Today I want to express my love and gratitude to you all for being part of my colourful community! Thank you for being here!
It’s been an exciting year, turning our new house into a home. There is still plenty to do, but decorating this house is such a joy! I look forward to sharing it all with you here.
In this post, I’m featuring some highlights from our new house and a few of the conversations we had about colour and trends that you loved most in 2023.
10| New Leopard Print Runner (a good choice for my staircase)
Click here to read this post. Leopard is one of those prints that you either love or hate. And you all let me know in the comments on this post! For those who love it, it’s a neutral which is why I installed it on my staircase in January. The installation, however, didn’t go exactly as planned, but I’m so happy with how it turned out.
9| How to Know if it’s Timeless; Our Herringbone Floors
Click here to read this post. Then I replaced the entry tile in our new house and that was a big hit as well. Just because something is trending, doesn’t mean it can’t be timeless. Timeless finishes have their moment too. And I’m so happy we went with timeless herringbone.
8| Timeless Penny Tile in my Bathroom Renovation
Click here to read this post. My primary bath renovation required a new window, a new floor plan and a new tile floor. This time I was not settling for good enough. Sometimes you have to go custom to get what you really want. Here’s the whole story of my custom penny tile installation.
7| Timeless vs. Trendy: 5 Decorating Details you can’t Ignore
Click here to read this post. Timeless refers to something that will never go out of style. In other words, it is created with a long view in mind. Timeless decorating is making selections that will last well beyond the current trend and shouldn’t need replacing until it is threadbare. But, a timeless room can also easily be styled and accessorized to reflect your interests in the moment.
This post is a great read and brush up on timeless and trendy.
6| Decorating with Blue and White: My Upstairs Dining Area
Click here to read this post. In this post you can see the progress in our upstairs entertainment room. I’m working with a beautiful restrained palette of blue and white. When you are living through a renovation project at your home, it’s important to create these little spaces as you go. Looking at unfinished spaces for months at a time is hard, but creating these little decorated vignettes sure makes it a bit more tolerable.
5| My Nearly Finished French Country Exterior (& Expert Colour Advice for Stone)
Click here to read this post. In this popular post we discussed over-grouting! It transformed the look of our exterior, and is a good solution when you want to update dated earthy stone to move towards a fresher colour palette.
4| The Colour Psychology Behind the Black and White Trend
Click here to read this post. Black and white has been a big conversation this past few years. In this post I’m unpacking the psychology behind the black and white trend and why it has more traction than any other colour trend in history. Definitely read this post if you’re building or updating your house.
3| Colour Rescue: Help! My Bathroom has 3 Undertones and I Can’t Renovate it
Click here to see the episode! This month I officially launched my youtube channel with a new series called Colour Rescue! These videos have been so fun to create and the feedback has been great. Here is one of the most popular videos on how to update your bathroom when you can’t do a full renovation. And by the way, if this is your situation, we have an eDesign package for that here!
2| Colour Rescue: Which Paint Colour goes with my Wood or LVP Floors?
Click here to see the episode! This Colour Rescue is my answer to all the crazy advice you can find out there on how to coordinate paint colours with wood floors. It’s not as complicated as you might think!
1| 3 Simple Fixes for Kitchens: No Reno Required
Click here to see the episode! And with this video we launched our new kitchen refresh package, for when you can’t renovate but you want your kitchen to look its best! Watch this Colour Rescue episode for inspiration!
Saying Goodbye to 2023
And that’s a wrap! Hope you enjoyed these posts!
I’d love to hear which posts were YOUR personal favourites in 2023 as well as what you’d like to see more of in the coming year!
2024 is YOUR year!
With so much colour coming as the black and white trend makes its exit, there has never been a better time to get the colour skills that will take your home projects or your business to the next level!
Check out what’s new in my Spring Expert Colour & Design Training.
Is this the year YOU create a vision for your Dream Home?
Is it the year you take YOUR business to the next level with expert colour skills?
Here’s what Kim P. had to say after attending in May:
“So everything I’ve learned is through 25+ years of experience, and I still wouldn’t call myself an “expert” until now! I’ve always known about undertones, but never had a good way to classify them or explain them to someone, so your system has really helped me by simplifying and demystifying the color selection process. And I just love Maria’s personality! I’m never going to forget, “No! That’s not a thing!” lol”
And from Wanda M.:
“This course was excellent. A designer friend attended the live workshop in Dallas years ago and recommended the course to me. She said it would be a game changer and would change how I saw color and design. I finally took her advice and I am so glad I did!”
Thank you so much for being here!
Have a wonderful holiday season and all the best to you and yours in the New Year!
I have followed you for years, I love learning from you and being inspired by you. I’ve purchased and used the beige color wheel and been super happy with the results. I’ve recommended you many times to my kitchen design clients. I wish I enjoyed your videos as much as the articles, but in the world of design and decor, it’s the before and after pictures that matter to me, and those just speed by in the videos. And in order to see them, I have to watch the whole thing as opposed to just scrolling up and down through photos. I’d love to see either more photos or return to photos instead of videos. Thank you, Maria, best wishes to you in the New Year!
I fully agree. Thanks for putting it so eloquently!
Yes, I’m the same and miss the photos as I’m too impatient to watch videos, but I’m still grateful for any content Maria and Tereeia produce.
I am old school and love the before and after photos that I can just stare at for as long as I want😜
The videos just go by too quick and then I am trying to rewind etc.
I would love more before and after photos.
Happy New Year!!!!!
Thanks Maria for another year of entertaining and wonderfully useful, series of posts. And Terreeia for your positivity. My wish for a trend in 2024: classic, elegant, eco-friendly minimalism.
All the best in 2024. Looking forward to another year of knowledgeable, colourful, common sense.
Yes to the eco-friendly – it’s so discouraging to see so many short-lived decorative items (and clothes!) that are destined for the landfill. Rather than cycling through countless short-term ‘pretties’ that we tire of and discard, let’s apply timeless design to the little things, not just the hard finishes.
Appreciate your finely-tuned balance between the creative and practical. Love my color wheel; have used it for years. I wish 2024 design would focus on smaller, environmentally wise, and cozy, colorful, home/spaces that are cleverly and elegantly designed, with less judgement about what colors or furniture styles are “in” or “out.”
I most enjoy your before and after posts, with lots of photos. The B&A videos are fun, but I prefer photos. I’ve used your color wheel since it first came out. It’s saved me from numerous mistakes. For 2024, I’d like to see design focused on smaller, colorful, minimal spaces. Like English cottage interiors but without the maximalism.
Great post!
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