What Ana Does

Before: Messy Hallway It wasn't what I planned earlier  for the upstairs hallway, but it came out pretty well.  This is the hallway, that connects the girls' rooms and the bathroom. It had to be green, because the carpeting on the stairs is green (with golden ivy; more on that in a later post). Once I painted the room green (Valspar "Grassy Meadow") it looked far smaller and my cabinet idea was tossed -- it would have complicated the space.  I had a shelving unit from the pervious owners of our last house -- it was stored in the basement. And I do like to reuse! It made me very nervous to drill the HUGE holes in the wall. Luckily, I'm generally reckless when it comes to home improvement so I got up the nerve and drilled away.  I'll need to style the shelving a bit better -- and I'd like to add another shelf to the mix ($14 at Loews) -- but it's a start. That framed map has been in almost every room in the house, so hopefully it has f...

BEFORE: Too Small Project Status: Mostly Complete! The new media cabinet was delivered today and put together. It's taller and longer than our old cabinet -- which looked fine in our old living room but looked teeny here. It's missing a piece from the top (it's backordered). And I need to add the art on the wall. I want to put together a thoughtful collection of stuff to surround the TV and lamp. Also, not sure what to do about the space where the yellow chair is temporarily sitting. The intake vent is there and will need to be concealed. AFTER: Lovely! But it's quickly looking more like my vision for the room. Hooray!

My Speckled Hand Dave painted the first coat last night while I was putting the kids to bed. I was thankful to have someone else trek up the ladder to tape and paint those high corners. Family Room: Blue in Progress A second coat was needed, so I did that this morning. I am not a fan of the ladder. But as long as I don't look down or up, it was a cinch. And it's just a straight wall -- no toilets or strange corners to paint around -- so it look less than 30 minutes to get the second coat on. I'll give it a few minutes to dry before I decide if a third coat is necessary. I doubt it. Can't WAIT to rip that tape down! Then it will just be the wait for the cabinets to arrive. Hooray!  Related links: More Family Room posts

Wall: Before Ever since I started to think about decorating this house -- way back in October -- I knew I wanted to do a dramatic accent wall in the family room. The room is huge with two-story ceilings. There are six windows on one wall and four more flanking the fireplace -- so this room could definitely handle a dark, rich color. A few design magazine, sites and HGTV shows later, navy blue stuck in my head. Like one design show I watch advocates, look to the clothes you wear often to help decide color -- which for me and Dave is denim. And we both have soft navy sweatshirts that are common weekend wear. Navy it was -- decided in December. So, each night since we moved in while watching TV I'd stare at the beige wall, that is slightly inset, and imagine it was navy blue. And I'd itch and wish to paint it. Now, with the new media cabinet arriving on Friday, it's finally time! Once we moved out the furniture pieces we no longer will need, we reoriented everything ...

The Space In Need Outside the bedrooms is large space just calling for a built-in of some sort. Today I'm feeling adventurous. Get this for a plan: I was wandering around Loews today with the girls and found some unpainted cabinets. If we got two cabinets and attached them to the wall, founds some countertop material to connect them, you could get a very built-in look for under $250.  There is also some upper-cabinets, though I think I'd prefer open book shelves above. 1. Unpainted Cabinet = $67 2. Thinner Cabinet = $51 3. Laminate Counter in Assorted Colors = $50ish (depending on length) 4. OR Use a Solid Pine Counter The TWO big questions is: 1) Are my math skills good enough to figure this all out? 2) What color should I paint everything? Or stain it?  Only time will tell. Stay tuned!

I've been excited to put together of a terrarium since the move. So, last week I found a kit from Etsy and cleaned out the glass jar we got as a wedding present, and have been kicking around. Presto! Terrarium! My Helpers and an Empty Jar - Ready to Go! Done! Complete with Gnome.

Before This is the bathroom right next to Leah's room and it is for the kids. It also serves as the bathroom for overnight guests. I picked an "under the sea" theme, after finding this cute Target shower curtain. It has a matching fish rug, too. After I wanted a bright green because it's the third, accent color in both girls' bedrooms. I picked this pear color because it also matches the octopuses on the shower curtain. Adorable! The walls are still primer white, instead of that sandy beige we've got in all the other rooms. So, I only needed one coat. I also tested the Valsper paint at Lowes, which seemed thicker than the stuff I used in my bathroom. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with how this turned out. For the finishing touches, I had the girls paint four small canvases to hang above the toilet. They turned out cute. So I'll hang those and some hooks for towels. And last, switch out the shower head with a detachable one, so I can lowe...