• “This year, I’m finally going to get around to upgrading the backsplash in my kitchen. I’ve been meaning to do it for years but have just never found the time ... or motivation! I’d like to rip out the standard builders-grade white tiles and replace them with one-inch by one-inch square glass tiles in a striking colour like a rich and reflective dark brown. Once that job is complete, I plan to install back-lighting to highlight the beautiful new look!” -- Natalie Bahadur, Web Editor

• "While we’re in the dimmest, darkest days of winter I swear that this year, I’ll use up all the candles that seem to have somehow mysteriously been multiplying like bunnies in my cupboards…" -- Laurie Grassi, Executive Editor

• "I’m going to devote a weekend to cleaning out all the cupboards and drawers in my kitchen. There’s one really scary cupboard with all my plastic containers, and they keep toppling out when I open it. Before I start, I’ll set out a big box marked 'Donate', so I can place in it anything I haven’t used in a long time -- plus a garbage bag for any almost empty bags of hard brown sugar I might find." -- Julia Armstrong, Senior Editor

• “When I finally receive my new couch on Christmas, my bedroom will nearly be complete. All it will need is a fresh coat of paint, which I’ve promised myself will be done in the New Year. Now I just have to choose the colour-- any suggestions?” -- Melissa Geurts, Graphic Designer

• "Everybody resolves to keep things tidy around their house for the New Year, but I especially need to hold on to this resolution -- my apartment is only 500 sq.ft.! A few things out of place means a whole lot of messiness in my space, so I plan to stick to my resolution by assigning certain days to specific activities, i.e.Sundays for laundry, Mondays for mopping the floors, Tuesdays for cleaning out the fridge, Wednesdays for a glass of wine and some Colin Firth..." -- Lauren McPhillips, Senior Editor

• "We can never decide what to make for dinner – OK, it's usually after 7:00 on a weeknight when we're scrounging the bottom of the fridge and back of the pantry. I resolve to peruse my cookbook library (two Billy bookcases so far!), flag what I'd like to make and go grocery shopping for the ingredients at least once a week. Hey, it could happen!" -- Jenn Houlihan, Assistant Editor

• "This is the year to finally paint my home -- and get those bedroom drapes made!" -- Denise Barnard, Senior Editor

• "As a souvenir from a recent trip to India, a friend gave me a bolt of the most gorgeous sari fabric – intricate embroidery on a mossy green silk ground, and bejewelled beyond belief. To this day, I’m ashamed to say it’s sitting in the linen closet because I haven’t thought of an application for it. My resolution is to invest in a dressmaker’s judy, and style it up with swathes of this fabric as a dramatic art piece for my hallway. At least that way, I can enjoy it until I make up my mind on its final application!" -- Brett Walther, Assistant Design Editor

• "It’s always a challenge for our busy family to keep things organized in our small home! But we hope to make further gains in clearing away clutter and getting rid of items of no use." -- Suzanne Hartmann, Copy Editor

• "My resolution for 2009 is the exact same as it is every year - edit, edit, edit! I'm  both an impulse buyer and a hoarder (a frighteningly dangerous combination!). I've decided that before my loved ones have the chance to stage an intervention I have to take control of the situation. A major purge of items I don't need or use is at the top of my list. It's going to be tough, but I'm told that since I live in 700 sq ft, I really don't need three coffee tables..." -- Lauren Flanagan, Assistant Design Editor

Image courtesy of Pottery Barn