What Ana Does

 Like a fresh spring green, like the chairs at the Jardin Tuileries in Paris. Like the leaves of my Monstera plant. I'm deeply in love with Matcha Latte from Clare paint. I get a hit of oxytocin every time I walk through here.  Some early morning Sunday photos. This top one is filtered for max green impact! WOWZA! Just a few things about the color to review. I wanted to follow the same bright blue I have in the front room and in the cabinets. The old green wasn't the same temperature and felt dull in comparison. This green feels the same youthful, modern color. And with the new chairs, white wainscoting, black and beige accents in the rug and curtain. It all mixes for just the happy vibe I was aiming for.  I hope people come to my house for a dinner party, and never want to leave the dining room. 

I've always thought this house deserves a lot of green. And dark blue. It's that center hall colonial vibe I love so much. So when it came time to paint the guest room, I wanted to use one of those colors. And after painting the back hallway blue, green just seemed to be the right direction.  The guest room gets a ton of light, since it faces east. So it can handle a moody color. I picked Peale Green from Benjamin Moore and got it from the TrueValue near the house -- it's the closest hardware store. The walls were painted in a blue/grey flat paint with lots of nicks and a few spots where the old paint was showing -- not in great shape. I knew an eggshell finish would pick up some sunlight and give the room a little shine. (I will never understand using flat on these walls. SO weird.)  Here's one of the walls before:   And after the coat of Peale Green later ...  Of all the lovely colors in this house, this might be a favorite! It's a great true-green with a lit...

You know when there's a color you just want to TRY is some room? A hue seen on Pinterest so many times it just looks too good not to do. Well, I've always wanted a dark, energized green room. And I found the perfect place to try it. Yup, the laundry room. Another house, another laundry room. This one is just as good as the last, and just as abused -- I've been jamming random stuff in all those cabinets for the last seven months with no rhyme or reason.  Just as many good features as bad, too. I appreciate the white cabinets (that's a lot of storage) and sink for projects. We lock the dogs in here when we're out. But, I'm not a fan of the tight space, "vintage" washer/dryer and beige color. And the terracotta-ish tile floor was definetly slapped in here with missing grout.   What's on tap for this room? Well, there's a HUGE organization project needed. And I already updated all the pulls from white plastic JUNK pulls to this fun, modern black pu...

Updating the first floor powder room, across from the laundry room, was definitely on my task list for this Spring. Mostly, replacing the single-basin vanity with a cabinet vanity. And maybe some tile. BUT ... as things go, we ran out of budget to buy a new vanity. (Maybe next year?) Nevertheless, I wanted to jazz it this week but stay on a very tight budget -- $100 max . I was thinking a new rug, light fixture and some kind of colorful statement. It all started at Target ... I walked past this leafy green peel-and-stick wallpaper ( Devine Tropical Wallpaper ) a few times before I tossed it into the cart. It's a statement for sure and on budget at $30. But would it work? First , I was very frustrated the last time I did this removable wallpaper installation ( see that post ). Second , but I totally loved it after it was all done. Third , I didn't think it would match the wall color, thus forcing me to paint that powder room -- as much as I love painting rooms, paintin...

This green hallway is at the top of the stairs and is between the girls' bedrooms. It's a hallway we walk through everyday and everyday I roll my eyes at the lack of order and function. I love to store books here and the kids' masterpieces on this little DIY art hanger ( here's how to make it ). But, otherwise, this space is a disaster. My own little pit of despair and it's slowly driving me crazy. Even from Paris. The plan for our first full week at home is getting cleaned up for all our upcoming visitors and this is one spot I really want to focus on. First, I want to repaint. White, probably. Second, I want to find a plan for this space that includes built-ins, so it looks really clean and on-purpose. Not a storage area for random things. I have two options I've been thinking about a lot. Option 1: Do a built-in desk along this wall. Coincidently, the original plans for this house includes a desk in this space but the original builders opted o...

Yup, so I broke down and nailed a piece of wood to this wall. So there. The Bisecting Piece of Wood I didn't secure it too tightly, so basically I'm still looking at it as temporary. I keep walking past it thinking ... do I like it there? Is it annoying? Will I want hooks on it? Will it look better once the whole wall is white? Etc. Etc. Sometime decorating your house just takes extra time and thought. Related Posts:  Here's where I coined the term The Wall of Restraint So, here's the post where I congratulated myself on  not installing hooks on this wall. And here's the post where  I installed hooks on the wall near it . And, lastly, here's the post from 2012 when  I was so in wuv with this pea green color.  

I like to think I have a green thumb, but I really don't. It's one of those lies I tell myself. Like how I can stop eating chocolate at anytime. Sha! While we were alway in Paris, most of my houseplants died. They were already on their last legs before we left, so all it just took was 10 days of no water for them to officially kick the bucket. A few of them were succulents, so that's a real proof of my plant-killing skills. I should mention the ferns near the TV are hanging on, so I'm not a total plant-killing loser. Maybe 60% success rate? Last weekend I picked up three new "hardy" houseplants to replace all the dead ones. A neighbor suggested I replant them in larger pots and keep them in one spot - don't move them around. (This is certainly something I'm in the habit of doing.) Let's hope they last a bit longer! New Plants - And Pretty Gladys! 

In Progress I've been resisting adding hooks on the long hallway off the garage entrance ( as posted here ). But OMG if I have to STEP on another bag or sweater thrown on the floor I'm going to LOSE IT. (!!) We have hooks all over this house for a reason, people! In a fit of rage, I bought a piece of trim and ordered a bunch of hooks in a variety of colors for that wall. But then decided ... maybe if I improve this wall -- which sits directly opposite from the garage entrance -- I might solve the problem without adding yet another wall with hooks. So, I got these little pine boards and some neato steal hooks and used Saturday night while the girls were away to install the whole system. Replacing the dinky row of pegs that just wasn't doing the job. It went up very quickly, finishing it up while the girls watched Frozen on Sunday morning after their sleepover. I included a sign that says "Hey You! Hang Up Your Stuff" on the magnet board just above it. J...

What am I up to today? A Trunk Full of Flowers - And Top Soil The Veggie Beds Are a Total Disaster Already Behind on Seed Planting -- Now, Where to Begin? Related posts: Other random weekend stories

Because I'm me, I painted another wall in my house. This one is in the front hall. I painted it green not long ago, but decided this winter that I'd rather have it navy blue to continue the color throughout the main level of the house. This wall you'll see as your enter the house, so it will have big impact. BEFORE: The Green Wall AFTER: IT'S BLUE! I really need to figure out what furniture will sit in this spot. But, until I do, this little white bench will have to do. Related posts: Other Home Improvement adventures

The trim is biege. I dislike biege. Especially in trim. Plus, they needed a new coat of paint after 15 years and two owners. Hence, the Trim Project of 2014! I declared open season on painting last weekend, so the work begins!  There is miles and miles of baseboards and doors to do in this house, so I'm expecting this to go well into the summer months.  Little by little -- we'll just chip away at it.  P.S. Benny says Hi. 

In the back hallway that leads to the garage we've had these rose-colored rugs since we moved in. They belonged to the previous owners and looked kinda nice with the wood floors. But completely useless with all the muddy, dirty, snowy boots that tramp in from the garage. Before: Two Rugs in the Back Hallway So, I've been researching options for that hallway and decided on the Waterhog rug from L.L. Bean . They had tons of different sizes and colors. And I've never read so many super reviews. The clincher was the price. For the size and quality -- much less then the other rugs I'd looked at. I picked this snazzy green color that goes so well with the wall color. I had to cover-up the heating vent back there, but I think it's worth it. What a Difference a Rug Makes! After: Neat and Clean! Related posts: More "Home Project" posts

BEFORE: The Art Gallery I was painting again this weekend. My project was all about the hallway between the family room and the rest of the house. There are two major issue: 1) a lot of the walls have rounded corners, so where to start and stop always stumped me. 2) And I wanted green, so I've been trying to decide which shade to go with. My first choice was the bright green from the carpet squares. I'd love to do a bold apple-green wall. Sweet! But then I realized I like the color of the upstairs hallway and it compliments the navy wall. And since you can see that wall from downstairs, it made the most sense to keep a consistent green. (Valspar's "Grasslands" from Lowes.) The rounded corners is still an issue, if I think too much about it, there's a sort-of wall solipsism. But why over think it? I started and stopped when I wanted to and it doesn't look too bad. AFTER: A 2-Story View Actually, it looks awesome! Clean and freshly green....

With the first look at my backyard and all the sunlight it was getting, I had visions of home-grown veggies and herbs. Of course, this was December and snow was falling. Like all projects, I started out thinking we would do it ourselves, like we did the raised beds at our house in New Jersey. But weekends are precious and the thought of hauling so much dirt from the garden store to my backyard in our little cars overwhelmed me. One day, the landscaper that took care of the house for the previous owners came by and I asked him for an estimate. He didn't know what I meant at first but I found a photo of a raised bed from my pinterset board and gave it to him. Realization dawned, the estimate made it worth it -- and weeks later we have our end result. With no bags of dirt in our trunks. The Promise of a New Garden I'm super-duper excited about what we'll be putting in here in the coming months and years. Yippee!! I'm not the most talented green-thumb gal but my g...

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...