Oops, forgot to add a photo of the shed yet to be finished! A wee veranda and board and batten siding or shingles will be added this year.

Finally built our house by the lake.

It's a prefab home, but with timber frame features added.

Will add the final touches outside this summer, then hopefully buy a couple Muskoka chairs and a boat :)

Finally built our house by the lake.

It's a prefab home, but with timber frame features added.

Will add the final touches outside this summer, then hopefully buy a couple Muskoka chairs and a boat :)

Both of my bedrooms have sliding glass doors going out to patios and the doors were original to the home, so at least 30 yrs old and metal frames. I had both sets replaced with vinyl patio doors and the difference is amazing! Before you couldn't sit near the windows when it was too hot or too cold as you'd burn up or freeze, my electric bills have decreased quite a bit with the change, very happy with the improvement.

We moved from CA to an older home in AZ. Half the roof was replaced, 4 skylights were replaced, we repainted the exterior of the house, new side garage door installed, new cladding on the front of the garage. Replaced both toilets in the bathrooms, put in new light fixtures in both, & did some touch-up painting. In the kitchen, we had the drop- down "plastic" ceiling removed & had new lighting installed. Replaced the very outdated cabinets & had granite countertops installed, along with new sink & faucets. Replaced the fridge, replaced old stove with a ceramic top range. Replaced all the old draperies with shutters or wood blinds. Still lots to do, as the budget allows! We love living in this "55" community, the architecture is all Southwestern, but an older home is certainly an adventure!

El diseño de la silla sale de lo comun.

I accomplished pretty much everything set for 2015. Purchased water softener. Decluttered.

This is the cat porch we built:

It has lots of platforms and walkways for the cats and a sisal rope fireman's pole so they can climb up and down it like a tree and use it for a scratch post. We all enjoy hanging out in the screened-in porch at the end of the day!

It all began with a total landscaping job five years ago. Hired professionals for the most part however did a lot ourselves. (Large centrally located double lot in an older suburb with a mix of old and new homes. The age of homeowners are also a blend.) Am currently upgrading the interior: 2 full bathrooms fully gutted and redone with two more half baths to go. Entire new kitchen is planned, however am tinkering with the idea about adding a bump-out to expand the working area which will create a domino effect in respect to the exterior re-facing of the home (and additional buildings on the property). (Now Tudor style; mixed brown brick and stucco as would like something in a gray stone. Interior wise the house itself has great bones/layout and I am not about to ruin it.) With the exception of two small rooms (on the main level) plus the finished basement area; all new flooring will be installed as well. In summary; because of the climate I live in (Canada) much of the work being done is in accordance with the seasons otherwise I don't think it would not be such a long drawn out affair. FTR and in all honesty, as I AM OLD and tired and retired (they go hand in hand folks... ☺) if I had my way I would be moving and the next homeowner would be doing it and yes there are times that I wish Mike Holmes were my son or at least a relative. Will also add, the home according to 'my' calculation is roughly 2,452.08 + sq. feet (excluding the full finished basement and attached double garage) and I will be priming and painting it all myself which isn't bad for an old gal which I don't say so myself.

We bought an older home and remodeled the interior completely. Removed walls, flip flopped the master and guest room, added a bedroom and bath, redid the kitchen. It turned out beautiful. We had Phillips Design and Development do it. They are going to take pictures on Monday.

new interiors and a study cum family room

We would have loved to re-do the bathrooms, but our priority right now is security ... CCTV all round for us!

I just bought a 1984 mid century modern home that is basically all original. Everything needs to be replaced. We have this amazing fireplace that dictates what will happen in the great room. ( living room , dining room and kitchen) . Inside all the flooring and cabinets have been removed. A new roof has been added. We had to remove rotten exterior wood and so have bare concrete block in some areas. We still have not decided what to do with the front exterior. Maybe had low stone wall. We are trying to stay true to the mid century feel on the inside.

I changed my dining room from dark furniture to light furniture-it now looks much more modern and bright.I also de-cluttered my home and held a garage sale. I also gave some household ornaments and crockery to family and friends.

completely changed my bedroom colours, found some beautiful Mary Quant wallpaper on ebay and did the room in that above the dada rail and a lovely blue underneath, new beige curtains ceiling to floor, Shutters on the window Then got rid of all the old tatty furniture, new bedspread, LOVE IT

Took down a wall between the kitchen and dining room. Took down one supporting wall in the basement to give it a more open concept. This gave both levels more light and welcoming spaces. Redid the upstairs bathroom. Hopefully this year 2016 the small mudroom can be renovated a foot and a half deeper to be a more practical space. Also exterior shed 10x14 with hydro was remodeled to be an outdoor living space. On one side ( approx 10x7) holds yard equipment curtained off... the rest is used as entertaining social space.

We had wood floors installed in living areas. Can't wait to do the bedrooms too.
I spent a good portion of my summer striping 3 layers of wall paper, retexturing and painting large master bath. It was pretty much a little red hen project, too. Still need to finish installing new hard ware and paint trim and vanities plus get the shower gutted and redone.

#craigmerrow,Congratulations on your project.Building a home is a labor of love and I hope it turns out to be everything you want and more!!

Jean Benelli,sounds like you've been very busy.It also sounds familiar because I'm always working on a"to-do"list.Doesn't it feel great when you can cross of a chore on the list and then stand back and admire the work? Not to mention the sense of accomplishment you feel on the inside.

#Keli Rae,It sounds as if you were very busy.I must say that your labor of love has turned out beautiful.

#stlouisgaltoo,I have the same job awaiting me.I must say that your project turned out beautiful and I know you have to be proud of it.I enjoy having a cup of coffee out on my patio,in the Spring,Summer and early Fall.Especially before I go to work,between 5am and 6,it's very peaceful and a wonderful way to start a day.

Wow, that looks wonderful! Your "before" is very like my bathroom, so this is such an inspiration.

lindamarconi,Your family room turned out very beautiful and I know you have to be proud of it.In my opinion,when we do our own remodels and designs,it's a labor of love and gives me a sense of great accomplishment.

I'm so lucky my husband jumps in on my hair brain ideas, had a lot of them this year! closed in an upstairs deck, see if you can tell what's on the ceiling! My grandkids moved far away so I turned their playhouse into what I call the beach house now!

We FINALLY got the loot together to replace the last 14 windows in our 100 year old home! They're ordered just waiting for the Windows to come in for the week long job to commence. Maybe we will save a bit of cash on heating and cooling our home?!?!?

Did a complete kitchen remodel. Took the walls down between the kitchen and dining room to open it up. Completely designed it ourselves and put in a lot of custom detail to make it as functional as possible.

This past year my husband and I put in a new kitchen back splash -- biting the bullet and doing it ourselves. We used an adhesive tile mat product from Lowe's called Mussle Bound instead of thin set, and that made it much easier to install the tile.

Before

After

Arabesque Blue tile

We hired a contractor to tear off our old wooden deck that was on its last legs and replace it with a composite deck.

Before

After

My husband designed and built the cantilevered pergola to add a little pizzazz to the deck. We're really enjoying using it.

Lights allow us to enjoy it at night as well.

After allowing the pergola to weather a few months, we stained it to match the deck.

Sue P.

my husband built my dream pergola arches over our fire pit! thank you Houzz for all the inspiration!

we also finally finished our outdoor kitchen! we love it.

We have lived in our 1923 home for almost 24 years, and have completed several updates throughout the years. After an unfortunate water leak in a pipe behind a basement wall, we finally decided to renovate our basement family room. Love it now and wondering what took us so long!

After dreaming for 18 years, we finally paid cash for a paver driveway and it is beautiful. The city even chipped in and freshly paved our whole street after a little coaxing and bragging.

We had a wall removed between the kitchen and dining room. Had to add a beam to carry the load so we added another beam to balance out the look. Now we have one large open space and we LOVE it. Have already used the dining room more this year than we have in the previous 25 years!

Also had the driveway redone. There were drainage problems so it needed to be re-graded, resurfaced and a stone retaining wall added along the one side to finish off our flower bed.

Quite the busy (and expensive) year.

I had my inground swimming pool filled in and re-designed the area with a large firepit, hot tub and garden area. Cheaper, less maintenance and just as beautiful in a different way.

The list is long. Retired to Hawaii and set out to do the following in 2015.

Paved 400 yards of road on the private drive to my house.

Excavated and poured concrete for a 17x24’ patio for upper section of home and a 12x24’ slab for new storage shed/workroom in yard

Landscaped around 2 sides of the new concrete patio

Installed solar landscape lighting

Built deck off lower level of home with roof and sun shades, overhead light fixture, and wall mounted television

Felled trees too close to overhead wiring

Built rock wall off new patio and planted succulents

Created 9 x 14’ vegetable garden

Laid slate flooring on small deck off upstairs office

Refinished/rescued a rattan love seat and table now in use on new patio

Remodeled kitchen in lower half of home to include all new appliances, flooring, cabinets, disposal, lighting, granite island and counter tops, and added a pantry

Removed carpet and installed tile for living room and transition tile between LR and kitchen

Installed new commodes in 3 bathrooms

Refinished tile in lower bathroom

Potted several plants in large pots on upper and lower patio areas

Installed new venetian blinds to cover the 16 windows on the lanai

Installed 8 ceiling fans which includes a 9 blade fan for the LR

Various other small jobs such as replacing the kitchen faucet, buying new freezer, etc.

We live on an acre which has a 60 tree Kona coffee bean orchard, 8 huge avocado trees, orange tree, grapefruit trees, tangerines, 40 banana trees, 10-15 pineapple plants, huge mango tree and one new that we planted, Ti or Ki plants, kabocha melons, an herb garden, and lemon tree.

Lots left to do but you have to make some time for the beach, friends, football, etc.

I may have run out of space .... lots more pictures to prove what I’m writing.

Maybe I can add a few more pictures to round out the above submission.

More pics- I forgot we have papaya -- fruit too high in the trees for us. Birds enjoy tho. And trying to grow orchids. I added a pic of a shady area with a very large pot - that is NOT my property, but that is what I would like to work toward in one section of my property (preferably that area under the big avocado and mango trees).

I

I had the old hvac system removed from its closet in the bedroom hallway, next to the hall bathroom and replaced in the garage. I had the former closet torn down to the studs as well as a second smaller closet next to the first. Both were opened into the old bathroom, which was then gutted. I chose a large soaking tub to replace the old bathtub/shower, and put a freestanding shower with glass wall in the former furnace closet space. I had a custom vanity built and added contemporary chrome fixtures all around and used a unique square table top with 2" wood rail and mirrored back for over the sink. Floor to ceiling tile in the tub surround and shower stall, front of tub, and floor finished off this enlarged, spa-like bathroom.

I have taken up the carpet ×3 rooms, put down laminate wood floors. for 2016 I will be putting in new interior doors, switching out to glass doors, re-do the tiles in the kitchen and new kitchen appliances.

Our biggest project was painting our kitchen cabinets. We did not like the orange stain and wanted more of an espresso stain. Saved money by painting. Because we let the grain texture show, it almost looks like stain.

Some pictures at: http://www.focusrealty.com/cabinet-painting.html

Purchased our 10 acre mini-ranch and 20 year old cedar sided two-story home in Texas Hill Country in January from an elderly gentleman. The place needed a lot of TLC and cleaning... We prepped and stained the whole outside of our house & repaired torn window screens. Pulled out the raccoon-fouled insulation from both attic spaces and replaced it. Installed new smoke detectors throughout. Replaced many old ceiling lights with LEDs, sanded down popcorn walls and painted. Replaced grease-laden kitchen appliances. Cut down and made our own cedar fence posts and ran fencing to contain our sheep we purchased. Improved (raccoon-proofed) the chicken house and purchased chickens - enjoying the fresh eggs. Cut down trees that were encroaching on our house, growing over the roof. Replaced calcium clogged toilets and installed a water softener/filter. Lots more to do, but at least now it is livable.

Iehowes - love what you have done. I am a native Houstonian and will always be a Texan. I appreciate the raccoon problem - pesky (and mean) little buggers - and yes they leave a nasty mess which smells to high heaven. Keep trucking and your place will be so nice all you will have to do (for a few years - ahem) is sit back and relax and gather eggs.

Thanks for acknowledging our accomplishments, Desiree. We love the property, house and view from our back porch and Texas weather! This is truly a dream come true for us as we near retirement. (We are also much closer to the grand baby). We also look forward to our next project.

Happy New Year to All - In 2015 without changing the size of our one-story home, we moved walls, furniture, and stuff to create a new master bathroom from two small ones and add a new totally new one, along with upgrading our storage closets. Not an unusual thing to do to a 60s house but we were inspired to keep working. Imagine that! As a result we decided to put "our house on a diet" and now we are cleaning out/giving away much of the stuff we moved for the remodel rather than putting it back where it was. A daunting task at first but we feel good about "the weight" we have lost, and it has made definitely the entire remodeling process a lot more enjoyable. Cheers!!!

kokiesmom- love your comment and weight loss. We do accumulate a lot of stuff and it always feels good to lighten the load every now and again. I had to do a lot of that when I shipped my 3 bedroom house from Texas to Hawaii. I can’t begin to tell you the amount of expensive clothing and shoes I donated (don’t need all the suits, leather boots, etc. now that I’m retired and living on an island), housewares, yard equipment, wall art, knick-knacks, videos, record albums, 5-piece stereo component with 2 huge speakers, etc. If you have pics of your remodel, would love to see it - especially the bathrooms. Master bath update is on my long list of to do’s.

doubledee53 - love what you did to your basement.

Inspiring projects--big & small! Although there is no such thing as a small project IMHO :)

Turned this empty patio deck into my own oasis

Helping this HOA in southern California save money on their water bill by installing desert landscape.

My garage is organized down to every last inch. I have a camping/travel section, inventoried household goods: paper towels, tp, lightbulbs, etc. It's perfection. All of the closets and cabinets indoors have been sorted and organized. In the spring, I plan on getting all of the little fix-its done.

Storage on one side of the loft of my little house