Y'all... I don't have the words to even begin to put together for this post... and this ain't even a full reveal or a behind the design. For the past 6 or so months, we decided to finally cross off a major task from our exterior projects to do list - our deck!
Here's the thing... working on the deck wasn't just about the deck... it was about creating an al fresco lifestyle. This project was, first and foremost, always about bringing the hygge outside. While we'd always had a deck, because it didn't feel like an extension of our interior spaces, I didn't really appreciate or enjoy it. I would always joke that I wanna do more than just sit on a folding chair... because that was literally all I could do. And after all of the work that would go into upgrading the deck & adding a pergola + so many other details, the last thing I wanted was to resume just sitting on a folding chair. So once we made the decision to tackle this project, I simultaneously began doing what I do best - shopping!
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Ya'll... this is the year I officially start gardening and I am super geeked about it. You guys have seen me talk about gardening before - both here on the blog and on Instagram - however this year work on #thehyggeranchjardin will officially begin... like with a plan. What do I mean? Up until this point the garden was (a) whatever we inherited when we bought the house or (b) a few seeds we tried out when we put out our new garden beds. There was no layout, there was seed planning... none of that. For the past 2 years now, while I have wanted to actively start gardening, other things always took precedence; however, not that we're nearing the completion of the deck reno, I feel comfortable moving forward with truly beginning #thehyggeranchjardin.
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If you recall last year, I shared my plans for the hygge ranch backyard resort. Going into this new year of projects, we made a conscious decision to prioritize exterior projects. We're extremely comfortable with the current state of the home's interior, in that we wanna spend time just living in the house, not tackling projects around the house. Summer spaces are made in the Winter, so instead, we've been spending the majority of the Fall into the Winter tackling the next phase of the backyard renovation - our deck.
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Year 3 of sharing annual goals for our home & this might be officially be my favorite annual exercise. Finding that sweet spot between what we want to do and what we have the bandwidth to do is paramount this year. All in all, I think this year we have a nice balance of projects - needs vs wants, what we'll do ourselves vs what we'll hire out, and what'll be low lift weekend projects vs what'll be long term projects. More importantly, because so many of these projects are intrinsically linked, I am optimistic that we'll actually be able to tackle all of them alongside our lives outside of home improvement projects.
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All of the juicy details of the design are over on the Emily Henderson Design reveal blog post. In case you're new here or new to my reveals, the behind the design is where we get into the numbers of it all. As a full time interiors content creator, y'all already know that means I get to work with brands I love to bring many of my home projects to life. I've said this before and I'll say it again - despite having access to trade only vendors for interior designers, in my own home I often prefer to design retail for the accessibility. This is also means I am able to share my sources & their retail costs with you, should you be planning a similar project of your own.
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After living with our backyard for a little under two (2) years, we've experienced all four seasons at least once, which gave us time to really think about what works & doesn't work. We've spent the better part of these two (2) years daydream planning our backyard and this year, we expanded our daydreaming to include our front yard. P.S. the front yard requires a lot let work which is why it's not as much of a priority - it just needs some more TLC for more curb appeal. My original iteration for the backyard design plan included a lot of the original design elements of the space. Now, a year later, a lot of the yard has changed... and so have our design priorities.
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While plotting this reno, I've also been grappling on whether to call this a half bath or a powder room - which do you use by the way? - and I've landed on washroom: "a room with washing and toilet facilities" because that's all that's in there anyway lol.
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Our home goals & projects for 2022 is comprised of projects - big and small - that can realistically be tackled this year... not to be confused with our wishlist, which I'm still undecided on writing about.
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Going into this holiday season is the first time I am like geeked to decorate... like actually planning & designing a "holidayscape" versus just picking a color scheme and seeing where it leads me... which is exactly what I would do in the past. I knew the vibes I was looking for & I knew what colors would gimme that. From there, I would just go on a shopping spree of sorts & then figure it all out once everything is unpacked and in front of me. This year - after a year of home improvement projects, deep personal trauma, and just general exhaustion, I decided to reclaim this season. Even as a content creator, I was like I will not be rushed to create or feel forced to perform. I wanted to take my time with this. Who knew the end result would be not one... not two... but THREE holiday designs for the hygge ranch.
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When we bought the house, there was very little in terms of the footprint that we took issue with. The layout of the house is actually what we loved most about to because it was perfectly compartmentalized for the way we wanted to live - walls where we wanted em & no walls where we didn't... well with the exception of the wall separating the kitchen & the dining room. The only thing that proved to be a real problem for us was that there was no mudroom off the garage and no foyer off the front door.
We needed to find a proper place for our outerwear, footwear, and accessories as we would come in & out of the house.
For the garage, since it's not our main entrance point, we purchased a hall tree. The front door was more of a challenge since we use it on a daily basis, multiple times a day.
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If you've been following along the past 7 weeks, then you know that this is actually a multipurpose area, aka The Flex Lounge... with it having flexibility in terms of its current function, flexibility to change over time as our lives change, and a total flex (as the kids say) because this room is straight from my "must be nice" Pinterest board.
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Oh happy day!
Oh happy day indeed!
And not reveal day... it's "finishing touches for photography" day! This day, for my last 4 major reveals at #thehyggeranch, is always a day that gives me a lot of angst because there's always so many little things to day + it's not just about cleaning & styling for use... it's about cleaning & styling to share & inspire.
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It should come as a surprise to no one that this project involves removable wallpaper - this'll be my second removable wallpaper project here at #thehyggeranch and my 4th wallpaper project in the 6 years since we've been in Washington.
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One things that has been a priority for me in this space is having a fitness area. I have resolved that I won't be returning to the gym in the near (or even distant) future but I also can't let my hesitation/distrust of public gyms to cripple my fitness journey. In the past year, my health habits have tanked, specifically my physical health, and so I needed to give myself a space - even a small one - to comfortably workout.
To accomplish this, I made a few considerations -
my preferred type of workouts
my workout schedule
my equipment storage when not in use
So where does that leave me?
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After we moved in last Fall, we spent the next couple of months tackling a number of projects. Aside from a crippling case of creative fatigue, it also shown a light on all the many ways we needed to improve the least designed part of the house: the garage.
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Last week I shared my design intentions for the flex lounge... and I say intentions because things are always liable to change...
In starting this project, I've already resolved to spend as little as possible, even resisting the urge to buy all the organizing things is harder than you'd imagine. There are things I need and then there are the things that I want. My very rough draft shopping list includes -
• a new desk for more surface area
• a new ergonomic desk chair
• a proper place for our printer (and maybe even a new printer eventually)
• wall storage for the mini
• contained storage for fitness equipment
• paper organization
And within the aforementioned list, things get a bit more detailed and itemized... a wishlist of sorts depending on what direction the design ends up taking.
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