2022 was obviously the year of the garage addition! We broke ground back in March and have officially wrapped up construction. It has been great to have a garage to park our cars in, a paved driveway, and a bit of additional square footage. Talk about a game-changer for our house and everyday life! 2023 will be focused on finishing out the garage and the rooms we added in the breezeway – the mudroom, office, and wine room. Additionally, we have a couple of other major projects on the horizon!

What’s to Come in 2023

Windows!!

I spoke a lot about this on Instagram over the last several months but we finally committed to and ordered new windows through Pella. We officially ordered them back in October and they are projected to arrive in mid-February. It is going to be a game changer for our house because our existing windows are original and in ill repair. We chose black fiberglass windows with a streamlined profile. We are combining picture windows and casement windows and eliminating all of our existing double-hung windows. The casement windows open with an easy-slide system rather than a crank, I am so excited! We’re also modifying the configuration of some existing windows, for example, in a few areas where we currently have 2 or 3 windows together, it will become one large picture window.

Garage Organization

Now that the garage is built and the garage floors are done, we are in desperate need of some organizational solutions. We considered DIY-ing this project but after meeting with a few companies, we pulled the trigger and hired a company for the interior garage build-out which will include a work bench area and tall storage cabinets. Here’s a preview of what’s to come:

Mudroom Build-Out

I have poured a lot of time into designing our new mudroom. It’s a great space with gorgeous brick floors and light fixtures but it’s going to really take shape later this month when the custom cabinetry and millwork are installed. I am so excited to see this space come to life. Here’s a sneak peek at the cubbies that will be right inside the garage door. Choosing a color is on my immediate to-do list!

Wine Room/Lounge Build-Out

The area off of our dining room that used to be our porch was enclosed as part of our breezeway in the garage addition project and we’re making it into a wine room and lounge.  It’s currently an empty slate with the exception of brick floors and some gorgeous lighting. I have a whole vision for this room including custom rustic wood cabinetry and paneling, some moody wallpaper and a hidden door to replace the old exterior glass door.  It’s going to be a vibe.

Butler’s Pantry

Since we added a new mudroom, we no longer need our old mudroom. Similarly, the wine room will house all of our wine, liquor, and cocktail glassware that currently lives in the wet bar which lives right next to the old mudroom so the whole space is going to get an overhaul. We’re going to eliminate the wet bar, expand the pantry and create a small hallway which will allow us to relocate the powder room door into the hallway as opposed to seeing the toilet from the main living area.

Landscaping

Now that we are past the construction phase of our garage addition we really need to have some landscaping work done. The garage is beautiful, but it’s a mess out there! We planted some very simple greenery a while back and added rocks and edging but we need professional help in this area! We also need a paver walkway to connect our existing front door steps to our new driveway. This week we are taking a very first step and having our whole front lawn graded. Our lawn is uneven and has divets and dips so grading will address all of that and prime it for planting grass seed.

Driveway Access

Prior to adding the driveway, we had electrical run from the garage to where our driveway starts. We used to have a simple farm gate with a mighty mule system to open it but the whole thing needed an upgrade. We removed the gate, sold all of the components, and are planning to upgrade our access system and gate. I want to add some brick columns with exterior lighting and showcase the gate and give some much-needed lighting to the end of the driveway.

Primary Bedroom Update

I have been dying to add some millwork to our primary bedroom for a while. I want to do board and batten on all of the walls, tongue and groove on the ceiling, and eventually ceiling beams too. I want to bring in some color on the walls. I also think the floorplan can benefit from some zhuzhing and the addition of a sitting area. When our new windows go in we have to remove our existing roman shades and I don’t want to put them back up. I want to see our new windows and benefit from the natural light in here. Instead, I want to hang curtains.

Other Stuff

While I’d love to add a pool and pool house I’m not sure given our recent addition and everything we have planned for this year that a pool will happen any time soon. We also have a few rooms in our home that remain unrenovated – our primary bathroom, laundry room, and guest bathroom – that’d I’d love to update but I’m not sure when we’ll get to it. Another project we’d love to do is tongue and groove all of the walls and ceiling of our great room…a girl can dream!

Thank you!

As always, thank you so much for following our journey! We’ve come so far in the six years we’ve been in this home and it’s fun to share our ups and downs with you along the way! Stay tuned for more! Follow along on Instagram for daily updates and Pinterest where I pin lots of inspiration I’m loving.