What Ana Does

I might be more sensitive to color than other people. I can look at a stack of white paint chips and see differences, while David just sees WHITE. Because of this, I'm pretty good when it comes to choosing wall colors. Plus, I've got a lot of experience painting rooms. (As you know.) When it comes to my master bathroom walls, I've got an idea of what I want. With grey vanities, blueish grey floor tile and lots of white subway tile, I want the walls to be white with just a bit of blue/grey, too. I picked up a hundred chips at the Home Depot and I'm starting to dig into the possibilities ... (Your computer screen might show the colors a little differently than I see them in real life.) I've got the floor and wall tile behind all the colors, and the black light fixture, too. I started by laying out each chip to see how they "read." The too beige-y or too purples were dismissed. As well as anything too dark. Which left me with what you see in the phot...

I've been meaning to play around with this clever idea ever since I saw it scrolling through  Pinterest , so today I gave it a go: The Mounted Fox Wall Art Concept Version 1. Have you seen these stuffed heads all over Target and other stores? They're super cute. But kinda creepy. Unless you're totally comfortable with hunting and taxidermy, do you really want an animal head on your wall? Maybe. Anyway, I thought the idea would be more meaningful with an already-loved toy. A way to "memorialize" a beloved thing from childhood. This fox is NOT a beloved thing, by the way. It was the first thing I pulled out of the toy box that fit the circle. And a fun place to start. So, I started with one of those little pine plaques you can find at Micheal's. I can't remember the original intent of this plaque when I purchased it years ago. Maybe a handprint? Step 1: Mark the Holes I placed the fox toy (which is actually a tree ornament from Target), and...

You know what I'm talking about ... those rugs you get and toss on the floor in your bathroom or office or living room. And, if you're like me, you don't get the under-pads so the rugs move constantly (or you DO get the pads and they don't work ... argh!). And then there was that one time we washed a bathroom rug and it fell apart and broke our washing machine and I'm pretty sure we had to replace it. The rug AND the washing machine. See, my loathing of these scatter rugs runs deep. This week I've been spending a bit more time in my kids' bathroom than usual (we had company) and the two scatter rugs in there -- that I found on sale at who-remembers-where? store -- are just a mess. And I'm pretty sure I haven't decently washed them in an embarrassingly long time (because of the unfortunate washing machine incident mentioned above). They don't match (charming!) and I'm pretty sure they are not made for bathrooms. Total fail. So guess wh...

Here's an update on Leah's bedroom. In this post , I was trying to figure out where to put the bed once Leah moves out of Alice's room. They'd been roommates since September ( see this post ) but now the almost-11-year-old wants to be in her own room again. The room is oddly laid out, and Leah requested the bed doesn't take up the middle of the room. So the solution we came up with is pushing it up against the built-in desk.  It's not perfect but it's kind of neat to sit in bed and work on art projects or on her school-issues Chrome book on the desk. And she's created a hiding place under the desk, too.  AFTER: Leah's Bedroom  Well, at least that's where it will stay for the time. We're always moving things around in this house.  Related Posts: When the girls became roommates and why Leah's bedroom layout

While we were in New York City on Monday, we hit two of the fabulous holiday markets; Bryant Park and Union Square. Of course the girls found EVERYTHING they've EVER WANTED EVER and asked for everything. And, of course, we said no about 200 times. And we asked for cards from some of the shops we liked, in case we changed our minds after we got home. For those not able to get to New York City this holiday season, here's our favorites: No Chewing Allowed  - insanely-good truffles. We got a few boxes for teacher holiday gifts. One box *might not make it* to the holidays. ;) Hazel's Village - adorable handmade dollies with matching outfits. Leah loved the little green frog. Pop Chart Lab - an art shop that sells creative and hip charts, such as the Charted Sandwich or a cool diagram of Broadway costumes. Whoops! - a colorful and lovely macaron shop. We tasted the dark chocolate, strawberry milkshake, pumpkin and raspberry. Yum! Three Blue Birds - I had seen thes...

This weekend we hit all the big box stores to get an idea about bathroom vanities, flooring options, showers (acrylic vs. glass) and tile. Not to buy, just to touch some things and learn what is out there. We came to a few decisions about the vanity in the bathroom. 1) I really like the open shelving. As a guest, open shelves make you feel less creepy when you have do dig through cabinets to find extra toilet paper. 2) We'd like some wow-factor. The bathroom will be used primarily by guests and when we're in the basement, so we'd like something in there that will add a little flair, and the vanity is a good place to accomplish that. 3) We'd like to avoid white cabinets, as they're looking a little builder-grade to us. That's the exact look we're trying to avoid. Keeping that in mind, I'm seeing two top options: This From Home Depot That Has the Open Shelving. The Black Vanity with Vessel Sink Has the WOW and More! Here's the fun pa...

All week I've been pinning on Pinterest like a madwoman looking for the BEST and most COST EFFICIENT option for the new bathroom in the basement. Here's my current favorites:  Two vanity options -- both are more than I had expected to spend, so David and I will be making a few trips to some area stores to check out what's REALLY out there (and not just online). We really like this wood-effect tile (bottom left) that we're seeing everywhere, and it's inexpensive! I'm also a sucker from the green/blue subway tile. This one is ceramic, but I also like the idea of glass tile for the extra shine. The white hex tile on the right is a second inexpensive floor tile, that could be used on the wall, too. So many choices out there! How will I ever choose?! For more stuff that I like, check out my Basement Please Pinterest board. Related Post: Check out the Basement Floor Plan!

So I guess I'm pretty persuasive because I talked her into painting the walls lavender. I even got her to agree to take down the shelves! Score for Mom! Before: The Yellow and Pink Walls Alice Said Looked Like the Sunset This was Saturday. By Sunday morning, the room looked like this:  After: The Soothing Lavender  Here's the long story about the color lavender: I'd been doing research on lavenders for months, picking up chips and looking through Pinterest. I was pretty sure I knew I wanted a very soft color that wasn't too purple or too pink. All the while, I didn't have her approval to paint anything. Little did she know I was planting the seeds of lavender in her little head (eg. "oh, Alice, look at this lavender bedroom in this catalog picture.") Last week she finally said, "hey, I think I want to paint my room." Green light GO!  On Saturday we picked up the fabric for the bed canopy (details coming soon) and walked into H...

I'm dying to redecorate Alice's room. She was three when we moved in and now at almost-8, I feel it needs a more sophisticated look. I also need to declutter the heck out of it. But she won't let me! "I love it the way it is!" she says. So I did a test. While she was out, I took down all the pictures from her walls -- including all her artwork. I thought that maybe this would kickstart the ideation process. "Yes, this does look better" she'd say. Not so much. In no uncertain terms she'd like it all put back the way it was. "Today, Mommy!" I liked it better when she was too small to care. In Her Room 2013! This might be a long campaign to update/clean-out this room. I'm prepared. Related: Here's what it looked like when we moved in . And  here's what it looked after I finished in 2012 .

Here's the After picture of our master bedroom now that the walls are a dark and moody blue. Maybe the best part is I was at work while the painters were here, so I walked in and found -- as if by magic -- the room no longer minty green but a bold blue. That's pretty awesome. They also painted the trim an eye-popping white, which I just love against this blue. And the angle is a dark beige-y, tan color that I hope goes with the headboard. I spent the evening cleaning and re-hanging the drapes, and moving the furniture back into position. It will be a while before I dare hang anything in here. I'm too in love with the walls to put too many holes in them right now. So, just in case I'm looking for this information later: The walls are "Everard Blue" by Benjamin Moore . And the tray is "Curly Willow" by Behr . Now, does that furniture look too dark against the walls or is it just me? And wouldn't a lighter wood or white look fabulous agains...

The time has come. My master bedrooms has been neglected since we moved in four years ago and the time has come to pump up the style. As usual, we'll start with the walls -- the mint green has to go. While I'll admit the color isn't horrible, there are scuffs and chips all over the 10-year-old (maybe older) paint job. I started this month by haunting the hardware stores in the area, gathering attractive paint chips, and putting samples up on the wall. Here's the current color choices with my favorite-ever duvet that will inspire the whole decorating effort. Paint Choices That dark blue option is called " Everard" from Benjamin Moore. Finding it made the Ace Hardware paint guy a little nuts because I discovered it on  this (lovely) blog  but apparently it is no longer an available chip. But they finally found it and the sample looks pretty close to the blue in the duvet. I think a nice dark blue will give the room a warm, relaxed feeling perfect f...

I love browsing Etsy to find new and fun items (who doesn't!?) ... and adding them to my favorites list for future consideration. Then, when I'm feeling weak and in need of retail therapy, I have a little cache of goodies to look at. Here's from my latest browse ... 1. I love this  adorable fat quarter  with the bikes in the park. The colors are a little different and would make a delightful quilt! Future Bike Quilt?  2. I'm a big fan of music quotes in art. I have a few on my walls already, and I'm always on the look out for more. This Bruce Springsteen quote would memorialize Leah and Alice's first concert experience brilliantly. Bruce Springsteen Quote!   3. I love these bright and cheery hoop earrings ! They've been in my Cart forever -- just waiting for that day I have a good excuse to buy them. Beaded Hoops. This shop is Full of Cheerful Jewlery 4. This shop is full of cut-out paper art. What a medium! I really like the color com...

I snapped this picture just before I removed all the breakables to prepare for the carpet installation. I thought it looked kinda pretty, so thought I'd share.  Dining Room Wall

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

When we moved in, I wanted that TV wall in our family room to be dramatic and full of built in cabinetry, because there's a niche there. Because of price and lack of cabinetry skills, I went with a customizable cabinet. So we got a few pieces from Pottery Barn, which looked pretty good. But then Dave went and bought an enormous TV, so the media cabinet began to look dinky. Before - Dinky Media Cabinet With Huge TV Around Christmas, we collected a few of the gift cards we gathered from different places and ordered two more cabinets to complete the wall.  Long Wall of Low Cabinets I've got to reorganize the wall of prints and style up the cabinets, but the whole niche wall looks more custom and complete. And, of course, now Dave thinks his TV is too small.

I've got a bunch of glass-fronted cabinets in the house and, let's face it, there are some things I'd much rather hide. So I've been brainstorming ideas for how to cover the glass in a "nice" and "not so DIYey" kind of way. Fabric - laid flat or gathered.  Paper - from Paper Source or neat wrapping/scrapbook paper. Craft paper?  Contact Paper - frosted or neat design Wood Panel - remove glass and replace with panel or bead board. Is that possible?  Collage of family pictures - messy? Egg cartons - just kidding Paint the glass - What does glass look like painted? Can I remove it later?  Chalkboard - pull out the glass and replace with MDF with chalkboard paint?  Tin panels or faux tin panels - I've seen them at HomeDepot Lace - what is available?  Hmmm ... Now I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the possibilities. 

The first draft of my basement master plan: Basement Sketch 1 The important thing is I'm outlining all the functions I want to see the basement used for: workout, storage, movie theater. If I can't finish the basement, I can surely move things around and make it more attractive and useful, right? Related links: See alllll the basement posts

I get a little too excited about decorating the mantel for Halloween. All I'm missing is some spooky candles. That Black Owl, Named Midnight, Keep Getting Shuffled Around Related posts: Halloween is no joke around here, see all my spooky stories Everything about my fireplace

The Old Chairs I have a Kitchen Chair update! I was talking about replacing my kitchen chairs a few weeks ago when a new friend mentioned how much she liked my current ones. (She might be by to pick them up in a few weeks.) While I like them. (I do!) It was starting to get on my nerves that they don't push in under the table -- taking up way too large a foot print in my kitchen table space. After some time on a variety of online shops, I decided on a set of white chairs, lower backs and a simple, almost-modern, designs. The price was good from OneKingsLane.com, so I quickly ordered four new chairs. They took a few weeks to be delivered but when they finally arrives I was really pleased. You just never know with online chair shopping. But these were comfortable and matched my old white table almost perfectly. They took only a few minutes to assemble and I had to run out to get felt pads for the feet, but they just look fabulous.  And I know you think I'm being nit...