House Projects on my List

a peek into my Pinterest lately

Hi! If you follow along on Instagram, I’ve chatted a bit here and there about some house projects I’m hoping to tackle this summer. Most of them have sort of been on our list for a couple years, but between regular life and caring for 3 little kids and everything else, we just haven’t had the time or mental capacity to start them.

The biggest one and most exciting is that we’re finally doing something with our backyard!!! We’ve floated different ideas over the last 5 years that we’ve lived here and finally felt ready to lock-in on something this summer. We’ve got some tree removal happening very soon, then construction will begin on a patio, some walkways, sod install, and lots of landscaping. I think it’s going to completely transform how we spend our time outside and I am so looking forward to it! I will definitely be taking you along the process – I already shared a bit about my vision here.

We’re also going to do a little refresh to our screened-in porch. I would love to add a sit-up counter top under our accordion window (that opens from the kitchen), swap out the furniture for something a little smaller to open the space up, and possibly add some sconces out there. I’m still trying to nail down my vision (and some of it depends on what furniture I end up with for our patio), but I’m excited to create a porch that serves our family a little bit better in this current stage of life!

Another item on our list is our laundry room. It currently has one builder-grade wire rack as a top shelf above the machines and that’s it! There’s definitely room to add some storage cabinets and maybe even a sink. This will be the biggest project that we have (apart from the yard), so we need to really dial in on what we want first before jumping into this one.

Some smaller projects include swapping out our kitchen island light fixture for something a little more our style and adding sconces to either side of the accordion window in our kitchen. I think those 2 changes will make a big difference in there! We desperately need to add some functional storage to our playroom, too. We currently have a little media nook with a countertop that is used as storage, but it’s not function at all. I want to rip out the computer shelf and add shelving or a closet system in there to be able to hold all of the toys and things. Then we’ll have some more play space in the actual room! It’s amazing how 3 active kids can make a space feel so small — I always thought we had a good sized playroom until Cam & Audrey got a little bigger. Now we feel like we’re fighting for every square inch of space!

Something we will work on early in the fall is switching the kids rooms around. I want the boys to share the jack-and-jill bathroom that we have between 2 of the bedrooms and for Audrey to have her own bathroom, so we’ll be doing a little bedroom musical chairs for them. We’re holding off on that until my mom is able to paint 2 of the rooms for us, which she can do in the fall! Plus, that gives me time to decide on the style I’d like for each room and sourcing decor and pieces that I want to put in them. Since Liam’s “big boy room” 3 years ago, I haven’t felt very intentional about designing a space for my kids, so I’m very excited to pull from their interests and what they like and create bedrooms for each of them that make them feel special and that they want to spend time in!

The real question now is what project do we start with and how long will it take us to complete each one?

Hi there!

Lauren Bown Lifestyle Blog is an online destination where I share my personal style, beauty finds, and bits of life in hopes to inspire other women to feel good in their skin and find the beauty in the ordinary.

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2 Comments

  1. 6.6.25
    Brittany said:

    Hi Lauren. I’ve been reading your blog off and on for several years and lately, it just all seems to center around really spending money when you think about it. Didn’t you just change the patio furniture recently? So this will be the 3rd time you’re changing it in a few years? I just think this message to people is very unrealistic. Most average people either cannot afford to or do not change their furniture every couple years. I feel more and more “influencers” are never just satisfied with what they have and are just constantly spending money, and wanting their followers to do the same. The constant “buy buy buy” is just so unhealthy and unnecessary but at this point is the way a lot of people are making their money. There is something to be said for being happy with what you have and not always feeling the pressure to constantly change things, whether that be your home, your outfit, your makeup, etc. It’s just getting to be all too much in my opinion. What kind of message is that also sending to our children? Just something to think about.

    • 6.10.25
      Lauren said:

      Hi! It’s not about feeling “pressure” to change anything (at least, not for me), but about changing things to serve my family the best way in the season we are in. With young kids, our needs change often and I like to change our home in accordance with that. We sell the furniture we are done using, so that someone else gets to use it too! If you have been around for a long time, you will know that I very, very rarely say that anybody needs or should buy or spend money on the things that I’m sharing. I share them for those that are looking for that specific item. Every consumer of social media (myself included) is responsible to consume that content in a way that works for their life or to choose not to consume it anymore if it is not serving them!