What Ana Does

When we started talking about this flooring, way back on Friday, I would have said no to more carpet. Having a dining room table on carpet is odd. But after discussing with the floor guy and looking at some samples, I got pretty comfortable with it. Ideally, we would continue the hardwood floors from the house into the living room/dining room but unless I discovered an elf with magical flooring powers that can match the 15-year-old wood, it's not going to happen. So, we got new carpet that's designed for the traffic and use of this room. It's low pile (but not berber, that snags!) and very family friendly. And it was installed in about 2 hours. Obviously, the dogs are very happy on it. New Carpet Now that the furniture is moved back, and not the clutter, it is making me rethink all the junk that sits on those white shelves. Do we really need it? Also, that coffee table really should be white, right? Related links: More posts about the Living Room 

We're not going to blame this one on the dogs, but ... we're replacing the carpet in our living room/dining room. First, why is there carpet in this room anyway? Putting carpet under a dining room table is ballsy, right? And this carpet is high-pile, the same that we have in the bedrooms. Plush is awesome for bedrooms, but in high-traffic areas, it's the "wrong carpet" as the floor guys says. And yes, the carpet is a little yucky because the dogs love this room.  Not stained, but a few areas that look more frayed than others. Anyway, Dave called the floor guys and they gave us a pretty good deal to get it done quickly. I guess they had a crew with nothing this week. So posting some BEFORE pics: Dining Room Looks Magazine-Ready .. But Focus on the Floors Living Room - With Benny Wandering Around

Our master bathroom is begging for a remodel. But unless I win the lottery or dig up a few thousand dollars in my garden, it's not going to happen. The floors are ugly beige (beige!) tiles, the counters are ugly, we have enormous mirrors with the hollywood lights above them. And all the fixtures are builder-grade. Blah. But last week I took a good look at the mismatched bathmats on the floor and decided if I was going to put any money in this bathroom, that would be the biggest bang for my buck. I did some comparison shopping and decided the fewer rugs I could do, the better. The floor space is kinda large, so there's much ground to cover. And I wanted something low-pile and brightly-colored. Okay -- so after some browsing, I decided on Flor carpet tiles. Again. They're just so AWESOME! They have rubber on the bottom, so the squares don't slip. Configurable, so I could make some decisions on how to install. Great color choices. Made from recycled material. Mold re...

About two weeks ago I decided I had had it with the traditional rug in our family room. The Carpet It's a quality piece of carpet, antique and 100% wool -- and we got it from the people we bought our house from in New Jersey, at a pretty deep discount. And the bonus; we didn't have to move it. It stayed with us for the last six years. Leah and Alice took their first steps on it, we wrestled on it and opened gifts on it every year. We added to the stains and spilled birthday cake into the fringe edges. The Boxes Arrive It served us well... but it's leading the family room in the wrong direction. Traditional? That's not us. I want vibrant, solid colors with a richer navy and more greens. I need to anchor the room, not jumble it up with more intricate pattern. I had known what my solution would be since we first saw the house. Flor makes carpet tiles that are colorful, fun to design and super easy to clean. Plus, you can move with them, add to them and re...