January is almost over, but every month I write about our upcoming project plans, and this month I thought I would go bigger and talk about the entire year! We have some awesome changes that have been taking place in the Welsh household that I can’t wait to share, so let’s get started, shall we?

We’re in Business!

That’s right! Welsh Design Studio, LLC is officially a business in our local Colorado Springs area. For so many years, we’ve enjoyed doing our own DIY projects, and then that morphed into doing projects for friends and neighbors. We thought about starting the business after we moved to Colorado in 2016, but then my hubby took a job doing medical device sales. This past summer, he decided that job just wasn’t right for him, and he quit. The way forward was clear, and we were both excited to jump into a new adventure together.

So, 2018 is going to be a challenging year for us as we continue to grow our business locally. We’ll be focusing our efforts on creating custom built-ins and mudrooms, wainscoting and trim work, and offering interior design services for clients. We’ll still be blogging and sharing our creations along the way, and the online shop will continue, too. So, if you’ve been following us for a while now, things may not look much different! But trust me, behind the curtain right now it’s a flurry of learning and bookkeeping and building and strategizing and painting and planning and designing…and we’re loving every crazy minute!

Fireplace Built-Ins

Who doesn’t love fireplace built-ins?  We’ve been planning on adding some to our fireplace for a while now, so it’s time to make it a reality! Our plan is to  build base cabinets on either side of the fireplace, and then add floating wood shelves above the cabinets. Since our mantel extends around to the sides of our fireplace, floating shelves is our best option. Here’s our fireplace (taken when our home was still being built).

stacked stone fireplace

And here’s something similar to what we are planning.

Our fireplace stone looks just like this next picture, and I love the gray cabinets with the stone!

And then the other day, I saw this picture and thought, how cute would it be to have two little benches on the sides that also were cabinets? So, I’m still deciding, but I’m already excited for my built-ins!

fireplace built-ins with bench

Wrapping the Kitchen Island and Wet Bar

This is another fun little project I’ve been daydreaming about. Our kitchen island has cabinets on one side, and drywall on the other. So, I figured, why not wrap the island in board and batten wainscoting, or shiplap?  I could paint it another color, and my kitchen could have a fun two-toned look! Something like this, perhaps? Although, I think I would choose a dark gray for my island.

board and batten wrapped kitchen island

We also plan to wrap our basement wet bar with reclaimed wood. Not only will it add character, but it will help break up the sea of gray that I see when I walk downstairs. Here’s a pic of the wet bar taken shortly after we moved in.

basement wet bar

Barn Doors

We wrote about doing barn doors for our kids closets last year, and guess what? It just didn’t happen. So, this year we are hoping to squeeze these projects into our to-do list. We already have the barn door tracks and everything…just need to build the doors.

Character Building

We built our house back in 2015/2016 using a builder’s basic plans. The house has a great floor plan, but is lacking some of those fun character details that I love in a home. Since we moved in, we’ve added an awesome faux wood beam in the kitchen, wrapped our basement column, and installed a faux shiplap wall in the guest room, but we have so many more ideas for adding character to this house! This year, we are hoping to tackle some of those projects, such as plank ceilings, new lighting, reclaimed wood walls, and other little custom details that will help make our home feel more unique and special.

Well, there you have it…lots of project plans for 2018. The year is sure to bring new adventures and plenty of challenges for our family, but what else is new? Hope you are all having a great 2018 so far!