DIY-PROJECTS

2025 Home Renovation Project Recap: What I Built, What I Learned & Why It Mattered

my primary bathroom renovation reveal. vintage modern traditional bathroom.

January 7, 2026

I’m Allison.
Design obsessed and self-taught DIYer, I'm so excited to share my journey with you, and be a source of inspiration as well as a resource.
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Gimme that

Every New Year feels like a blank page. I love dreaming about what’s ahead: personal goals, home projects, new skills I want to learn. But just as much, I treasure the quiet ritual of looking back. Celebrating the small wins. Reflecting on what worked, what didn’t, and what surprised me along the way. This 2025 home renovation project recap isn’t just about what I completed. It’s about what each project taught me. Skills I didn’t expect to learn and lessons I didn’t know I needed. And most importantly, the permission I gave myself to pivot when things didn’t go exactly as planned.

When I look at my original 2025 project list, no I didn’t accomplish everything I set out to do. But what I did finish mattered. And some of the most meaningful outcomes weren’t on the list at all.

Let’s get into it…

The Project I Didn’t Plan: The Primary Bathroom Renovation

The first and biggest project of 2025 wasn’t even on the list.

my primary bathroom renovation reveal. vintage modern traditional bathroom.
Shop the Primary Bathroom

I renovated my primary bathroom as part of the Spring One Room Challenge, fully believing I could tackle a massive space in eight weeks, working weekends only, while holding a full-time job. Spoiler: that was wildly optimistic.

The bathroom renovation stretched into five months, with my house partially torn apart and my patience tested daily. But I don’t regret a single minute of it.

Funny enough, this was actually the second time I renovated this bathroom. When I first bought the house, I immediately knocked down a wall to combine the bathroom and closet, one month into ownership. I followed trends instead of intuition and ended up with a stark white and black space that never felt like me.

The Evolution of the Primary Bathroom

As the rest of my home evolved, that bathroom felt colder and more disconnected, especially after finishing my primary bedroom, which felt cozy, romantic, and timeless. Walking from that sanctuary into a sterile bathroom became my breaking point.

This year, I finally gave myself permission to redo it.

What I Learned

But the biggest lesson?
It’s okay to change your mind. You don’t need to feel guilty for fixing something that doesn’t make you happy, even if your younger self chose it.

Exterior Updates: Knowing When to Ask for Help

The next phase of my 2025 projects focused on the exterior of the house and this came in two parts.

click to read all about my new front yard landscaping makeover
The front exterior landscaping: absolutely transformative!

After painting the trim last year and swapping out my exterior lights for new copper lanterns this spring, I was eager to get into the next phase of the front exterior makeover: landscaping. I can do a lot of things, but landscaping and keeping up with plants has never been my strong suit. Trust me, I’m waiting for the day where I can say otherwise, but we’ve not reached that mile marker yet.

So what did I do? I hired the project out. And let me tell you what, that was a hard decision for me. Aren’t I a DIYer? I should be tackling this myself! This was a big decision for me. I debated saving plants, repurposing shrubs, and other ways I could save money. But in the end, I chose a fresh start and let the professionals come in and do what they do best.

Everything was removed in one day and replanted the next. The results speak for themselves and six months later, it still looks incredible, even in winter. This has been a long journey so lets take a stroll down memory lane at the evolution…

click to read all about my new front yard landscaping makeover
My only regret is not doing this sooner

The Lesson

It’s okay to know when to ask for help.
Hiring experts doesn’t mean you failed—it means you respected your time, energy, and limits.

The Backyard Reality Check: Pool Garden Beds

Then came the back pool garden beds… and this one I did DIY.

2025 home renovation project recap diy turf pavers

Dead pine trees. Weed-filled rock beds. A constant battle I could never win.

I excavated everything and installed artificial turf with pavers. It was the most labor-intensive project I’ve ever done. It’s not perfect—but it’s infinitely better, and now it’s low-maintenance.

The Honest Lesson

I still hate exterior projects.
And that’s okay.

Some things don’t have to become passions. They just need to be planned with extra time or budgeted out entirely.

It’s not perfect but it’s better than it was and it’s maintenance free!

The Home Office: Following the Nudge

I almost skipped the home office renovation this year, but something told me not to and I’m so glad I listened.

2025 home renovation project recap the home office
Shop the Home Office Here

What was once a white box is now a space that inspires my design work every single day. I added box trim and chair rail in one weekend—a huge improvement from the month it took me the first time I ever tried box molding in the dining room.

I also installed dentil crown molding, which was new and a bit tricky, but incredibly satisfying once it clicked.

Wallpapering (The Plot Twist)

You may be surprised to hear this, but I fully intended to hire out wallpaper installation. I’ve wallpapered both my powder room and my back entry, and both have glaring mistakes. I see them every time I pass through and I told myself: “you’re just not good at wallpapering.” But when I called my installer (back in October!) he was booked through January.

I didn’t want to wait, so it was time to get back in the saddle and figure this out once and for all. I took time watching some professional wallpaper channels, reading the tutorials on the manufacturers website (reading directions, I know – crazy right?) and vowed not to rush through it to meet some artificial deadline I set for myself.

What I expected to be stressful turned out to be… enjoyable. This is my third self-wallpapered room and the first with zero mistakes.

The evolution of the home office: bubblegum pink girls room, peel & stick banana leaf wallpaper, white box and finally a vintage moody traditional home office

The Lesson

Just because you weren’t good at something the first time (or two) doesn’t mean you should give up. Sometimes you just need another chance.

Cozy TV Room + Living Room Evolution

One of my softer goals for 2025 was curating the cozy TV room—being more intentional with collected pieces rather than rushing purchases.

That intention spread. I restyled the bookshelves, found a beautiful credenza on Facebook Marketplace, upgraded to a Frame TV, and unintentionally started reworking the living room too.

A striped sofa resurfaced—the one that got away a year and a half ago—and this time, I didn’t miss it. I rearranged the entire layout, swapped light fixtures, and layered in color and character.

The living room decked out for Christmas! Expect to see lots more of this room in 2026!

Now, both rooms feel collected, lived-in, and more personal.

And in 2026? We’re adding trim to the living room. And trust me – this is going to be my most detailed trim project to date.

Final Reflections: Why This Year Mattered

That’s a wrap on my 2025 home renovation project recap.

More than transformed rooms, I gained:

  • New DIY skills
  • Confidence in changing my mind
  • Proof that learning doesn’t stop with age
  • A deeper trust in my creative instincts

These projects reminded me that growth isn’t about perfection, it’s about persistence. About trying again. About allowing yourself to evolve.

I’m still building my 2026 project list, but I already know it will come with new skills (and new lessons) along the way.

Here’s to another year of learning, pivoting, and creating spaces that truly feel like home.

Happy New Year 🤍

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