As we get ready to start a new year, I thought it would be fun to plan my top home projects for 2018.

While I didn’t get everything accomplished this year that I had originally planned, I am proud of what I was able to get done:

• I finished my dining room, which included building a table and shelves.
• I mostly finished my entry. I finished my sideboard this year, and all that’s left (for now) is to hire someone to paint the tall ceilings.

I am so happy with the updates in my dining room and entry, so hopefully that will motivate me to take on even more projects in 2018!

2018 Project 1: Half Bathroom

I talked about it in this post, but one of my top priorities in 2018 is to update the only downstairs bathroom in the house. It’s such a tiny room that some paint will go a long way, but I’d also like to build a custom sink and add faux shiplap.

2018 Project 2: Coat Closet and Pantry

My coat closet and kitchen closet sit back to back in my house and are both cluttered messes. I’d like to completely reorganize them and build custom shelving, while also turning my kitchen closet into a pantry. My current pantry is in a cabinet and is not very functional. Also, if I can keep the contents of the coat closet from spilling out every time I open the door, I’ll consider that a success on its own!

2018 Project 3: Garage

I work on most of my woodworking projects in my garage, and right now the only word I can think to properly describe it is chaos. It’s a two-car garage and I still want room to park a car on one side, but I’d like to set up half of it as my own very organized workshop. The exterior walls of the garage still need insulation and drywall, which will be a learning experience for me. My goal is to work on this in six weeks this spring for the Spring One Room Challenge.

2018 Project 4: Fireplace

I have always, always wanted to have a home with a fireplace. After doing a lot of research on my available options, I’d like to build my own fireplace and custom mantle in the living room. Since my home does not have a gas line, I think an electric fireplace insert is going to be the way to go.

2018 Project 5: Boy’s Bedroom

I have an 11-year-old son who will be turning 12 next fall. I’d love to use the six weeks of the Fall One Room Challenge to design and create a new room for him as a birthday present. One of the very first woodworking projects I ever worked on was adding shelves to his room, and I think this will be a fun project for the two of us to work on picking out the design together.

The shelves I made for my son back in 2015.

So there you have it! Hopefully this is not an all-inclusive list of everything I will be working on during the year, but these are some to-dos that I’d love to check off my list in 2018!