The Steen Style

I really can’t believe 2010 is almost over! As I get older, I find myself saying “wow, where did the time go?!” more and more. This year is no exception. From selling our first house, to living with my parents to moving into our new house and accomplishing several huge renovation projects…this year absolutely FLEW by! (Click each picture below to read the previous posts)

2010 started with a massive snow storm while we were living in our old house. I loved the days we were snowed in, with nothing to do but just relax! The one thing missing? A fireplace. This was the final nudge that convinced me it was time to say good-bye to our first house and get on board with Conner to find a new house to call home. 83 days and 81 showings later, we sold our house! You may not consider this a real project but I promise that putting your house on the market, dealing with strangers in your home and staying semi-sane during the whole thing is one of the biggest projects you can accomplish!

The next project on our list? Moving in with my parents and commuting to OKC each day. Again, you may not say this is a real project but have you lived on your own for four years and then moved back in with your parents…with your spouse…and dogs…and then commuted to work each day…an hour each way…in the same car as said spouse? Yeah…

June 25, 2010 – we moved in! The first weekend we accomplished our first project in the new house – the front yard renovation. We removed the Bradford Pear, hedges lining the walkway and the juniper bush on the side of the garage. We replaced the hedges with gorgeous plants of all kinds and a double knock-out rose bush on the side of the garage. I love the after!

The next project on the to-do list? Get our second living room in shape! This room was used as the previous owners’ dining room so we replaced the light fixture, painted the walls grey and the ceiling was painted white. We took down their window treatments and put up our own OSU-inspired curtains! Having two living rooms in this house is the best thing ever since Conner and I have different opinions on ‘good’ and ‘quality’ television programs. Real Housewives of every city in America, anyone?

Once we conquered the living room and had a room inside the house complete, it was time to move on to the kitchen! This was a labor of love, especially when re-hanging the 40 cabinet doors. Four nights in a row we were up working past midnight to get these guys all put up again…I don’t want to go back there for a very, very long time! I love the new lights, the open feeling and the bright white cabinets. Our goal was light and bright and we definitely achieved that! On the list for 2011: new backsplash and new countertops.

The living room makeover is still in the works (I can’t find curtain fabric anywhere!) but making over the fireplace in the main living room is one of my favorite projects in this house! It was supposed to be easy, but after several mishaps with running the cable cords behind the brick, from the TV to the cable box, it took about three weeks and several hundred dollars more than we expected…typical renovation project! 🙂 The white bricks and larger mantel make me so happy!

We made over two pieces of furniture in our living room – the La-Z-Boy chair/ottoman I’ve had since middle school and the storage ottoman that Conner’s parents gave us. We currently use it as our coffee table and love it! We are still looking for new feet for the chair/ottoman since we took off the skirts. Another finishing touch we hope to complete in 2011!

One of the easiest and quickest projects in this house is our entryway buffet that I just love! Is it wrong to love something you did this much? If it is, I don’t want to be right because I am so proud of this piece! 🙂 A $100 Salvation Army buffet that was ‘blah’ is now a fabulous and welcoming ‘wow’ in our house. It was accomplished with some paint and glaze and took only two hours (including drying time)! I am definitely using this piece as inspiration for several new projects in 2011.

Thanks for looking back at the year in projects with me! Today I am linking up to Rhoda’s Top Projects in 2010 party. Come check out everyone’s favorite projects of the year. I hope to find some great ideas for projects in 2011!