House Projects: My top 5 in 2014

It feels like we achieved a better house-life balance in 2014, even though we checked some big projects off our 'must do' list. We're finally approaching a place where we can spend more time enjoying our house than working on it (fingers crossed, knock on wood), and it feels gooood. Are there still plenty of projects to tackle in 2015? Oh yes, but the list is shorter than it's ever been!

So, before we talk about what's next, let's take a quick look back at five of my favourite DIY projects from 2014...

ONE. One of the year's biggest accomplishments (house-wise) has to be the before and after in our hallway/stairs. Following last year's major reno, we painted the hallway and ceiling, installed new hardwood flooring and baseboards, purchased that beautiful runner, and painted, stained and installed new treads and risers on the stairs. I was surprisingly thrilled to install transitions between the bedrooms and the hallway, and I even hung some art.

TWO. We made some big improvements to our DIY patio this year, most notably the addition of a brand new privacy fence. We also bought some new furniture, added a painted outdoor rug, moved a few plants around and spruced up some Dollar Store planters with stone spray paint.

THREE. Even though tiling the counters was on my 'must do' list, I bought myself some more time by painting them instead. I'm still thrilled with the transformation, even if it's not a permanent solution (regular re-waxing is the best way to avoid touch-ups, but occasional touch-ups are still required).

FOUR. I installed this tile-look laminate flooring in our entry all by myself and I'm pretty proud of it. Our entry has come a long way this year - all it needs now is new baseboards (just like the rest of the main floor, ahem).

FIVE. Our biggest project of the year has to be the new cork floors we installed throughout the main level. So big, apparently, that we still haven't found the energy to install new baseboards (2015 will be the year of baseboards, I swear). I can't say enough about how much I love the new floors: they look great, they feel great underfoot and they're so much warmer (our main floor sits on an insulated, but unheated, crawl space). If you're thinking about cork, do it! You can read more about how we installed the floors here and why we chose cork here.