Big Plans

Immediately after closing, my initial reaction was to run in that house with a gallon of paint and a roller and start tearing things out and painting those walls.  However, my practical side kicked in and we decided to instead make a to-do list.  First, we had to figure out what had to be done now, and by a professional, and what we could save up for and DIY later.  Luckily, the house was structurally sound and had no structural or system issues.  The foundation was solid, wiring updated, and furnace, water heater, and hvac were in good shape.  So here is the master list (the things crossed out are done, and we'll walk through those projects room by room):

 

Living room

-          Paint all walls

-          Paint all trim/doors white

-          Rug

-          curtains

-          New entertainment unit (to hide the wires)

-          Art over bar

-          Art on wall behind sofa

-          Drop zone

-          Crown molding

-          Refinish hardwood floors

Dining area

-          Paint all walls

-          Paint all trim white

-          Rug

-          Centerpiece

-          Bench/storage under window

-          Gallery wall

-          Treatment under breakfast bar (bead board?  Stencil?)

-          Replace light fixture

Kitchen

-          Paint all walls

-          Paint all trim/doors white

-          Replace countertops

-          Replace sink/faucet

-          Replace appliances

-          New cabinet hardware

-          backsplash

Downstairs Hallway

-          paint all walls

-          paint trim white

-          wall treatment (stencil?  Stripes? Wallpaper?)

-          jewelry closet

-          art

-          refinish hardwood floors

Bathroom

-          paint all walls

-          paint trim white

-          replace light fixture

-          add separate switches for light and exhaust fan

-          install medicine cabinet or mirror

-          re-glaze tub

-          deep clean tile/grout (shower)

-          deep clean tile/grout (floors) 

-          organization system for under sink storage

-          art

stairway

-          paint all walls

-          paint all trim white

-          replace carpet

-          art on walls

Bedroom 1 “Master Bedroom”

-          paint

-          paint all trim white

-          replace carpet

-          curtains

-          bedside tables

-          art

-          replace light fixture

Bedroom 2 “Dressing Room”

-          paint

-          paint all trim white

-          replace carpet

-          storage system and/or armoires

-          repaint dressers and dressing table

-          repair dressing table

-          art

-          curtains

Bedroom 3 “Man Cave”

-          paint walls

-          paint trim white

-          paint ceiling

-          new carpet

-          replace light fixture

-          fix short in light fixture

Bedroom 4 “Office/Guest room”

-          paint walls

-          paint trim white

-          new carpet

-          replace door

-          book shelves and/or built-ins for storage

-          find solution for full size box spring

-          extra sleeping solutions?

Basement

-          paint all walls

-          dry lock the walls

-          paint concrete floor

-          fix furnace drainage issue

-          have furnace serviced

-          organize all boxes in storage

-          clear space for treadmill/TV

-          art on walls

-          seating (futon?  Small sofa?)

-          arrange laundry area

o   rug or stencil floor

o   new light fixture

o   brighter paint

Outside:

-          stain back deck and front porch

-          pressure wash exterior

-          repaint porch beams and door surround

-          remove broken storm door

-          paint front door

-          paint mailbox

-          paint house numbers

-          hang flag

-          grade dirt around home to prevent leaking/flooding

-          repair fence gate

-          stain or paint fence

-          clean gutters

-          landscape front yard

-          landscape back yard

-          plant grass seed and fertilize back yard

 

Possible Construction projects:

-          finish basement

-          add a bathroom or half bath

-          add a screened-in porch

Since anything we had the contractor do would be rolled into our mortgage (and paid back with interest) we wanted to only have the contractor do what was necessary because it was either (1) out of our skill range, or (2) something we couldn't live with for the time being and didn't have time to do ourselves.  In the end, we decided to have the contractor tackle the following:

• paint the living room, dining area, kitchen, bathroom and stairwell (we painted the bedrooms ourselves to save money)
• drylock and paint the basement
• paint the concrete basement floor
• fix wiring in the bathroom to have the fan and light controlled by two seperate switches
• dispose of old countertops and appliances and install new countertops and appliances
• install new sink, faucet and garbage disposal in kitchen
• repair drainage issue with furnace