What's On Tap for 2018 {CAD Interiors Home Renovation}

Wow, 2018 is off to a speedy start...  Hello February!  The last few months were especially hectic around here, having gone through another round of home renovations.  In recent weeks, I was able to regroup and start prioritizing the home improvements for the year ahead.

Today, I am sharing home renovation projects we have in mind for 2018.  We are hiring out the work to the professionals, so we need to get creative on how to stretch our modest budget dollars! 😅

FRONT LANDSCAPING

For those who have followed this blog, you're probably tired of seeing this on my annual home renovation goals list. 😉 It makes a yearly repeat appearance because we decided we like the dirt (currently mossy) patch that is our front yard!  Umm, no...

A peek at the front exterior in progress... with the non-existent landscaping!

We had been putting off the front landscaping until we addressed the exterior facade of the house.  We didn't want to risk having plants get destroyed by construction.  Let me tell you - that was a wise decision.  The contractors took full advantage of our "un-landscaped" front yard and dumped all sorts of construction debris out there...

With the exterior facade work "done", the yard is now ready for planting.  We're looking to have a more drought-tolerant landscape put in place, which is quite necessary since we live in Southern California.

COURTYARD MAKEOVER

image via Pinterest / original source unknown

Several rooms in our house - great room (kitchen/dining/family rooms), living room, master bedroom - wrap around a central courtyard patio that opens up to the backyard.  It's a quaint space that has not been touched since other projects have taken precedence.  However, now that the new french sliders are in, we'd like to spruce up the courtyard and start using it.  We are fortunate to have great year-round weather in Southern California, so we definitely want to extend our living/entertaining space to the exterior.

BACKYARD PRIVACY

Our property backs up to a horse and walking trail.  It's private in the sense that there are no homes behind us, but it does lack privacy to the occasional hiker or horseback rider.  If I catch someone looking towards the house, I wave! 😜  That being said, we'd like to plant some tall tree hedges along the wooden fence that sits at our property border.  It should provide a natural privacy barrier between the trail and our property.

BACKYARD MAKEOVER

Along with planting some hedges, the entire backyard needs an overhaul.  It is essentially a blank slate just waiting to be transformed.  We're hoping to break it up into zones - dining, lounging, games/sports, etc.  I don't know the difference between a landscape designer and landscape architect, but I'm looking to hire someone to help design our backyard (and front yard).  If you're in Southern California (LA/OC) and interested in working together, feel free to send me a private message. 😊

LIVING ROOM MAKEOVER

This room is the one I am most anxious to start working on.  A fireplace redo and some millwork should take the room's "bones" to the finish line.  The interior decor and furnishings will come together over time, but it's the "bones" of the room that I want to see come together asap!