Lucretzia, it has been about 5 months and so far, so good. We also have a dry bar adjacent to our dining room and the granite guys forgot to seal it! We got red wine stains on it right away...it is a bar after all! :) I managed to get them out with bleach...thank goodness...and hubby ran to the hardware store to buy a sealer and we sealed it right away. We also spilled wine on the island (which was sealed) and it wiped up easily...no problem. So, I assume as long as it is kept sealed, we should be ok. Not only is our granite honed, but it is also pitted in some areas. It is pretty cool and we get lots of positive comments about how unique it is. The only problem so far with the pitting is when my 4-year old daughter paints at the bar, I have had to use a little brush to get paint out of one of the "pits" already. No biggie, but if the counter was polished, it wouldn't be an issue at all. We had polished at our last house and it was super easy to keep clean. That said, I would do honed again in a minute. It really suits our space. I think as long as we maintain the sealer on it we should be fine. The good part is due to the movement of the stone, even if it does get a stain, it will probably blend right in! :)

Why would you need to start over? What is your favorite color?

I am considering painting the walls of my living and dining rooms Benjamin Moore White Sand. For months now I have been in the very slow process of redecorating, changing the effect from a very 90s French Country feel to a more sophisticated, transitional feel. (At least, that is the goal.) Since I have a limited budget, I have been acquiring and getting rid of furnishings through Craigslist. The cheery yellow walls must go! The rug in the living room, and similar ones in adjoining areas, are below. (Other photo below shows rug in a nearby area.) Furniture is oatmeal, taupe, muted green. Overall the feel is fairly muted, with color in the throw pillows and accessories (rust, mustard). See fairly recent LR photo below. (Blue throw on the arm of the chair doesn't stay there, color doesn't work with the rest of the room.) I am considering BM White Sand because it is neutral and allegedly a warm tone, a "greige" with a beige undertone. But, I put a sample swatch on the wall yesterday and it looks a bit cool to me. I had considered BM Edgecomb Grey, but I think I like the lighter effect of White Sand. My real hesitation is the undertone, because the room in question is overall pretty warm. Has anyone used this color? If so, do you consider it warm, cool? Would you recommend it for this room? Thank you!

Hi - these 2 colours sit increasingly further clockwise on the Color Strategist Wheel, away from Pale Oak. They will likely apoear a a little cooler by comparison. So in your setting, they are somewhat less likely to shift quite as pinky-purple. Sometimes, just moving a few degrees can make a difference, sometimes you may have to move a whole lot further to mitigate colour shift. These are a both a touch darker (lower Value) than Pale Oak + more colourful (higher Chroma). They have the capacity to appear a little greenish where Pale Oak reads well for you. But maybe less likely to do so where Pale Oak looks a little pink/purple. If either is too dark? Then you need a colour with higher Value. If either is too colourful? Then you are looking for a colour with a lower Chroma. If these still read too pinkish? Then moving further clockwise again could help mitigate that. Viewing large paint chips or samples in your space, with your lighting will help indicate how they are likely to behave for you. #huefamilies #value #chroma