The Done's and Don't-Ask's of DIY

Last year at this time, I'd shared with you all a list of DIY and craft projects I planned to accomplish during 2007... You know the ones: the Projects that Guilt.

But as any homeowner knows, intentions are NOT accomplishments when it comes to home improvement projects. If we could fix homes based on intentions, why, my garage roof wouldn't leak... Everyone's toilet would match their tub... And Ty Pennington would be out of a job.

But because I try to be an honest gal-- and because I must also secretly believe that salt + open wound = comfy-- well, I thought we'd just take a look back and see what actually got accomplished on that list from last year.

The first project cited was "The Plate Rail." You'll see here that I'd had plans to exchange this jumble of shelves in the kitchen for one long plate rail to display my Victorian transferware plates and other kitchenalia.

And phew! Plate rails, I have covered! Because what started as a new plate rail grouping in the kitchen...

Seems to have spread into the livingroom....

And then, the entryway...


It's like some piney organizational plague, isn't it? Some Martha-Stewart-Bob-Villa-bred communicable disease which swept the place.

So yes, it's safe to say, my plates have been thoroughly... er... railed in 2007. Check! Now let's move on...

To the Floor Border in my kitchen. This area had originally borne a black rubber bumper which, in spite of glue strong enough to attach tiles to the Space Shuttle, tended to peel itself away at random and stick lecherously to my leg as I did dishes. It was the Dirty Old Man of interior details.

It had to go.

I had already removed the offending border and planned to sand away the remaining glue and stain the wood underneath as one of my 2007 projects. So here is the Before picture....

And here is now:

Um, yeah.

Next!

In January of 2007, I'd also planned to address The Fall of the House of Usher style cracks in my dining room. These cracks were a result of my 100 year old front porch on the outer wall thinking that, after a century of being in one spot, it might be really nice to relocate a few feet to the right. Just for the change, you know, mix it up a little.

The porch got fixed and I spent weeks doing it up in full Victorian painted lady style. It's just beautiful! And the cracks?

Um, not so much. But being a fan of Edgar Allen Poe, I'm starting to think the cracks give it a certain air of mystery, don't you think? A sort of atmospheric, lived-in period feel and...

You're not buying it, are you?

(Sigh.) Just my luck to have bright readers.

FINE. So craft projects-- I'd had a couple of craft projects I'd planned to do in 2007. Like fix the painted flowers on this globe shade and...

(Ahem)

So WHAT was I DOING in 2007, anyway?!

Ah! THIS MIRROR! I did this mirror!

Originally, it was an inexpensive purchase from Junk for Joy in Jeannette, PA. And NOW...

Here it is-- a nice piece in my entryway. My entryway which is now aqua blue, I should mention, because that room got a bright new lick of paint. In actuality, 2007 was filled with a lot of wonderful projects and rewarding times-- like three cottage decorating swaps, some trash-t0-treasure chair reupholstery, two thrift giveaway gift baskets, and a mongo-big wrought iron garden trellis that took some serious Girl Power to get into place.

But even a public and apparently misguided blog post about future DIY plans sometimes isn't enough for us to get everything done on our lists. And you know what?

The house will still be there tomorrow. So for the new year, maybe a little prioritization, some determination and a lot of forgiveness are all we really need.

How about you all? What's on your list of things to do? Has anything hung on that list for WAY longer than you'd like?

Here's wishing you the best of each in 2008.