What Ana Does

My sister-in-law texted me recently about where I get the art on my walls. I have a LOT of art on my walls. And I replied with about 20 text bubbles of all the places I get framed art, or get art framed, and thought -- I should share this info here too. It's always interesting to hear where people shop for this stuff.  First you should know I will frame or hang ANYTHING. I have a special toy the girls loved hanging on my living room wall and look at it fondly all the time. And a plate with a dragonfly on it, too. We have collected concert posters from concerts we've gone to for decades. They're usually a unique and inexpensive souvenir from a great show or tour. And we'll frame them at Micheal's, when we get a good coupon. There are also a lot of travel posters we'll pick up shopping on our travels. I have a great print we got in Venice.  I recently tried out the Keepsake app to print and frame two photos from Greece and it was magical - quick and good quality....

 It's been a few months since I updated you on the guestroom refresh project ... and with good reason. The shiplap I wanted to finish out the "feature wall" and be the solution to the bed's headboard was out of stock at my local Home Depot.  In fact, it was out of stock at most Home Depots near me except for the one in Wisconsin. And this Fall, the COVID virus was on a major spike in that state, so I was avoiding going there. Mostly because I had a few doctor appointments and the first thing they ask you is if you'd left the state and wasn't willing to forgo my mammogram just for building supplies. 2020, y'all!  Anyway, last week after waiting two month I just decide to make the drive, since Illinois was also spiking new cases and, well, I have no where to go for the next two weeks anyway.  Here's the progression. Starting with the blank wall and moving all the way up to the caulking/wood filler step:  It was late Sunday night when I push the room back...

Our home office has been a bit of a wreck since we moved back from Paris. A catch-all room. But then we started working from home in March and this room has been in a state of PROGRESS. David used it. Than, he moved to the basement, and I've been using it. We moved the chaise in here for the dogs to nap and watch the neighborhood -- it's everyone's room.  Once the decision was made to distance learn, we had a family discussion on where the girls wanted to work. After last Spring's experience, the dining room or kitchen was out of the picture. Too messy. We quickly identified the office as the optimal place (the first of there several options) so they're close to me, for guidance and questions while I'm working from home, and they're away from distractions in their rooms. The desks in their rooms would play an alternate roll, once they got up and running successfully and needed a fresh location. Options are good.  It was also the perfect opportunity to clear ...

It took a few years and hours and hours of time looking through furniture websites and comparing prices and materials ( post here to prove my dedication ),  I FINALLY decided on this Reed Pottery Barn table (using coupons and gift cards). Here's the BEFORE image: And here's the new rectangle table, with some crazy kids... The new shape is really interesting in the space. We've always had the round table here. But we're getting used to it. And it chunky, and heavy, and modern ... but that top might be a veneer and I'm a little unhappy with it ... the white table was a veneer too, I guess, so it's not much different. And yes, these pictures make my floor look just awful. UGH. I'm not sure we're ready for a full gut job on this kitchen, as much as it really really needs it. But if quarantine continues much longer, I may end up using one of the DIYers I follow how-tos and PAINT THAT HIDEOUS FLOOR. What do you think?

Now that the laundry room  and master bathroom have been made over and are looking lovely, they are no longer the ugliest rooms in the house. That honor now goes to ... the kid's bathroom! Take a bow! It's certainly on my "gut job" list, but, given the preteen slobs that currently use it, I don't think it's a wise investment. Maybe when Alice get to high school? But, I DO think I can throw $150 dollars in there in the meantime and upgrade the look at bit. We have family visiting at the end of December and using this bathroom, so I'd like it to look less like a catastrophe. Here's the current room -- I didn't even tidy it up. This is what it looks like in all it's glory. I think this filter is doing it A LOT of favors. It's pretty grubby. My issues are many (!) but, as I learned from the laundry room project , a new floor goes a very very long way. So that's what I'll start with. Given my tiny budget and DIY skills, I...

I was tip-toeing through some old blog posts and discovered these early photos of our living room ... Living Room: Before Our house in New Jersey was much smaller, so we didn't have a lot of furniture when we moved in. I didn't want this "formal" living room to turn into a kids play room, this space was too valuable to me to make it into a toy dumping ground as I've seen other families do. I wanted a true Living room where I could chat with visitors and family, without the TV blaring in the background. A comfortable place to read books and the New York Times. Maybe nibble on some cookies and drink tea. Living Room: Before 2 First we found the sofas. The coffee table and the grayish wall color. It's my favorite room in the house (other than my bedroom). Follow the evolution here . And what we ended up with is pretty nice! Here's the rooms from the same angle today ... Complete with Halloween decorations this year. Spooky! I have been ...

This week, I looked around my house and decided two things. For Example: The Changing Table/Desk We Bought When Leah Was Born 1) We have a lot of furniture that was bought for our previous house in New Jersey, making it a decade or older. And, because it was bought for a smaller house, it's never really fit in this new house. 2) Also, we probably have too much furniture and could absolutely get rid of some "traveling" furniture that's been moved around from room to room as it's never really found a home or a purpose here. For example, we still have the changing table/desk combo we bought for Leah's nursery. And the Crate & Barrel desk hutch that turned the corner of our previous master bedroom into an office. So, I've been busy identifying these pieces and putting them up on Facebook Marketplace and LetGo to find new homes. I also sent a few smaller things (e.g. a tiny file cabinet) out with a donation pickup. This leaves me with rearrangi...

This is the view walking into the master bathroom from our bedroom. Notice the Door Opens the WRONG Way AND the Light Switch OUTSIDE the Room Related posts: Need a reminder of what this space looked like? See the BEFORE pictures More Bathroom posts

Here we go ... Day 1 focused on the vanities and the trim. The demo continued for a week, as Mick (our contractor) pulled out all the builder-grade junk and rebuilt the plumbing and added space for the shower.    Look at That NEW Tub! Our future shower ...  The week went quickly and with lots of I'm still shopping ... tile, some missing faucets, and wall color.

Included on my laundry room task list is this little closet. It's behind the room's door (pulled off to paint) and once had a bifold door on it which we removed because the space was too tight. It's too dinky to be a coat closet, anyway. In the past, this closet was dedicated to our dog. We had a crate and basket of accessories, etc. And we'd like to use it for that again. I thought instead of an ugly crate, I can install a baby gate in this doorway and use that as a crate. But I wanted to make the wall a little easier to clean, and add more shelving. Here's the before ... First, after I built all those shelves for the pantry , I had all this confidence to build more. So I added two built in shelves. (I may even add more!) Then I did research on removable wallpaper, which is similar to contact paper. It's wipeable and can be a pretty accent. So I added this paper I  got from Target  to the plan. (Though, I did look at Spoonflower shop on Etsy f...

Our master bathroom is a major eyesore. Builder-grade everything, Hollywood lights, vinyl tile, etc. I'll post some updated photos soon. While we were in France, I started to planning the remodel. ( My bathroom Pinterest board here .) The remodel is an absolute priority -- so the contractor who did our basement got one of my first calls after arriving home and a start date is now set. The time is NOW to finalize the finishes and even start shopping. YIPPEEE!  After all the research here's the final shop board for our MASTER BATHROOM ... Sources Coming Soon Lots of grays and white. Lots of black fixtures. Moody and lovely! The floor tile was probably the easiest and most important, because everything starts with the floor. It's also a big expense. I went to Floor & Decor, Home Depot, and Loews and brought home a few tiles that fit my budget (under $2/sq ft). It became pretty obvious which was our favorite -- it's a moody blue-grey tile with tiny lines...

I loved all my options but the budget/time factor just got to be too much. We really just need something to keep it organized and looking nice until we permanently move home. So, we drove to Ikea and spent about $130 on three Billy bookcases , and $50 at Home Depot getting more of the white paint ("Polar Bear" from Behr) for the walls. And that's it. AFTER: White and Clean and Full of Books! Honestly, I'm so happy with the results, I could do cartwheels! Here's that Before picture again ... BEFORE: Reminder, This is What It Looked Like Painting the walls only took me a day. And the Ikea Billy shelves had to be propped up a bit, so we rigged up some scrap wood we had in the basement to ensure it was level on the carpet. We also installed the topple-guards. The books were piled in a few corners (the bookshelves were moved to Paris), so they now have a good home. I might install some quarter-round trim to give it a more "built-in" look, but ...

Option 2 for the upstairs hallway is built-in shelves . Similar to the Option 1 in that I'd find already-made cabinets and fit shelves above it so it all looks custom and built-in. Here's the Pinterest board inspiration (search Built in Shelves) ... And it would look something like this ... This looks easy but a lot of holes in the wall. Now to get to work on one of these options ... Related posts: The Upstairs Hallway BEFORE pic My Pinterest Home Decor board

Option 1 for the upstairs hallway is the built-in desk along the wall . By purchasing a countertop and laying it across two cabinets or drawers I'd have a quick, long desk. And by adding some trim and paint, I could get a custom built-in look. ( See the Before picture .) Here's some inspiration from Pinterest (search "built-in desk diy"): Built-Ins Aspirations Here's my quick little layout of the plan... Looking through some sites for materials, Ikea seems like the obvious spot. The countertops there are inexpensive and we can match the pine that's all over the house. For $139, that's a total win. And base cabinets are around $250 and come in variety of colors, but once I got the color combinations right it would definitely give me a more professional look. Maybe a white front? Link http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S89036699/#/S49036842 Or I could think outside the box a little and find two nice cabinets to anchor th...