What's Next...
A couple of weeks ago I asked folks on Instagram for questions and content suggestions after our August renovation plans fell through. Quite a few people wanted a status update on our master bathroom. Remember that project? Well I feel a little bad that I’ve left you hanging so long, but with so much change and uncertainty around the pandemic, we haven’t been able to nail anything down. Things change on a dime right now and flexibility has been key. But as we inch closer to two big projects, I think it’s finally time to share what we think is coming up next and a few projects that we’ve put on the back burner.
The Dexter House | sources here
Before we get to the list, I wanted to reiterate that everything I share here could change. The pandemic has brought a lot of anxiety and uncertainty and we are not immune. Like so many others, we’re making it up as we go right now, both with our business and our family. Our trajectory has already changed this year (shared more about that here), and on the landlording front, we’ve had to reassess and adapt and embrace uncertainty. No complaints there - we are incredibly fortunate to have our rentals and our Farmhouse and a healthy family and we don’t take our privilege lightly. This is our current best guess for our next few projects and beyond.
The Dexter House, sources here
The Dexter House Airbnb
Our next project is converting the Dexter House from an Airbnb to a long-term rental at the end of the August. Which really means moving all of the furniture and furnishings out of the Dexter House and into the Farmhouse basement (we’ll probably do a big sale after the pandemic), and then do some painting and maintenance.
The Dexter House, which we bought in 2015 as a short sale, was our last home in Seattle before we left the city for the country. We left the home furnished and have kept it as an Airbnb ever since. It’s been a great home-away-from-home for trips to Seattle and a good revenue-generator for the most part. It’s always made more as an Airbnb than it will as a long-term rental, but we’ve decided to take back some time and energy in exchange for those profits. Plus the uncertainty from the pandemic has us embracing the stability of a long-term lease. So we’re moving out of the property this month and turning it over to permanent tenants. Fingers crossed this works well for us but if not, we can always switch it back (or sell the property).
Status: happening this month!
Our Farmhouse garden, sources here
Farmhouse Fall garden
We’re excited to try some colder-weather plants this Fall. Garrett and I are planning to build a cold-frame to cover one of our garden beds to create a make-shift green house. The goal is to have fresh greens all the way into winter.
Status: This project is on the docket for September 2020!
The Poplar Cottage
Remember the cute, little rental house we bought last summer (and I do mean little…it’s only 1 bed/1 bath and 590sf)? Well we’re planning to renovate the kitchen and bathroom this Fall! We’ve been toying with when to do these upgrades ever since we bought the house, and now seems like a good answer. We’re eager to improve the property so it can earn a little more rent (to offset some of those we’re losing at the Dexter House) and also because the house could really use the love.
Status: I’m cautiously optimistic we’ll start this project in October 2020.
Our Farmhouse master bathroom
We had planned on starting our master bathroom in March, and had even finalized our floor plan (remember this one?) but placed the project on hold when the pandemic hit. We’re still really excited to dig into this project (seriously cannot wait for this new layout!), but it comes after the rental projects on our priority list.
Status: Our bathroom is currently on the back burner but we’re hoping to move it forward in 2021.
Now for some additional projects we’re thinking about. All of these are back-burner, but since most of them are not full renovation projects we’ll probably sneak them in when we can. Or slowly work on them when the mood strikes…
Farmhouse dining room | wallpaper sample sources here
Farmhouse dining room wallpaper
Earlier in the summer I mocked up my some of my favorite wallpaper prints in the dining room and ordered samples. I’ve always been such a commitment-phobe when it comes to wallpaper, but know that this room could use a bold pattern. But…we’re no closer to wallpapering this space then we were at the beginning of the summer because first we’ll need to remove the cement from the fireplace, paint the ceiling, and smooth the heavily-textured walls.
Status: assuming I don’t totally chicken out on wallpapering, this project falls squarely on the back burner.
Farmhouse living room, sources here
Farmhouse living room
Our living room has always been one of those rooms that I just can’t seem to get right. I’m constantly rearranging it. We’ve already done the heavy lifting in this space: pulling up carpets, painting, hanging a new light fixture, ordering a giant couch, and installing thick drapes. But still the room hasn’t come together like I hoped it would. I’m planning to try a furniture swap when the Dexter House sofa becomes available and maybe with a little more rearranging, the room will come together. Maybe. I’ve always wanted a sectional in here so that may be the answer, but it’s not currently in the budget, so we’ll start with furniture rearranging…
Status: I’m planning to play around with the furniture in September 2020, and see if the room miraculously evolves into something that works. But this is definitely a back-burner project.
Farmhouse office, sources here
Farmhouse office
Okay, I haven’t really mentioned this (probably because I’m a little embarrassed by the ‘cobbler’s son has no shoes’ situation) but when we remodeled the Farmhouse kitchen, we stole the office’s light fixtures and have yet to replace them. We also stole the marble slab we used as a desk for the laundry room countertop. So…our office needs a little love.
Status: Honestly I’m not sure when we’ll fit this project in, and it’ll probably be done in fits and starts, but it’s on the back-burner for now. A light fixture would be really nice for the short-days of winter, though!
Our Farmhouse garden, sources here
Farmhouse garden shed
We’ve been angling to add some storage to the garden ever since we renovated it last Spring. So a garden shed is definitely on the wish list. We’ve debated a few layouts and locations, and are are still in the ‘mulling it over’ phase. But Garrett and I are both eager to work on this.
Status: back burner. But I’m really hoping for Spring 2021…!
What else? I think that’s it for now. It’ll be interesting to look back at this list and see if any of it went per plan!
