What Ana Does

It's kinda amazing what $150 can do to a space. For the time and effort, I'm happy with the results. So I painted the walls using leftover paint from the master bedroom ceiling angle. Then I used peel-and-stick wallpaper on the wall with the vanity. Last, I used vinyl floor tiles for the flooring. All knowing that in a few years, this bathroom will be gutted and updated -- once we don't have young teens. They are slobs! To finish it up, I just need to pick up a few bathroom rugs for the space this weekend. Here's the BEFORE picture again: And more of our After pictures ... The floor tiles were NOT PERFECT. If you look close, you can see where the patterns don't come together. I struggled with this at first, you can rotate the tiles to try to get a better match. But it was futile. And from afar, it looks awesome. So, I'm pretty happy. It didn't need to to be perfect. Here you get a view of the new light fixture that I didn't budget fo...

As you stare at this BEFORE picture, let's remember it's early spring and it's been raining for the last six days. Also, please notice the crumbling brick stairs and sinking pavers.

There is so much work that needs to be done to make this house feel like mine. I have a list in my head that is slowly being prioritized. (More on that later.) My first painting project is the chalkboard in the back hall (yes, I have a back hall). Despite being told that the key holder would look better in a contrasting color (coughEriccough), I went with a camouflage look and painted it with the chalkboard, too. I can't write on it for a few days but I think it came out quite well. Props to Eric and Dave for the help. PS. This wall will eventually go from awful beige to amazing olive green. It's going to be gorgeous!

To sum up: We're putting a new furnace in this old house. That's right. We're trying to move out of this house, but we are putting in a new furnace. Hooray! MY FAMILY IN A WEEK To expand slightly: We've had a parade of inspectors come through the house making recommendations of improvements, so the house is in good shape if we take the buyout. The HVAC inspector found the furnace was unsafe. He unhooked it and, well, we need heat (it's October!). So, I've been getting estimates for a new furnace. I have conflicting feelings about this. On one hand, I hate that I have to replace a furnace that was functioning fine (as much as I knew) for the last 5 years. And it's not even for the benefit of me or my family. And it's going to completely decimate my decorating budget for the new house. However, if we get a buyer, their inspector might have found this furnace issue and we'd be replacing it anyway. And probably at a much higher cost. Of ...

Now that I've decided to give myself a few days off from staging/home improvements, I thought I'd gather a list of a few things I've done and saw a major difference. It's quick, painless and I think "WOW, I should have done that a year ago!" Retouch paint -- on walls and trim. I found a half-full can of yellow paint (called Mellow Yellow) in the basement and went over some frame nicks and nail holes in the dining room. I've also taken some white trim paint and fixed up areas where the turquoise trim is starting to show through again. I'm haunted by the turquoise!  Old English on the cabinets in the kitchen -- a little rubbing of that magic goo on the wood and my old cabinets are simply glowing!  Wash the windows - - huge difference. YES, I've washed my windows many times but I always forget the impact it has on the room.  Remove extraneous furniture and fixtures -- "we all live like this" as my realtor says but once you peel back a...

Here's the "fun" thing about putting your house on the market: all those weekend projects you've been putting off needs to get done ... NOW! Today, I'm tackling the white trim on the porch. It's a project I had planned to do after painting the floor red. That was two years ago. BEFORE About two hours later and it's a HUGE improvement. I think a buyer won't even notice the trim and look right out into my newly-picked up backyard. (That reminds me, I gotta get to the landscape store for some closeout perennials.) I did have some little hands offer help. But, once they were given the paint brush, they got bored of it pretty quickly.  AFTER

This door has also stuck but now I see it as a potential buyer might see it ... As a bad first impression. I've been outside sanding the edges but have gotten nowhere. I wonder if any of my nieghbors have a planer. Or some dynamite.

It was about time we retired the old fence around our backyard. We left the posts so the next owner can easily install a shiny new one. Thinking of checking out the discounted perennials at the landscape shop this weekend to fancy it up.