Wow, we wrote about some really cool and creative projects here on Just About Home over the last year! I managed to convince my mom to write about some of the transformative things she’s been doing to her home of 25 years, and I’ve written about a few things that I’ve been learning how to do in my first home.
To recap the year, here were our top 10 projects of 2011 by pageviews!
I got these awesome planters from my husband for my birthday this year and fixed them up, Sunset magazine style, to welcome guests into the front door of my house. They are pretty sweet, and were simple to do with a quick trip to the local garden center! I’ll tell you again that I ❤ succulents, and love living in a part of the country where they thrive.
My mom’s laundry posts got quite the traffic on the blog, too. How could they not, with this awesome pull out laundry line system in her laundry room? She dries most of her laundry right here, even in the freezing cold Minnesota winters. This pic got a bit of action on Pinterest too! Plus, laundry is more fun when you have pretty clothes pins.
Oh this was a fun and longstanding project this year. It was great to tackle a fully thought out design scheme on a tight $200 budget, but I did it! I just kept imagining I was on HGTV, and it was mostly smooth sailing. I think this was my favorite project of the year! It also was fun to make the few accessories for this room– the pelmet, the paint chip art, the bench, the mirror border…
7. Reupholstering a Mid-Century Modern Club Chair
This project finally brought the two Just About Home bloggers together in the same place for an epic project not often tackled by your every day blogger! YES! This was extreme reupholstery!
In November my parents came to visit, and in addition to a fantastic trip to wine country, my mom taught me how to do my first real upholstery job. I am so satisfied and proud of this chair. It’s the first thing you see when you come in my front door.
6. Korin’s Modern Geometric Living Room Design
I helped out my pal, Korin, to decorate her new condo, and this was the inspiration for her main living area. She ended up going in a slightly different direction (I think it’s more my taste than hers!), but it was fun to put my thoughts together to collaborate with her.
I gotta do more mood boards in 2012. They are fun.
You must remember this one, right? It was just last week! Pink Christmas was popular here, with my family and friends, and popular on the blogosphere. I don’t think many other bloggers had a pink Christmas, did they?
Pink Christmas was mostly celebrated by my pink tree, and my pink accented table decor.
I had to remind myself what this project was…
Tackled early in the year, Brentan and I did some landscaping in the front of the house. This project was hard, manual labor. We dug up old stumps, re-set the brick border, and planted some fun plants (yay billy buttons and kangaroo paw!).
I wish I could say it still looks like this, but it needs a little TLC to not look so overgrown. The good thing is though, you can’t see those ugly sprinkler pipes any longer!
This may have been the easiest project all year. Fabric scraps+ugly ikea pillow+ one hour= PRETTY!
I think I put a little too much algebra in this post (but math is important!). It turned out ok though, since it is number 3 on the list.
My mom showed off some of her updates to her cabin in northern Minnesota. It is button cute, and tiny. Sometimes it seems like you can do more with small spaces. Like you couldn’t make a faux bois floor in your 6,000 sf mini mansion. But a 200 sf cabin seems doable!
And the number one most popular project in 2011 was the PAINTED FLOOR CLOTH! The combination an anthropologie inspired pattern, DIY spirit and good timing made this a star on our blog, and on Pinterest. So thanks for all the links here.
Thanks everyone for reading in 2011, and I hope you’ll be back in 2012 for even more epic projects, how-tos, DIYs, and fun times!
-Liz
Just About Home 
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My floor cloth looks exactly the same as when I first finished it. I occasionally sweep it or wipe it with a damp cloth but I am surprised at how good it looks. I think I’ll make another one! … I like the club chair the best too!!! -peg
Love these roundup posts – I’m so glad you did one 🙂 That club chair redo is my most fave of all. Amazing job.
Quick question – how is the painted floor cloth holding up to use?
Thanks Jane! It was a fun post to write, looking back on the year. I’ve seen many bloggers do it now too.