While everyone has committed to diets, workouts, or kicking some bad habit as their New Year’s Resolutions, the St. Louis Post Dispatch has come up with 12 project resolutions that you can do around the house, one for every month of the year. These are all very manageable, creative and definitely give room for cheating.
January
Appliances Give outdated appliances a fashionable face-lift with Liquid Stainless Steel. This product by St. Louis company Thomas’ Kitchen Art is actual steel that brushes on like paint. It comes in a kit with enough product to refinish a fridge, stove and dishwasher.
February
Kid’s room Add a mural with colorful cutouts from Wallies. The designs â which come in flowers and princesses for girls, and cars and planes for boys â are die-cut on pre-pasted vinyl. So, simply dip them into water, then apply to a clean wall. When you’re ready to redecorate, moisten, then peel off.
March
Drapery hardware Instead of redoing all of your window coverings, hang existing curtains from new rods, or change the holdbacks. Whether you choose a classic wood or sleek zinc alloy is a matter of taste.
April
Closet door handles Recycle the finials from your old curtain rods and use them as pulls for a closet door. You can give the finials a new attitude with metallic paint or velvet trim.
May
Flooring If you’ve wanted to pull up ratty carpet, take a weekend to replace it with a do-it-yourself laminate floor. Pergo flooring clicks into place and comes in inspired colors such as Bordeaux cherry and Tuscan oak.
June
Countertop If your resolution is to be greener, make your kitchen eco-friendly with bamboo countertops. The sustainable resource is much cheaper than granite and can be installed by your
local contractor.
July
Backsplash Now that you have new countertops, use these strips of thermoplastic that look like metal for a new backsplash. The self-adhesive, 24-inch-by-18-inch panels can be trimmed to fit.
August
Mirror Take an old frame that has been sitting in your garage and add mirrored glass to it. Many hardware and glass shops can cut your mirror in about a week.
September
Towel rack Reuse your old wine rack in the bathroom. Roll up your lushest towels, then slide them into each of the openings for a new look.
October
Slipcovers Stretch & Cover slipcovers actually make a sofa look new and custom-made, as opposed to just covered. There are plenty of styles, textures and colors to suit everything from a thrift-store sofa to Grandma’s wing chair.
November
Bed Raise your bed a few inches by stacking two sets of wood lifts under the frame, which will give you 7 inches of storage space. Show off the new height (while hiding the risers) with a new bedskirt.
December
Mantel For an easy mantel makeover, either rearrange photos or put them in new frames. Collections such as statues or candlesticks can be clustered. You can also put the newly mirrored frame on top of the mantel.
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