What Ana Does

I pondered the color for this fireplace trim a mighty long time. But now that we have the sofa oriented to the fireplace, with the TV mounted above, I was even more motivated to pick something. And, sometimes, the obvious answer is the right answer. Navy! Like everything else in the room. Duh. So I pulled the extra wall color out and used it on the trim.  And here's some progress pics ...  And the white trim that was original looked like this.  Simple, but it's a dramatic and noticeable change to the family room. Now I'm just styling out the mantel.  A good quarantine project.  Here's the progression of the fireplace !

I'm not saying the willow color on the walls of my master bedroom was a mistake, it just didn't go the way I thought I would. So this week, I'm fixing it. Let's rewind. In 2015, we had professional painters come and paint the two-story walls from awful beige to "polar bear" (by Behr) white ( see that post )! While here, I got a quote for the master bedroom and a year later they came back to change the original dirty, mint green to blue. Here's the post and a very dark picture of the walls . Yup, I love painting walls but I was working a lot and the room is huge, so I didn't think I could get it done in a weekend. I hired it out. Go me! The walls in the master have an angled part , so I used this dark beige-y brown color called "curly willow" to match with the duvet cover and wheat-color headboard. But when I saw it, I knew I went the wrong direction. So, for the past three years, I've been looking at it and kinda liking it. But ...

It occurred to me this week, after scrolling through some Pinterest images, that I used all black frames on my navy gallery wall. See ... Exhibit A: Black Frames on Navy Wall And it hit me: that makes no sense. Why would I use a frame color you can't even really see on a navy wall? Because we switched out the TV for the smaller one (the bigger screen was sent to the basement), I had to rearrange the pictures here anyway ... but this time, I decided to use all (or most) white frames and images that POP OUT of the navy wall, not get hidden away in it. The results ... Exhibit B: White Frames (Mostly) on Navy Wall Ok, so it may be a few too many frames, but it's a pretty serious (and fun) focal point in the room. And, as assumed, those white frames really POP at you. Hello! This wall and the cabinets below are a constant work in progress, but I'm pretty happy with the collection right now. Hooray!

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

I can't help it. Every time I paint another wall navy blue I fall so in love with it, I start considering what the next wall is that should go blue. This weekend, I tackled the piano wall. It was quick and simple to do. The only difficulty was moving the piano out of the way to do it.  The best part is the carpet in the entryway is navy, so there's a lovely complimentary thing going on. And the piano looks a little fancier done up with a dramatic wall behind it. The Piano Wall - Before. Beige, Of Course! After the First Coat Waiting For the Paint to Dry What will go NAVY next?!

Now that I've done the dining room/sitting room all gray, I'm now obsessing over this slanted wall. It divides the sitting room with the foyer. Should it be: -- Gray, so it belongs to the sitting room? -- White, so it belongs to the foyer which will eventually be white? -- Navy Blue, which is the official "accent wall color" on this floor? Decisions! The Slanted Wall - What Color Should it Be?