2016 in Review

Happy Friday! I know this weekend is full of excitement and partying for everyone, but I also love to do a bit of reflecting this time of year. I’ve spent some time this past week looking over all of our posts and projects from the year, and I realized there are a lot of you reading out there who may not have seen all of these! So, I thought today was the perfect day for a quick roundup of some of the best projects, tips, and posts of 2016.

This is by no means every post or project from the year, but it’s a pretty good snippet of the projects that you loved the most, as well as a few hidden gems that you might have missed. Get your clicking fingers ready because there’s a lot to see here!

• We gave our kitchen a total overhaul – we painted both the cabinets and the countertops, installed a beadboard backsplash, added open shelving, and replaced the hardware. It’s basically a whole new room! Oh, and I came back afterward and let you know how it’s all holding up, too!
• We threw a Sesame Street themed birthday party for Jackson – it was so fun and SO adorable. I can’t believe it’s already time to start planning the next party!
• I finally created a home office space in my house for my blogging – it’s still my favorite spot to work, and I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner! Although I have to admit, having this space makes me crave having even more dedicated office space. Maybe that’ll happen in 2017?
• We hacked an IKEA play table for Jackson’s birthday – he loves this little space and it gets so much use! He eats snacks and meals there every once in a while, does a lot of coloring there, and loves to bring his toys over to play.

• We made spring, summer, and fall bucket lists (and an advent calendar for the winter!)
• I wrote a silly little post about how we love having two refrigerators in our house and you guys totally responded. This is still one of my top referring posts from Pinterest which makes me giggle. I love that I’m not the only one so enthusiastic about my fridge!
• I brainstormed a few ways to deal with the awkward corner in our bedroom. We still haven’t fixed it, but I know exactly what we’re planning on doing!

• I spilled all the dirty details on how we feel about our vinyl plank flooring after living with it for two years (spoiler: we still love it!)
• I made some confessions about how I’m occasionally a total mess when it comes to finishing up DIY projects. This is still all very true.
• We embarked on a Konmari journey to get our home totally cleaned up and organized. We chatted about clothes, books, papers, kitchens & bathrooms, living spaces, and sentimental items. Oh, and when all was said and done I even wrote a (FREE) ebook about how I tackled it all!
• We made a pretty border garden in the backyard – most of the flowers have died (I know, I suck, y’all!) but I’m hoping this spring I’ll be able to give them a new life!
• I rounded up a few ideas for art in the kitchen (we’ve still got a few kitchen projects to knock out!)

• I rounded up a bunch of great ideas for decorating the space above your bed (it can be so hard to fill!) and then, I came back and shared what we ended up doing in our room.
• We finished our favorite outdoor project ever – this giant DIY chalkboard for our fence! Jack loves it and it’s still looking as good as new!
• We gave our master bedroom closet a major overhaul. I am in LOVE with how it turned out, and it’s so much more functional now. I also shared a really easy way to make some simple floating shelves.
• I shared a life-changing tip for making your bed. I know, it sounds silly, but trust me when I say you’ll want to know about this.
• Another reader favorite from this year was my post about how I keep my house clean without a ton extra effort. A few little things here and there add up to a big change!

• We built a simple DIY copper curtain rod in our bedroom, and added some yarn tassels to plain white curtains to spruce them up.
• We gave our workshop a major clean-up and makeover (although, confession, it’s still not organized! Ack!). We also built some work benches and added a humongous pegboard.

• We built a super simple growth chart for Jackson to keep track of him as he gets bigger.
• We built a really easy coat rack for our entryway – this space still needs some work but it’s looking way better with that!
• We (FINALLY) got rid of the carpet in our bedroom and we added a gorgeous rug!

• I gave an old thrift store globe a gorgeous makeover for Jackson’s room
• I made a Fixer Upper-inspired sign for the window in our kitchen, and it still makes me smile every time I see it!
• We participated in the One Room Challenge for the first time ever! We gave our master bathroom a major overhaul over the course of six weeks. You can see the big reveal here, but we started by demoing and then painting, then we added tile, cedar planked the ceiling, and added some fixtures and finishing touches before revealing it all. Oh, and when it was all said and done I shared some of my favorite blogger reveals from the challenge.
• I made a major confession about how we hated our garage-turned-media-room, and then we fixed it with a big flooring makeover (and now we LOVE it!)

• I spilled my newest secret for keeping paintbrushes clean when you accidentally leave them out overnight.
• As the Christmas season got close, I shared some DIY gift ideas (including some for the more advanced woodworker and some for those who like to play around with concrete), a gift guide for ladies, a gift guide for dudes, a list of ideas for stocking stuffers, and a super amazing idea for giving gift cards.
• I made a wood bead garland to add to our mantel (and now I want to make a million more).
• I shared a few secrets for creating the perfect Christmas vignette (and really, these tips apply year-round!).
• And finally, earlier this week I shared the printable page I’m using in 2017 to keep me on track with my goals.

WHEW. Are you exhausted yet, or just me?

That was a lot. I know. But don’t worry, you can just pin this post and come back later to pour over all of the goodness. I can’t believe how much we accomplished this year – and I have high hopes that we’ll do even more in 2017.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend – don’t party too hard! I’ll see you in 2017!