The Decorating/Remodeling Itch

One of the side effects to being home this summer is that I've been looking around our home, which we've lived in for almost four years, and have been wanting to make some changes, big and small. We did a lot of painting when we first moved in, but other than that we were very lucky that the previous owners had taken excellent care of their carpet, had upgraded the kitchen (although the cabinets could use some TLC), and had done a beautiful job on the yard and pool. 

There are a lot of minor things that I'd like to do, and are mostly of the decorating sort. Maybe I'll do a post on those, just to help me prioritize. Basically, though, it's artwork, mantle ideas, laundry room decor, etc.. 

But then there's the Big One. We want to replace the carpet in our living room, great room, and dining room areas (who puts carpet in a dining room?!?!?!) with a hard wood that will stand up to the dogs. I don't want laminate and we're not sold on the tile that looks like wood (although I think it would be awesome in a bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room), so I think we might consider bamboo. I know there aren't a ton of options, but there are some if you're willing to pay. While we're doing the floors, we're also going to redo the bannister and stairs, with the same flooring (with a carpet runner). We aren't a fan of light wood, which is what the bannister is right now. Since our house will be a mess we will repaint the great room and upstairs hall it leads into, possibly have a custom made bookshelf put in, and buy new light fixtures for the entry way and dining room. 

Did I mention that we don't finance things like this? Right now we're saving, and depending on what the next year brings, it may be possible next summer, or the one after. I'm hoping when the time comes it can be coordinated to happen within a few weeks. Pipe dreams, I know. If only I could book a month-long vacation and come back to perfection. 

Anyway, it's fun to look at ideas on Pinterest. Here's what we have and the direction we want to go in:

[currently]

[want; source]

[currently; the berber is nice and in good shape, but it's light and not what we want]

[something like this; the staircase is great too!]

[our current IKEA bookshelves; they do the job but are very basic]

[a little more sturdy; source]

[in dark wood, but love the design!; source]

[current outdated fixture]

[option; a larger version of this]

[or something like this]

[Good God, I LOATHE this monstrosity. I may convince my husband to replace it sooner]

[I love this but it might be too high? Or maybe I'm just used to the hanging light we have?]

[a bit shorter than these are, but I like the idea of three small lights]

[I like pendant lighting but will it go out of style?]

[we'll stick with a neutral for paint; our current one has a too-yellowish base]

I wish we were DIYers, but the honest truth is that we are not. I'm very jealous of people that decide they're going to put in a new light fixture and hop on down to Home Depot. We're more of the "wait an extra month and save to hire an electrician" sort. But man, if you want something edited or written for you, we're the couple to go to. 

Any plans to change things up at home?