chez lashay: November 2010

Living / Dining Room Inspiration

So this is the inspiration for my dining / living room - courtesy of Candice Olson (is she amazing or what?).

Bustiers and Corsets

The holiday party season is quickly approaching - it's time to find that perfect outfit to stand out in a crowd!
A really good friend of mine mentioned to me that she is looking for a bustier to wear under a jacket or a cardigan. Below are some suggestions I have for her:

Rare Opulence Sequin Bustier at Topshop

This dress is adorable - also by Rare Opulence - but I digress...

I thought that this bustier from White House Black Market was nice - conservative yet sexy.

Ok, I know that I am on a mission to find holiday party bustiers, but this Betsey Johnson casual bustier is REALLY cute. The "poofy" hem in the back is super cute. I may have to pick this one up at Nordstrom.

Loeffler Randall black lace an pink petal silk crepe bustier via ShopStyle

This Victoria's Secret corset top is ADORABLE - this is a top that is effortlessly flirty! It comes in pink and black.

My search continues. More updates to follow...

Statement Necklaces

Most fashion experts will agree, accessories will make or break an outfit. I found this Devon Leigh turquoise necklace on www.neimanmarcus.com. This is simply gorgeous! I would wear this with a high-neck black top and jeans. I would also wear this with a brown one-shouler dress.

Devon Leigh Three-Strand Turquoise Necklace

The Nest coral magnestite and howlite and the green agate necklaces are available at
Neiman Marcus too.

Painting the Walls

Paint can add tremendous pop to the rooms you're decorating. The wonderful thing about paint is that you can change the color as often as you like.

When I lived in my townhouse in Seattle, there was one accent wall on my dining room that I painted at least 5 times! My friends would tease me because the wall was a different color every time they came to visit. I didn't care, I insisted on getting it right.

I recently discovered a pretty cool tool that will help me get the color right in my current place...at least the second time - Color Smart by Behr (www.behr.com). You can select colors from their color system, then try them out virtually with a template photo or a photo that you can upload to their site.

For my dining / living room, I chose Smokey Blue. The template photo is shown below. I will upload an actual photo in another post to see if it really works.

For my master and guest bedrooms, I think I'm going to go with Pencil Point and Twig Basket. Again, these are template photos.

I strongly suggest ordering or buying the 4 oz paint samples before buying pint or gallon sized cans. Trust me, you'll save yourself a ton of money in paint and trips to the paint store. The lighting levels in your room will be true test of whether you made the right color selection. The 4 oz samples will cover about a 4-foot by 6-foot wall area - plenty of space to determine will help you figure out whether you made the right choice.

Happy Painting!

Dining Room / Living Room Project

My redecorating project is coming together very slowly... I am working on my Dining -Living Room of my townhouse now. It is small, but it works for me. The layout is a little challenging considering the location of the door and the fireplace.

I recently purchased this dining room table to go with the upholstered chairs I posted earlier. This table is from Better Homes & Gardens.

I'd like to hang a large mirror on the back wall behind the table - the room is small and I think place the mirror there should make the room look larger. Here are a few I spotted in my search: