2026 Master List of Home Goals

The Master Bedroom

The first order of business this year will be to finish our bedroom. I made a lot of headway on this room last year, so I’ll pick up right where I left off at the end of last year. If things go as planned, I believe I can get this room finished rather quickly and then move on to the next project. Before I can check this room off of my list, I still need to:

• Hang the upholstered headboard (I made it during my break, but it’s just sitting on the floor right now)
• Finish the upholstered bed base (I got most of it finished during my break, but it still needs some details finished),
• Finish the second lamp makeover,
• Finish sewing the curtains (I made progress on these during my break, but still have a way to go),
• Make a cover for the attic access,
• Build a TV frame,
• Have the new artwork matted and framed, and
• Paint the little side table by the recliner.

Bedroom Exterior

Last year, we had a window removed and a door installed in the bedroom. It looks great from the inside, but it’s still unfinished on the outside. The whole purpose of the door was to give us a quick exit in case of emergency so that I could get Matt out of the room easily, but until I build steps and have ramp access, it won’t serve that purpose very well. So I need to…

• Paint the door and the trim,
• Build steps and figure out the ramp situation, and
• Add some landscaping

The Bedroom Suite Foyer

This area is so close to being finished. It’s mostly just little projects that remain. I still need to:

• Sand and paint the ceiling where the ceiling light used to be,
• Replace the damaged wallpaper,
• Add small trim around the closet doorway where the wallpaper ends,
• Paint the doors (they all need one more coat of paint),
• Move the router and patch the little hole in the ceiling,
• Add privacy film to the French door glass, and
• Install all of the door handles/pulls.

The Bedroom Suite Storage Room

The room that has been our main guest bathroom since we moved into this house is going to be converted into a storage room. I know this sounds crazy to most people, but this room is inside our master bedroom suite. And it’s just weird to have a guest bathroom inside a master bedroom suite. But also, we need a storage area for Matt’s equipment — wheelchair, shower wheelchair, Hoyer lift, etc. And this just happens to be the perfect-sized room inside our bedroom suite to serve that purpose. We also need to get the hot water heater out of the sunroom, and this is also the perfect spot for that. So to turn this room from a bathroom into a storage room, I need to…

• Tear out almost everything,
• Repair or replace the drywall,
• Have the hot water heater installed in here,
• Add or replace flooring (there’s no tile under the bathtub),
• Arrange and organize the room for storage.

The Studio Bathroom (i.e., The New Guest Bathroom)

This room is a mess for several reasons. First, the pump for the toilet and the sink stopped working well over a year ago, so this bathroom hasn’t been used since then. But also, at one point, I had a plan to turn this bathroom into a walk-through pantry. So at that point, all plans to finish this bathroom or make repairs were suspended because I didn’t want to put more money into it only to turn around and tear it out.

But now, plans have changed. The bathroom is not only staying, but it will be our one and only guest bathroom for now. I’m hoping that this will be temporary and that we’ll eventually be able to build an addition onto our house that includes a brand new (and more centrally located) full guest bathroom. But until that time, this will be the only guest bathroom in our house. And even when that happens, our plan is to keep this bathroom in my studio. So to get this bathroom guest-ready, I need to…

• Have the pump repaired or replaced,
• Wallpaper the walls, and
• Replace some trim (including around the mirror)

My Workshop

Last year at this time, I focused a lot of my energy on the exterior of my workshop. I got most of the big projects finished to turn the original gray, boring box of a building into what looks like a cute little cottage sitting in our back yard. Those projects were fun, but other than the front steps and the concrete ramp, they didn’t really improve the function of the workshop. So this building has served as storage for the last year. This year, it’s time to turn my attention to the inside and turn this building into a functional workshop where I can use my woodworking tools. To do that, I need to…

• Have electricity run to the workshop,
• Add lots of lighting and outlets,
• Close up the walls (probably with OSB, not drywall),
• Built lots of storage and work tables for my tools, and
• Install a garage door opener.

And on the exterior, I still need to…

• Add a planting bed around the building,
• Add exterior lights by the front door and the garage door.

The Sunroom

I hate this room so much, and believe me, I’d love nothing more than to tear it down ASAP. But the fact of the matter is that we need a space for our workout equipment. So until we’re ready to start building our addition, the room needs to stay, and we need to use it as a temporary home gym. I have no plans to spend a lot of money on this area since it won’t be staying long term, but I need to make it usable for the short term. I need to…

• Clear out all the stuff (sell, give away, and move things to my workshop),
• Remove the carpet,
• Paint the walls and ceiling,
• Replace the broken wall unit A/C,
• Get our workout equipment set up.

So that’s where I’m headed this year. Of course, I’d love to add other things, like a full kitchen remodel, but I’m trying to be realistic as far as time and budget go. I think if I can make it through these projects, it will be a successful year, and then I can possibly start off next year with the kitchen remodel I’ve been dreaming about.