From Richmond to Alexandria

Apparently waiting on big change (kitchen redo #3) makes me want to do lots of little changes in the meantime!

We painted our oddly shaped fireplace Benjamin Moore's Richmond Gold to contrast against the Dunmore Cream we used on all the walls in our very open floor plan. And it stayed that way for 8 years.

Now I'm a Tennessee Vols fan through and through. The Clemson Tigers are 2nd dearest to my heart during football season. I bleed orange. But when it come to my home, it is high time the oranges go! The orange oak cabinets in our kitchen will not be missed. And neither will the orange (Richmond Gold) fireplace.

I really wanted to go lighter then the Dunmore Cream walls. I'm in the mood to lighten everything around here! But my hubby--and the color expert at Benjamin Moore--talked me out of that. Instead we went with Alexandria Beige.

And I love it! It's a much calmer color and I actually feel more relaxed in our living room now. I changed out the orange floral accents in the basket weave vase to lunaria/silver dollars.

Confession:
The orange oak on the handrail (see it in the left hand corner) is now bothering me a bit. And I have a feeling that all the oak rails are going to bother me once the cabinets are white. But I HATE painting, especially detailed stuff like railing! What color are your banisters/railings/etc?