What Ana Does

 So the builder left this big nook in-between two closets in the guest room. I suspect it was meant for a dresser but it's a dumb space that I've been struggling with since we moved in.  It's been a reading nook with bench, a desk, I've moved dressers and cabinets in there. Nothing looked right.  After the success of the towel nook in the bathroom, I knew that installing a base cabinet in this space would finally put an end to my torment of finding the right solution to this space. So that's exactly what I did.  I bought a cabinet from Home Depot for about $200. I went with a cabinet and not drawers because I wanted to store my sewing machine and other crafting tools. And I got a butcher block top for about $100 to go on top.  First, I had to pull out the rug, because installed cabinets need to be placed on solid floor. That was easy, other than those annoying tack strips.  Then, I pushed the cabinet into place and secured it to the wall. I got lucky with t...

Long title, but now that we've gotten through a bunch of professionally-supported renovation projects, I've learned a thing or two about how to keep projects moving.  Always be there on Day 1 morning. Work from home. Take the day off. You'll need to be there to talk through the final plans, and figure out if you have all the supplies you agreed you'd gather.  Before anyone arrives, I clear out the space (that's obvious, but a big courtesy). And clear out the path to the door. And close all the doors. There will be dust. It will settle on every surface of the house. But keeping doors closed does help. I'll also write on the walls with pencil. "Tile here" "Demo out" "Outlet Here" "Keep this" -- communication is key.  Display all the plans or drawings . Some construction guys come in from other jobs and I'm sure they all get mushed together eventually. I also tape up to an adjoining wall the plan so I can point to thing...

One of my best ideas for the Girls' Bathroom Reno was to demo out the pooky closet and add a "towel nook."  The more I thought about this bathroom, the more I wanted to focus on getting everything I could out of every corner of this small space. The closet, hidden behind the door, was one of the spaces I wanted to exploit. Not the first closet I've demo'ed out of this house (you know I hate when door clash), I was happy to do away with this one.  Once I found this photo on Pinterest and knew that's exactly what I wanted to recreate the space to be.  Here's the stupid closet before. Yes, I painted it some ugly colors, but I thought it would be temporary. Also, yes, we considered enlarging the shower but the cost of moving plumbing didn't justify the job, so we kept everything the same. No regrets.  Also worth mentioning the attic access is in the ceiling of this little closet and it's nearly impossible to shimmy in and out. Even for me. So I had so...

The Girls' Bathroom Reno Project turned out better than we could have hoped!  Here's a quick summary of how it went:  It took about 12 days, 2 days over the estimated.  We only ran out of the subway tile, so I had to place a rush order on those. (I hadn't calculated in tile around the window, but once Andre suggested it, I wanted it.)  I originally was looking at glass doors for the shower, but both daughter vetoed, as they are both in the bathroom at the same time and glass doors would provide ZERO privacy. So we went with a budget-friendly shower curtain, which adds pretty texture as well as privacy. Win win!  The vanity light was a miss -- we should have put that junction box higher so we flipped the lights and they look weird. I have a new light coming.  The color pink we choose ("Rachel Pink" from SW) came out perfect. Not too Pepto Bismol and not too nursery pink. I love it. I think even Dave likes it, but he'll never admit it.  I was away in Spa...

 Here we go again!  Our girls' bathroom has long been the last room on the checklist that sorely needs a renovation.  The current pictures tell it all; the vanity is outdated and faucets are leaking, the shower has plastic tile and a dangerous angle in the tub that I've nearly slipped on. The shower head also doesn't turn off all the way and leaks often.  It's dated and dumpy.  And here's a breakdown of our goals for the renovation: updated tile that's bright and pretty. A new vanity with lots of storage and two sinks for our two daughters. A larger mirror for maximum users.  A walk-in shower is going to be key. Not only for the older guests but it will just look better. We have a new tub in our bathroom, in case you're thinking "what about resale?!" Which I don't normally consider. Everything is pretty much staying where it is, no major plumbing or electrical is going to be involved, just getting refreshed and working properly. This Fall!  ...

 For our summer vacation this year, we used another concert to book the location. The Avett Brothers, our favorites, play Red Rocks Amphitheater each year and that's always been a goal destination. It's a big-deal venue and artists generally create some special shows for the occasion. Also, I've seen two shows at Red Rocks and Dave & the kids have never been, so it became a must do.  The tickets were purchased first, in the early winter, so the rest was up to me to book. And Aspen became a dream destination, as did seeing my sister and her girlfriend in Vail. Here's how it shook out.  Denver The first part of the trip was obviously all about the concerts. We stayed at the Spring Hill Suites in Lakewood , right near in the Colorado Mills shopping center. This was a dream location, because it was 10 minutes from Red Rocks, and near restaurants, shops and a movie theater (yes, we saw Superman and YES it was awesome).  We spent a day in Denver and eh, let's say you ...