VIRTUAL TAUPE

As you guys know,  I repainted my downstairs living areas (living/dining, kitchen, and family room).  I’ve been holding out on showing you the spaces mostly because with the holidays and and all of the decorations that come along with them, I wanted the spaces to be free and clear of any of it. 

The above image is what my living looked like when it was painted Sherwin Williams Toasty (6095)

Today I’m showing you the living and dining room that were painted Virtual Taupe by Sherwin Williams.  The color is part of the gray family on the paint deck.  It’s a really great neutral that will pretty much go with any color you put with it.  It satisfies my love of brown without having any of the different undertones that you find when choosing browns.

It’s a must that this carpet comes up soon!

 

The dresser is making it’s way back to my bedroom

 

Both the chandelier and ceiling fan will be replaced

All of the doors and trim are painted Aesthetic White (7035)

As you can see, my living and dining rooms are not large at all!

Now that the rooms are painted, I need to tackle the honey oak banisters.  I’m thinking of staining, but I also have to paint the white railing on the opposite wall.  With that in mind, I may just paint both Well-Bred Brown (7027) by Sherwin Williams. 

I took the picture below to try and show you how the color in the kitchen looks from the living room.  For some reason, it does not show well.  Hopefully by spring, I’ll have better light so you can see both colors the way I see them.  The color used in the kitchen and family room is Accessible Beige (7036) and I’ll talk more about those rooms in another post.

Before I decided on the paint color, you may remember how I tested the colors out first

I also carried the swatches around in my purse and pulled them out every time I saw something I liked for my home just to check and see if the paint worked with the item.  Paint is indeed the cheapest way to update a space, but it can also be the hardest thing to get right.  So make sure before slapping a coat of paint up on the walls because you like what you see in a magazine or in someone else’s home, that the color is going to work in your home too!

2010…A YEAR THAT I WILL NEVER FORGET {part 2}

Hearing my cell phone ring was intense.  It was Jade and I knew that she was calling to say that she either was on her on her way or that she was already at the hotel and needed to know what room  was in.  “Lakeitha, it’s Jade” as if I didn’t know, “I’m on my way now.  what room are you in?”.  Whew, okay I answered and it went well.  Now its time to wait on her to get here…

The longest fifteen minutes of my life was over once I heard the knock on the door.  It was Jade and guess what, she seemed as normal as possible! She talked to me as if we already knew each other (which calmed my nerves), and she was just as excited about being in the city as I was. It was her first time too, which was scary.  Neither one of us knew anything about this large city. Great.  Just great.  I don’t know what was more frightening being in a new city or being in a city in which my favorite show (Law and Order SVU) is tapped.  And not to mention, I made it totally obvious that I was a tourist with all of my Hi and Hello’s.  For some reason I couldn’t get it through my head that these people (New Yorkers) are not into the “southern hospitality” that I brought with me. 

  

  

After our free days there, it was time to get down to business.  First up, the HGTV brunch that a handful of us were invited to.  What can I say other than how great of an experience that was.  I mean, seriously, the energy from all of the bloggers and the HGTV staff was infectious and I was not immune to it.  I sat there and took it all in!

  

  

  

  

Then it was time to meet who I really got on that plane for…Janell Beals

My blog BFF, Janell is such an inspiration to me.  She is one of the most thoughtful and genuine people I’ve met through blogging.  She was actually filming a segment on the show which was a hoot! I was so excited for her.  I remember being the only commenter on her blog at one point.  And now, after a year and a half of being blogging buddies, we met and she was being featured on the Nate Berkus Show.  It’s amazing how life works!

  

  

After Janell’s show was finished, it was time to get in line for the show we all came for

  

After the show, it was time to party!  I’m not much of a party person so I stood around and talked to anyone that got close enough to me!

Once we (Jade, Janell, and I) left the party, me and Jade decided to head back to the hotel to get some rest while Janell and a few other ladies headed out to do some site seeing.

Now it was time to go home.  Saying “see you later” to two wonderful women that I had the pleasure of spending a few days with. Saying “see you later” to a city, that in just a few short days, I grew to love. Saying “see you later” because I ( a girl who has never been on a plane) would get on a plane again in a heart beat if it involved being surrounded by the same group of women that I was around in New York.  Yes, 2010 was definitely a year that I will never forget.

Here are a few more pictures from the trip because after all, I was a tourist!