it sooner but things have been super busy around here! How is your 12 by 2012 list going? There are still a good 17 days left before the new year. Really, anyone can still make a list and get things accomplished before 2012 hits! Thanks for reading this long update.

19 hello's:

  1. That wood looks so great! I totally feel ya on the procrastination thing - I'm terrible at it. Glad you made time for it though - looks amazing!

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  2. Your wood looks beautiful!
    You have officially inspired me to finish a room I have been meaning to re-do for about a year and a half now.

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  3. Wow! I am seriously impressed by your floors. You'll get the garage done- I know you will!

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  4. i did an 11 in 2011 version of this and i think i have maybe 3 or 4 left. it really was a good way to kick my procrastinating butt into gear. these projects are waay more daunting than mine so way to go. the living room and garage look great :)

    rufflesandrags.blogspot.com

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  5. yayyyyy for wood floors! i LOVE ours!! :)

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  6. I'm so sorry to hear there was so much drama involved, but the wood floor looks lovely and all the bad is in the past :) Way to go on attacking such big projects!
    Oh my family's garage is terrible. There should be room for two cars, but we could fit a motorcycle at best. Maybe.

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  7. yay! Way to go Danni!!!! It looks beautiful :)

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  8. Your home looks lovely - great choice on the paint and flooring! Don't worry about the garage - I think that most people have a garage, shed, or basement that looks like that at one point or another. I know that we have!

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  9. That floor looks great! So rich and cozy. You'd never know it was laminate from your pictures!

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  10. My little secret is that I love to clean up, so my hands are itching (?) when I see the mess!

    I love your blog, so inspiring!


    Love,

    Rock 'n Style
    http://www.rocknstyleblog.blogspot.com
    http://twitter.com/RocknStyle

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  11. Good job! I can totally relate to feeling overwhelmed by inspiration to the point that you never actually act. For me it's usually more a matter of feeling so restricted by budget! Slowly but surely I'm improving my home, and hopefully as I progress I will become more comfortable with having people over! Good luck with your continued improvements!

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  12. Thats great! :)
    The floor looks fabulous! and I like that mustard yellow for your wall.

    About the garage - no worries! Ours has been similar. Once we get into a pattern of "look here's a place for this" no matter how much we clean it out it just makes more room for the new thing we need to move out of our house! I think the real solution is just to totally ignore it as a storage space and decorate it as you would a room in the house - shelves here for this and that, table for potting, and instead of a couch - a car! (or bikes) It seems to be the onyl way we have found. treat it like a room and it will treat you like a garage should :) lol

    Goodluck with furnishings!!!

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  13. Yay! I can totally understand the power of procrastination. So far, I have only achieved 1 out of the 12 goals. Mind you, I have started bits and pieces of each goal, it is just the finishing I have problems with...

    I love the wooden floor, we were lucky enough to have hard timber floor in our apartment, it is so lovely to sit on on a hot summer day. I am sure you will sort out your garage soon, like you said there are still 17 days till the end of the year.

    x

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  14. Nice work!! So impressed that you achieved such beautiful results! The floors look beautiful. I have only a few things left to tick off my 12 by 2012 - thanks for inspiring me (again!) x

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  15. My 12 by 2012 list has been going great. I have got so much done...including being right on the verge of having my etsy store open. That was my big one. I just posted a small update here http://thecolorhappy.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-love-progress.html

    Love the new floors! And I will admit that my first thought when I saw your before shots of your garage was not disgust. It was, "Wow, I would love to dig through that!"

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  16. The floors looks amazing, and you should see our place! We moved in August, but some parts still look like we just moved in :P

    I can't wait to see what else you do to your new place

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  17. the wood floors are gorgeous. great job!

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  18. hi danni! i love the yellow you did for the living room. that's almost exactly what Tom and I did for our bathroom when we moved into our new house. we chose Martha Stewart's "cornbread" for one wall and "glass of milk" for the rest. hope you are doing well!

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  19. this was such a simple post, but i'm so glad you wrote it! my husband and i are about to move into our very first own place and have been picking out the same stuff--paint and laminate...and for some reason it was just so nice to know someone else has just been through what we are about to do! good luck with the rest of your 2012 adventures!

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Friends, Thank you so much for reading + supporting my blog, and for taking the time to leave me a comment. Your comment support truly means so much to me. Have a lovely day! xo, danni