I would love to share photos of my two beautiful girls. Sasha was a stray who found me 8 years ago this month, in fact. I has just bought my home and had only been in it for a about a week or so. I was making my morning coffee in the kitchen, looked out the window and saw this tiny, 3-4 month old kitty curled up in some over-grown grass. She was in awful shape. You could see every bone in her body (hips, back, etc) and it appeared that someone had burned her head with cigarrettes. She had 2-3 round burn-holes on her head. I didn't want cat #3 and tried hard to find a proper home for her. But, I ended up so very attached to her and her sweet personality I couldn't stand to part with her. She was absolutely the most sweetest cat - always gave tons of kisses. The below picture captures her little personality quite well. Here's another one of my favorite pictures of Sasha: Below is of Sabrina, The Super Model. She was sleek, 100% jet black and exotic looking. She had a very strong will and personality. She despised everyone except for me- whom she adored. She went through alot healthwise - hyperthyroid, kidney disease and cardio-myopathy. Even my vet said she's never seen a cat with such an incredible will to survive. I think Sabrina hung on for me, knowing how devastated I would be when she passed. She is the only cat I actually picked out from the SPCA. They rest have all come into my life on their own. Actually, Sabrina picked me as well. I had spent over an hour looking at all kinds of cats and decided to 'think it over' and return the next day. Something made me turn around as I was almost to the exit. I looked and saw a cage of kittens that I had some how missed. All the kittens were asleep in a pile -- except for one. She was sitting straight up and staring intently at me and pressed against the cage. I "knew" she was the one. She was only 6 weeks old (they no longer adopt them out that young anymore, thank goodness...) and absolutely adorable. She grew up to be my most devoted companion and The Queen of the house. I sure do miss them both....

i have to say, for years i have had custom golden oak cabinets with an off white wall and absolutely HATED the color although the cabinets themselves were above builders grade cabinets- very beautiful in the quality of the build. I kicked myself as to why i chose that color and would sit and look at those cabinets everyday just wondering what i could do to make myself like them. i posted on here as well as to what colors i could paint my walls, but truthfully i did not have much hope. First we changed the hardware from gold/brass to oil rubbed bronze, we changed our hanging pendants over the island also to oil rubbed bronze and it got better because taking off the gold hardware took away from the orangeyness. so anyway, it was better but i still did not love them. Finally i was at menards one day and saw some dimension designer color palettes that had 7 colors on there that would blend well in a room and i found 2 colors i liked and decided to just go for it around my cabinets, and the colors were dutch boy ginger tea and almond oil. i put the ginger tea all around the cabinets and the almond oil on adjacent walls. the colors are in the same tone and harmonize so well together it is amazing. the ginger tea is an olive green. the almond oil is more of a tan/khaki color. you don't mention what color his oak cabinets are, but i also saw the BHG page thst suggests colors for certain wood colors and they were very nice! The colors look incredible with my oak cabinets. i am not kidding you. it made me go from loathing the color to actually thinking they look quite beautiful. Everyone that comes in my house now comments on my cabinets where no one has ever said a word. I am so glad i took the plunge. we are getting new bar stools and countertops now which we think will add to the beauty. i can post pics if you like, but i don't think the pics do it justice.

You have a lot going on with three different tile patterns and the sink. I think you have enough pattern in there but you might want to look at some wallpaper books anyway. If I were ever going to use a dark paint color, I would use it where I have natural light coming in. I don't think that detracts from the drama at all, in fact I think the window allows a nice rest from the dark color. Your wow can come from an unusual color choice ...it does not have to be a dark color. You could also use mirror on all of the remaining drywall. You already have quite a bit of silver/glam, mirror would take that to the next level.

I don't find the original nearly as offensive as some. First of all, an artistic rendering of a mythological story. It's a glorious work of art. The photograph does not reflect the "story" of the original sculpture-- and yet is beautiful in its own right. Outside of the context of the original work, you see strong masculine fingers pressed into delicate smooth flesh. It is absolutely suggestion and (to me at least) speaks of passion. I love it.. and yet, *I* would not hang it in a family room. Why? Well because the mood I want to create in the family room is one to reach multi-generational guests. Kids. Grandmas. Self-conscious 13 yo boys. I don't drop F bombs or pull out R-rated movies when the family gathers either. Am I prude? Far from it. Do I not appreciate the art-- or do I want to hide art (clothed and not) from the younger nieces and nephews? Absolutely not. But when setting a mood and tone with decor, I believe you must think of your audience. If your audience is just you and your mate-- well go for it!! I once did a Paint-by-Numbers painting for a charity event-- each artist started with the same Mona Lisa PBN page and was to give it their own artistic slant. I painted a younger Mona.. with a velvet robe revealing a breast. Now, I am not a great painter but I did a pretty awesome job on some parts-- including the breast. My mother cried when she saw it-- she loved it and was just so thrilled that I'd returned to my art (it was the first thing I'd painted in about 35 yr). She so wanted the painting that I ended up making a donation to the art center and giving her the painting... but only after she promised to keep it in her bedroom or somewhere only she could see it. What she never knew was that, with the help of a mirror, I was my own model! hahah.