The 4 Things On Our 2022 Project List

All of the updates and upgrades we’re planning to make to our new home in 2022.

customizing our builder grade home elements

Since we somehow made it through 2021 (is anyone else still recovering?) I thought we’d share all of the updates and upgrades we’re planning to make to our new home in 2022.

I am so incredibly thankful we found our home in Tampa somewhat easily. After finally narrowing in on South Tampa as our desired location we fell in love with our house because of it’s neighborhood and school district, layout, and potential. Despite having high end finishing’s and an open floorplan that worked for us our home definitely features some items that I’d consider to be builder grade. One of the things I loved the most about our home in Beverly Hills, Michigan was that because it was a complete fixer upper we got to make every square inch our own. With a home that’s already updated there is a feeling of having to live with what’s already there since it’s shiny and new, even if it’s not your style. Since we’re planning to be in our home for a while we’re committed to making both very necessary updates plus cosmetic changes to make it feel more like us. Here’s what we’re planning to tackle during the first full year in our new house.

1. Decorate Our Bedroom & Office

Our bedroom is insanely huge (it’s actually more like a wing) but works really well for us and our lifestyle. Immediately upon moving in last year we finished our closets because they were completely empty and well, we I have a lot of clothes. Outside of the closets we haven’t added much other than furniture, including still having the temporary shades on our windows. In addition to hanging actual window treatments we’ll be swapping the ceiling fan and chandelier in our adjoining office space, upgrading our headboard (and moving our current headboard to our guest room), getting a dresser for extra storage, and hanging art in our office.

customizing our builder grade home elements
our bedroom before we moved in
customizing our builder grade home elements
the office space which is in our bedroom

2. Finish Our Pantry and Add a Beverage Bar

In addition to our closets being empty when we moved in, our pantry was equally bare. With no basements in Florida, storage space is definitely at a premium so we were incredibly happy to have found a home with a dedicated pantry that could fit all of our cleaning supplies and tools, small appliances, extra food, and more. It even has a window! I feel like pantries are having a moment right now so I’m pinning all of the design inspo and can’t wait to finalize our design. We’re planning to use CliqStudios again, who we used to design our kitchen in our last home. While we’re working on the pantry we’re also going to add a beverage bar to an empty corner in our kitchen.

customizing our builder grade home elements
our pantry is behind the door and the beverage bar will go in the empty corner

3. Create an Outdoor Oasis (Plus Build a Garage)

Can you believe we don’t have a basement OR a garage? Thank goodness for sheds and closets, am I right? In all seriousness, had our house had a garage it probably would have been sold long before we started looking and for much more than we bought it for. Luckily, we’re able to see past both small and big things. While it certainly wasn’t ideal, the lack of snow in Tampa combined with the fact that our yard could accommodate a garage (and was actually already permitted for it) helped us commit to temporarily living without one. In addition to adding a garage we’d also like to pimp out our patio by covering it and adding an outdoor kitchen and dining furniture. A pool is on our my someday list but won’t be financially possible this year.

4. Build a Fauxdenza

Since Ken is now intimately familiar with Ikea furniture after building not one but two custom closets last summer I figured new year new Ikea project, yes? In all seriousness (as serious as you can be while talking about Ikea) we have a very large wall that spans our entry, living, and dining room area that has had me seriously stumped. It’s too large for a traditional console table or bench, and since it’s multipurpose I need something that’s both functional and attractive. I’d also like it to be cohesive. I recently came across a fauxdenza that Chris Loves Julia built in their previous dining room and it is the perfect solution for our space. It will give us tons of storage combined with a statement piece that can span the entire length of the wall and provide me endless styling options. I couldn’t think of a better outcome if I tried.

customizing our builder grade home elements
the long blank wall after the sliding doors in our main dining/living space is where the fauxdenza will go

Are you planning to tackle any home related projects in 2022? I’d love to hear in the comments below!