Bonus Episode: Our 2026 Resolutions & Home Decorating Goals

0:02Welcome to How to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home. I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team. And I'm Taryn, and I'm a product designer. I'm Liz. I head of the creative team. We're your hosts. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks, and tales from interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world. Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each episode. We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email us at podcast at ballardesigns.net. Now on with the show.

0:34Okay, so we are talking today about our New Year's resolutions. We've never done an episode like this before, but we thought that we would discuss goals, resolutions for the upcoming year, and then at the end of the year, we can hold ourselves accountable. Yes, they're like goals. Yes, we are making goals. Sorry, the dog is visiting today, too. Say hi. Yeah, we have an extra co-host today for those that are listening. So if you hear any yawns, it is not us. He just did the little dog spin and curled up in Taryn's lap. So cute. Okay. So we're just going to go through. Do we want to start with goals first?

1:14It could be house projects or it could be even, you know, habits around the house that you want to, you know, work on or something. It doesn't have to necessarily be something huge. Yeah. Who wants to? Maybe we could do each, do one and kind of go in. Yeah, let's see. Because I feel like mine are intertwined. Okay. Like most of my resolutions slash goals for the year are things for the house because I'll live better in the house. Okay. You know, so like. That's good. Okay, well then you start. Okay, I need some inspiration. So for me, the basement is a treacherous territory. I've talked about how David started putting down flooring, stopped putting down flooring.

1:56We had reasons. Makes sense. But the flooring is still sliding around. The doors, he bought interior room doors for the basement that he just like shoved in the holes and didn't actually like put up. And so the doors then were just dangerously like falling. Like a fall on people. Yep. Okay. So it's trash rush. And when we moved in, we had young kids. And when we moved out of our other house. So every time I've moved, I've been in a state, too, where I wasn't able to, like, carry anything and help a lot. So David moved a whole bunch into this back room because we have a very large basement. So there's, if you go to the deepest point, no windows, it's one big, massive room.

2:39And that's where we have Christmas storage and our holiday storage. And there's a whole bunch of stuff that was just extra furniture that moved with us. Doesn't live upstairs. Doesn't really have a home. probably should have been sold or given away, but just in the period of life, it was like we had the space to shove it. Classic, like people with less space are much better at editing. And this is one of those cases where we needed to edit versus shoving this back room. So it's one big room. Then you come out of that room and there's like a space that David has set a TV and there's a nice place.

3:12There'll be a nice room for a sectional, TV, his space, whatever. Great teenage space. Teenage space, 100%. In 10 years. Right. You've got time. Yes, there's time. But yes, there's that space. And then there's the water heater room. And then there's a room that I've kept all the kids' clothing and storage. With young kids, you're changing out sizes a lot with two boys. I've kept the sizes down there. So it's been like stacked bins with sizing of clothing. So there's a lot of like kids' storage in there. And then you keep going and there's another space. And then there's a gym space. And then there's a bedroom that has windows.

3:47windows so the gym and the bedroom are on one long side that have windows we want to finish those out to be a gym and to be a bedroom for bad weather we could use the bedroom because it's just two small windows under an awning but it still would be good for any kind of tornado-y-ish thing and having just another bedroom because there is a bathroom down there as well so i would like to finish it but i need to feel like it's one of those we're gonna finish it this year because we had it drywalled the main areas a while back right a while back this was how it was instigated the start of the flooring but again it's like no one has trimmed it so all that is all one big kind of goal in the sense of the basement is extra space but the gym part would be great because i'm working out in like a little nook upstairs that it goes back to how we envision the house being used versus how it could be used if we move things around.

4:45So I would like the gym to be finished so I can work out down there. And again, if you give a mouse a cookie, that means I need all the flooring done. I need all the trims in. I need the decluttered of the back room because there's so much in there that's not utilized by us that could be utilized by others. So it is truly like I need a big old snowballs. So that's what I mean by like, I feel like the basement is a huge goal for me this year because it would just be nice to like use it and feel safe having others use it. Where right now if the kids go in the basement, I am scared for everyone's life because the doors could just fall off people.

5:24So is your plan to do it yourself? I think David was having it priced for someone to come put the doors in. I say all that, but then he was putting doors in the other day. So maybe he did already price it and didn't like that price. I think it is for us to finish because it doesn't have big plans, you know, so and we can take our time. When I say this year, it'll be nice by December to be like, here's where I'm at. Like we did finish this space. We didn't finish this. At least you made progress. Yeah. Or if I just even take out some of the stuff out of that big room that's just full of stuff. So that's my big, that's my big one.

6:01I think this year I have another one, which is a little bit different. So you know I have the guest room downstairs, which is my primary. We have a queen bed in there. We have a console, and then we have an armoire that we keep the toys in. Yes. Boys are eight and four. We're moving slowly. We're still in toys, but we're getting out of all the big... We're getting into smaller things like Marvel tracks and Hot Wheels where I feel like I could do more in this space. David, we have a room upstairs. It was a guest room. And we had in this this past March, I had a baby who lived for two months and then passed in April.

6:43So we had prepped the room back to be a nursery from a guest room. And so my goal for 26 is I have given my heart the space and the time. I've left the crib in there and all the stuff, but I need to convert it because I need it for him. And I'm going to do it. I want to do a fun wallpaper, the one that I wanted to do for him. Get the queen bed out of the primary downstairs. Get that up in that room because it is smaller. There's a chest in there. I can leave. You know, I'll make sure to make it not weird for guests, but like, you know, a little kind of memorial for him, too. But I want to get the queen bed up there.

7:26And so we wanted to buy a king for this primary downstairs. And I have this post because it's lofted ceilings. I really want to get a poster bed for downstairs. But that costs a lot of money. So I was on Facebook Marketplace over the break and I found somebody selling a king bed for$100. And it's dark, dark brown. It's a poster bed, but it's nothing to write home about and not something I'm really excited about. But I was like, David, I think this is the key. I can refinish it. We can get the king bed into this downstairs room, move the queen bed up to this room. Once I get the queen bed in there, it will be the queen bed room.

8:07I can finish that room, get it to a place of peace and not be this room of torment for me in a way. And then I can get the king bed downstairs. We can get a king mattress put in and people will be able to stay. So I'll be back to having and offering two spaces for people to stay, which will be great. The one room right now needs space and I need to move on. Anyway, I bought this bed, this king bed. Oh, you got it. I bought it. David picked it up, got it in pieces on top of the Santa Fe, like strapped it down, got it home. And so I've been stripping it. It really amazes me. Refinished your dining room table.

8:44You're refinishing this bed. Like, I don't know where you find the time. It was amazing. Well, I'm taking it from somewhere that I probably should be using it. Probably working on the basement and decluttering instead of just adding things in. But I felt like$100 and, you know, it was free pickup. And so if I put in some time and I do have a paint sprayer because you will need that for the, you know, it's not going to be brushed on. So I'm going to pick out a color for it. Oh, it's going to be a color. OK, so you're stripping it and then you're going to paint it. I think I'm going to do a color.

9:15I was thinking, do I want to stain it? And I don't think I do. You know, it'll be fun. You're the color girl. I know. So I think we'll do a I've seen some pictures of colored beds and I've loved a few. I followed a few companies where I love theirs, and it has just enough turnings on it to be interesting but not be gunky. So we'll see. It's just a big bed, but I just like the fact that it's cheap enough that if it's not attractive, I can still get the bed I want eventually. Say when the room's right, when I can finally do that room. But I'm not doing that room. I'm just kind of taking out a few more toys, putting a bigger bed.

9:47Yeah. So it's still like white walls. Are you going to do sconces? If I get the king bed in the room where I want it, I could actually get the sconces done. Because there's only like two spots that the bed would fit in that room. So yes, I could get the sconces. So I finally can flick a switch when I go in there. But that's my other big goal. And I think it's because it's a little emotional too. I know I can do it and I think it will be good once it's done. So that's why it's on my 2026. You got this. You can help. And it means I get to do a whole room. It's true. And thanks for sharing all of that with our listeners.

10:20you're amazing no i know you're amazing i've gone to therapy as a whole if you can imagine so i've kept the room open and i've sat in it like the therapist says and i've done all that to honor his sweet little life but i am like all right i gotta like i gotta yeah yeah just move i or i want to continue to honor him but i'm not going to honor him with a creepy crib you know the bed it's just like a time capsule yeah there's no point um or sorry i for me and i know i need to make it back into some fun room and i think that'll be so i think that excites me this is the kind of stuff we all enjoy obviously bed that is in the downstairs room that i'm so adamant about oh that's where you'll laugh it's a wooden screen I've used behind a bed.

11:13I could buy a queen bed for that room as well. The mattress is still good. The bedding for all of that is still really good. For this goal for the year will be to have fun, to decorate that room because it's a guest room. So there's no limit. I just get to play decorator. Yeah. So I know it'll be a good project. That's my like 20. That's like a fun or it's a it's a good one because it'll get my space. So every time I walk past it because it's Between the two boys' bedrooms, I have to pass that room all day. So it's kind of like it'll be good to have it done. And I'm sure my friend here, my dog, will love another place to nap.

11:51But, yeah, those are my kind of – so basement's big this year. And then guest rooms, getting those in a better place. And if the holidays taught me anything, I can do better by my guest. Right? I feel like every time you host, you're like, I could have done better. Or like lessons learned. Yeah. Yeah. All right. What about you guys? Okay. I can go. I also made a list. I have a lot of things on here. I'm not expecting to do all of them. I'll probably pick a couple. Right. And I think sometimes you kind of have to see how the year takes you. Right. Each of these would take some dollars and I don't have them to do all of them.

12:31There's like time and there's dollars. I do agree with you. Limits on both. Yes. Yes. Yeah. So we'll see which ones I actually accomplish. But I'll just sort of go through. Probably the one I most would like to happen is, and we talked briefly about this last year because I think I had found this great wallpaper that I had sent to both of you. Yes. I can't remember if we talked about it in Trials and Triumphs, but we talked about it off. I think we did. I think we did. I spent a lot of time looking at wallpapers after that. Yes. I remember that. I found this great wallpaper that I really fell in love with because it has all of the colors in both my living room and my TV room and even my kitchen all in this one wallpaper.

13:14I thought it would be perfect for my entryway because that is a room that connects all three rooms. And so I thought this would be a great, you know, like so many designers we've interviewed on the show. They have sort of a house palette. And I felt like this would be sort of the key that connects all of the different palettes and make things make sense. Well, I haven't pulled the trigger on it partially because of budget, but also because I had always, we have a double closet right when you walk in with louvered sliding doors. It's a really good space because it's a good size closet, but it's always a disaster because we're trying to accomplish a lot of things with this closet, right?

13:56We've got outdoor cushions in there, backpacks and coats, reusable shopping bags, and just all the things you would put in like a mudroom. but I always have wanted to do something with that closet to kind of make it feel dressier than just louver doors yeah you know um so Will and I even from when we first moved in had always talked about maybe we could build in cabinetry but I never want to do the wallpaper because I felt like if I'm going to tear this out and put in a true cabinet here I don't want to do a wallpaper right but do I really have the bandwidth to do this closet to the point where I would be happy with it so that has sort of been on the back burner for me well you know I did my sort of Ikea hack with my closet with my cabinet downstairs where I record the podcast and I'm kind of thinking like maybe I could do sort of a Ikea packs sort of hack where I'm sort of taking some Ikea packs cabinetry and then just jazzing it up with some paint and some trim and stuff so i'm sort of okay playing with that idea it's like you're this could be fun to where i could add some more organization tools to that little space but then leave so that's good enough to where i could wallpaper it so that is kind of what i'm playing with but it would require a lot of elbow grease And, you know, I'm like, yeah, I think sometimes if I am really motivated, I can do it.

15:33And I, you know, I'm not afraid of that, but it like really you have to be hyped up to do it. Right. And I really have the motivation to do it. Otherwise, it gets halfway and then it's you're never happy with it. So I really I'm kind of playing with that idea. But so that's kind of probably my number one. That's a big one, though, because it's entry. I think that's like a. Yes. will also likes this because you can see this closet from the sofa and so he feels like okay at night i'm watching television like the day is over the girls are in bed and all i see is this messy freaking cabinet from and it just it's like a you know it's a stressor a stress point so i think he is actually really interested in that concept so anyway that's number one then I have a like a sort of a list of several things that I would like to reupholster.

16:25Okay. If I find the right fabric I've got this Parsons chair that I've had for like 15 years down in the basement that during COVID Will used as a desk chair and he just like wore a hole in the linen sitting in it every day. It was not a linen that was a weight meant to be used every single day. So y 'all have all probably seen it in the background of my photo of my like camera you know zoom background so i really need to reupholster that like a berger chair that i've had that's all worn that needs a new guy i've got i had a an ottoman it's like in our tv room that was velvet but it shows every little thing so i have some things i need to reupholster and then i also bought from our outlet a little louis footstool you know they're about 20 for our listeners, they're about 20 inches wide, maybe 14 inches deep, a little rectangle, because I could needlepoint a cover.

17:23I knew it. So all of a sudden I was like, yes. So I sort of have that on my thing. It would be like a more time consuming needlepoint project, but I do have a little bit of a vision for that. I have a lot of needlepoint projects on my to-do list. So where it is on the list might fluctuate depending on. Yeah. Yeah. Time. I would love to do that this year if I can make the time. I have a couple of resolutions. I really need to be more organized. On the outside, our house looks fairly organized, but there's so many drawers and closets and spaces that just, you know, with kids, I feel like I organize a drawer and three days later everything has been dumped out and put back in and they so yeah a part of me feels like what's the point of trying but then the other part of me feels like this is not sustainable right we need a better any suggestions from people with kids on how they maintain organization what does exactly what's the one that drives you the most nuts because they're in the drawers i mean toys is always a bad but there is a cabinet we have in our living room it's got Doors on the bottom where we keep all the kids' toys, but then it has six drawers sort of in the middle where we keep coloring books and sticker books.

18:42And it's sort of my pens and notepads, staplers, like those drunk drawers. You know, it holds extra headphones and that kind of stuff. And because they know that some of it is their stuff, pencils and scissors, they're always in and out of their sort of rooting around. It is a heavily trafficked area. I feel like I clean it out every three months and every no that's me with our games games and puzzles cabinet is is that it's that yeah but I feel like those kind of spaces even my pantry I have to go through at least once a quarter if not like if I let it slide beyond that which right now it's oh boy we're hard split yeah it is we're so downhill but you know where you just have to take the time and take everything out of that space.

19:34So what you're telling me is that everyone has these and everybody has these. See it in beautiful pictures. Because it's behind the camera. Okay. Yeah. All right. I still feel like there's probably some more things I could do to make it a little better. And now that our oldest is reading, I feel like maybe it's time for a label. It's time for a label maker where I can have a label that says pens. Oh my gosh. Have her make the labels. Yeah. Maybe that's it. Yeah. So anyway, that's on there. Stay more organized. Inside the individual the drawer organizers within. Yeah. But it requires people to actually put the thing back in the cubby where it goes.

20:12And that is the trouble. That is the trouble spot. There's the trouble. That is the trouble spot. Because even if I know there's a system, because I actually do have a system, it's just that not everyone respects the system. Right. So then it just goes back into chaos. Okay. The other thing is I have kept my fiddly fig alive for a year and a half now. Yes. I'm very proud of you. This is truly the first house plant I've been able to get. It's grown quite a bit. It's doing well. Maybe it's time for another house plant. Wait, is that your only house plant? Yeah. Like you don't have a... I mean, I buy flowers and I'll keep...

20:52I had some myrtle topiary. So I'll do things, but they're not longstanding. Okay. You know what I mean? I bring cuttings in. I have so many houseplants. I do too. I cannot wait. Okay, well, maybe we can share notes and you can tell me what I'm capable of handling. You can do a fiddle leaf. You can do it all. Yeah. You can do it all. Okay. It's all about watering schedule, which once you understand, it's really about light and water mostly. Yes, but I have to keep to the watering schedule. And I think that is where things have not gone well for me. So just pick a day. Like I do mine on Sunday. Yeah.

21:24And every - It's a plant that needs more than just Sunday. See, I'm on a good system with a fig. You know what? I've kept a lot of plants alive just on Sundays. Okay. And then it just depends on how much water it needs on that Sunday. So some might give a little bit more. Some might give a little bit less. And some of them, you'll be surprised. Like I let go two weeks and I was like, oops. And some plants are like, I'm dying over here. And others are thriving. Like my violets are really popping off and having a moment right now. So because I didn't water them too much. And I actually have an orchid that re-bloomed.

22:03Look at you. All because I forgot about it. Yes. Oh, that's what my mom said. Neglect. So they thrive on neglect. So, you know, finding those ones that are neglect-loving. I think I need to find the right spot and the right plant. Right. And I haven't landed on that yet. So I'm going to offer you this book called Plantopia. Okay. David just got it for Christmas because of his greenhouse. Yes. So I was reading through it because it's all about houseplants. It literally lists them and then it tells you which ones are easy, medium, and hard. And they tell you how much. So ones like a lot of ferns need more watering.

22:41So they are ones you have to like lift up and see how heavy they are. So maybe stay away from them for a while. I like the ferns. That is probably the problem. I've tried ferns and they're much more finicky. and then I kill them. They need a lot of water and then you've got to spray them down. I know, but they're pretty. I have brought mine back to life many times. My maiden hair fern, I've had to cut her way back. And then I've planted her on the ground outside and then she came back to life. Okay. Yeah. I can help you. Yes, thank you. Okay, that'd be great. No, no, that's good. No, that's good.

23:12Girl, I love houseplants. We can talk houseplants. Yeah, you are like a sneaky green thumb. We have too many is the actual. That's why I'm like, I'm literally like what do you want let's let's go through my house especially at winter time everything comes in too so it feels extra like i feel very jungly in my own home currently so yeah anyway yes let's do it let's add more great i love this for us with your guide and it feels more fun pop yes that's kind of like the big ones i want to plant some more peonies in my yard and yeah that can be done check. That's an easy one. I think I told you all years ago that I planted some peony bulbs.

23:53Right. This was in 2021. They are still only about a foot tall. The bulbs require like a decade to actually become established. I have completely neglected them and they're still growing. So that leads me to believe maybe I should plant three full-size peony bushes every year and then I can build up an entire almost like hedge because they seem to like this area. So that is sort of what I'm thinking, like just kind of planning a couple every year. I am all for that. So I love peonies the most. They're so great. When you cut one and bring it inside, like, oh my God, I was so proud. I only had one, but I was like, this is amazing.

24:34So great. So that is something that I would love to do in the springtime. Oh, that's awesome. Yep. You need a Christmas cactus. Sorry, I'm adding nothing. Oh, okay. Oh, yeah. Sorry, I went back. I went back. Back to houseplants. As you said, you brought it in. Okay, sorry. We can talk more houseplants. Maybe we should do a whole episode about it. I think we did a houseplant episode already. We did do a houseplant episode because it inspired me to repot all of my plants. That's right. Yeah, we did that last year. I think we need to revisit it and maybe go a little more in depth on varieties. Yes.

25:11That would be really We're going to need a professional. Let's do it. Who wrote Plantopia? Let's get them on the show. Let's do it. Okay. Liz, you. Okay. Well, I'm stealing your resolution for organizing. I mean, I think the big thing about organizing, right, is you're supposed to figure out what your patterns are and kind of work with that, right? Right. If there's one place where you always drop the mail, put a bin there for the mail to go in, right? My house, it turns into chaos all the time. But there are some trouble spots that I have taken some time over the break to kind of identify and want to do better on.

25:51So that's good. But it mainly is like the paper traps or, you know, or the laundry traps, you know, like those places where those things kind of bundle up. So definitely that. And then I think I want to make a calendar for my house that has reminders, right? That has reminders on like, okay, change that air filter. Redo the pantry. Because it does get chaotic if I don't do it once a quarter. Just kind of refresh everything. So I'm thinking about, so maybe I'll, that's my takeaway. I'll make a family calendar. That's a great idea. And these are the things that need to happen. And just, you know, on your iPhone, set it up and put alerts on it.

26:38There's so many things that you forget about as a homeowner, like the AC filter and the water filter in the fridge and the, you know, empty the dryer vent. Yeah, and like vacuum out the dryer vent. I know. This is another thing I know that I've talked about where it's the maintenance of home. Yeah. I know, right? Bugaboo. We feel you. Yeah. Maintenance of home that is so hard and to remind yourself when you're supposed to do it. Like you said, it's a bunch of reminders. Right. There's something that's really trending, those skylight calendars. Yes. It's like a digital calendar you put up and you could, that way your whole family can see it.

27:16Everyone can put their stuff in it. Do you have one? I don't. A friend just got it and she's loving it so far. It does feel like this could be something, especially based on who you are, that you might like because it is digital. but it is a calendar. Okay. And I know you love a handheld calendar so this would probably be great for you too. Yeah. Like keeping I do a dry erase analog one on my fridge that's just you know low tech but it's probably not it's not I mean I wouldn't put change the AC filter on it. It's just for like keeping track of what's going on this week. Yeah but it's like done twice a year and you know you need to do it twice a year.

27:52Right. It is nice that you could literally put it for a date of March and it's repeated. Yeah. Yeah. And every six months we're going to repeat this and it's on your calendar. Yeah, that's smart. So I think that's I think that'll be my big takeaway and something that I'll set up after we finish this conversation. But, you know, I also use this time between Christmas and New Year's to do the big dreams about my house and like what are the big projects. A lot of the projects are things that I've talked about on here that I haven't had the budget to do or haven't had the bandwidth to do. Maybe taking those in some different chunks.