So yeah, I realize that it was only yesterday that I was saying that I’m not a “home blogger”, and yet here I am, about to talk about my house.  I’m flaky, get over it.  But I do positively adore home design, and after all, we are in the midst of a major renovation over here – though I’m not sure if “in the midst” still applies after a year and half of doing nothing about the exposed beams and bare concrete, but I prefer to pretend that we are still being productive rather than watching long chunks of Mad Men episodes late into the night.

The Nester posted her 2012 Home Goals today, so I’m linking up to share what I *hope* Lukus and I will be able to accomplish this year.  Though finishing our kitchen was my “home goal” last year…

And this is all the progress we’ve made so far…

Clearly, we got very little done on our house last year, and it doesn’t look like those lime-green countertops are going anywhere anytime soon.  With Lukus finishing up his master’s degree, some health issues on my part, and opening our home to two international students, our home has definitely been put on the back burner.  In fact, our only completed projects on this house are still just our master bathroom…

and our pantry…

But I’m feeling good ‘n healthy these days, and the dust has settled with getting our students situated, so I’m ready to start tackling some projects head on once again.

#1 – Of upmost importance to me on the homefront this year is to learn how to take better photos of my home (and everything else that happens to be in front of my camera – like two little blonde rascals I know).  I’ve been doing a little self-study, and I plan to attend the Blissdom Conference for bloggers in February to hopefully gain some more tips on photo-taking.  Plus, we’re trying to stay a little budget conscious this first quarter, so taking pictures is a nice, free way start out this year’s approach to my home.

#2 – I need to get organized.

Gee, that’s embarrassing.  When our two students moved in with us (Hyung Kun from Korea, and Rusul from Saudi Arabia, both young 20′s males), it really made this big house feel more like a home with more people filling it out (the extra money for room and board didn’t hurt either).  But since the student English program requires that they each have their own room, emptying out closets and built-in bookshelves to make room for their stuff meant a serious loss of storage.  Which brings me to my next goal…

#3 – Have a garage sale!  Can you believe I’ve never had a garage sale?!  I’m a total garage sale virgin, but considering that all of this stuff:

is currently shoved into my garage, while I have that monstrous pile on my desk, I think we’re gonna have to make some more room around here.

#4 – I want to turn my living room, which looks like this…

…into a little more something like this….

I want to cover our black floors in cork, get an enormous plushy rug, a rustic coffee table (possibly a DIY?), and just have an overall infusion of warmth, softness and comfort.  I mean, sure, our kitchen still has lime-green countertops, exposed concrete, five large paint swatches that I have yet to choose from, and no backsplash – but it’s the living room that bugs me most.  I want to walk into my living room and feel like it’s the most comfortable place on earth to curl up with a book, or wrestle with my girls, or snuggle with my husband during a movie.  Right now, it’s just one, big, unenthusiastic, “Meh.”

#5 – This is much less of a tangible goal than the others, but because we now house students, we host a Bible study, have family and friends over, and we often have political groups come over for campaign strategizing, I want our home to develop that tangible sense of “welcome”.  Have you ever watched the show Parenthood?  I just feel like the grandparents’ home has that peaceful, welcome vibe that I want; I can smell the pie in the oven and the popcorn through the t.v. screen.  That’s probably the entire reason I watch the show, because honestly, nothing ever really happens on the show.  But I just know that if I stepped through that screen and entered one of the guest bedrooms, there would be a good book ready to read on the nightstand, some plush towels for my bath, and my favorite watermelon jelly beans in a dish on the dresser.  It would be ready for me.

More than anything, that’s how I want my house to feel.  I want to have a pantry full of snacks for our students and for little friends that come over to play.  I want to have coffee ready for those late night meetings, or wine for when friends talk until 2 a.m.  I want artisan soap in my guest bathrooms, a fire going on chilly nights, or all the windows open on a pretty day.  I want my house to say to my family, to my friends, and to all who enter, “I’ve been waiting for you!  Come on in and feel loved.”  It’s what people try to create through make-overs and renovations, but really, I think it’s much easier than that.  It’s having thoughtful, little things at the ready.  But even more so, no matter how tired I am, or how much I’m in need of some quiet, it’s opening the door with a sincere, bright-eyed smile and a really good hug, and saying, “Come in!  Have you eaten yet?”

Of course, I’d like to build a real dining room table (instead of the 6′ fold up table we currently use), DIY some concrete countertops for the kitchen, strip the black and gold wallpaper in the downstairs bath and repaint EVERYTHING in that room, make-over our laundry room, rip out all of the landscaping around the house and put in hardy desert succulents, repaint the exterior….and on and on.  But let’s see how things go, shall we?