Looking back, looking ahead

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Happy 2015 everyone!  I have taken a good 10 day (unplanned) break from blogging, and it feels nice to be back.

Christmastime in our house was a whirlwind, and I just wasn’t able to keep up with new posts and the like.

My creative side needed a little break, and I needed to make sure I had enough “juice” in me to give my full self to my family.

I have enjoyed this year of blogging, but it has been really hard work!  It was time to step back and refresh for a bit . . . so thank you for your grace and patience 🙂

I think it would best to start off the new year with a look back at 2014 here at Lost & Found, as well as a peek into the future of what projects I have in store.

2014 saw a lot of furniture come and go from my home, as well as other vintage finds.  I joke with my neighbors that there is a steady flow of “junk” coming through our property (I’m not quite sure they always find the joke funny . . .)

2014 saw a significant expansion of this blog as well, as I moved from my old site to the new self-hosted platform at LostandFoundDecor.com.

And 2014 saw some significant personal moments, both tragic and joyful.

According to my handy WordPress site statistics, the top five posts of 2014 were:

1. Tips for Making Money Painting Furniture  This post generates the most traffic for me just about every day, and is the top entry you will see on Google if you search “making money painting furniture”.  Kinda cool, huh?

2.  Small Town, Deep South  This post provided my highest one-day pageviews ever and was shared on Facebook so many times I lost count.

It’s the story of my family’s small-town roots in Hawkinsville, Georgia, as well as a tribute to my uncle who suffered a tragic passing in April. I have plans to share this post with the editors of Southern Living magazine come Spring, in hopes that they might love the southern small town photos and story as much as my readers did.

3.  How to Reupholster a French Chair, Makeover Reveal  I have been submitting furniture projects to Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday link party for forever, and this was my first project to be picked as a feature.  I was ecstatic and felt like I had won the lottery when I saw my chair on her blog!

4. Do’s and Don’ts–Painting Furniture with Chalk Paint  Like #1, this post has been a Google search favorite.

5.  Milk Paint vs. Chalk Paint, My TakeAnd lastly, another paint post!  It’s really no surprise, my furniture makeover posts continue to be the bread and butter of my business and this blog.  I need to update this post in 2015 though, I have many more thoughts to share now. I guess I will add that to my new to-do list!

My business and blog grew significantly this year, and I have felt very blessed.  In October, I was finally able to reach my goal of funding a family trip to Disney World through the profit of my business–yay!–and I have made many new blogger and Etsy seller connections through link parties and my monthly 1st Friday Etsy Features.

Despite this awesome growth, there still seems to be a barrier between me and the “next” blog level that I have’t been able to break through.  I am sure that I don’t give this blog the time and attention that being a big league blogger requires, and honestly I’m not quite sure that I can.

So in 2015 that is one of the projects I want to tackle first–how to continue to grow LostandFoundDecor.com while maintaining my growing retail business and family life. Should be easy to figure out, right?

Other upcoming 2015 projects . . . I am planning a major revamp of my Antique Company Mall booth space.  New paint color, new floor (hopefully), and new layout.

My walls have so many nail holes in them they look like swiss cheese, and the green color I originally chose has been a terrible backdrop for my inventory.  I’m planning on going with a light blue on my solid wall, then covering my pegboard wall with wood siding (that I got out of my neighbor’s trash–with his permission–after he re-sided his house).

For the floor I’m not quite sure what my plan is yet . . . maybe some peel and stick wood or tile, or maybe painting it? I need to investigate my options more.

I also have a garage full of furniture waiting for me–another Duncan Phyfe dining set, a primitive cabinet, small secretary desk, and a carriage bench are all ready for their makeovers.

Lastly, I am looking at new retail avenues in 2015.

I have checked out what it would look like to be a vendor at a yearly show, or possibly even finding a venue to host my own spring show.  I have even looked at some commercial property for sale that I have dreams of turning into a shop and paint studio . . . Probably a pie in the sky dream, but fun to consider nonetheless.

I so appreciate all of you who have been faithful to follow along with me this past year, and I hope you continue to find inspiration and encouragement at Lost & Found this year.  I don’t know for certain what this year holds, but I’m hopeful for many more good things to come.

Happy New Year to you and your families!