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Colour Rescue

Decorating with an Accent Colour (no paint required): Before & After

This week’s colour rescue is a perfect example of how beautifully decorating and styling comes together when you have the perfect timeless backdrop to work with.

Meet Matt (above) and his wife Kacy! Matt sent in photos of their home in response to my call for Dallas Colour Rescues.  They were interested in adding some style and colour to their bedroom. 

But when I saw the living and dining room I knew I couldn’t leave it out of the rescue. The primary bedroom is often the most neglected room in our homes, but we spend the most time in our living rooms! 

That’s why I often tell my new build and renovation clients to make sure you save some money for the decorating… because a new room without decor and styling will not fill you with JOY!

When decorating, start with the rug

In most cases everything (accent colour, decor) is dependent on the rug. So we decided if we found a rug for the bedroom first, we’d work on that.

But then in the end, we managed to add some lamps, a rug, art and pillows to their main living and dining rooms as well! Like I said, it was an EPIC colour rescue makeover in Dallas!

A timeless backdrop for a colour rescue

Matt had been following the blog since they started renovating their kitchen a few years ago. And he did an incredible job!

Recently, he was working on their vegetable garden and had bought an edesign package because he wanted some guidance on what colour pea gravel would be best and then saw that I was coming to Dallas and sent in this picture of himself (above)!

A beautiful room is the perfect gift

It was Matt and Kacy’s 23th wedding anniversary so this was their gift to themselves! They had all the pieces, they just needed to add some colour and styling!

Creating a softer look

I left them with instructions to get drapery for their dining room windows but we photoshopped them in for the video, to give you a better visual. 

They also sent me a photo (which you’ll see in the video) of their dining room light fixture with shades on it! That’s right… bare bulb glare be gone!

These shades are an easy addition to most bare-bulb pendant lighting in your home, too.

Get them here

Dallas Colour Rescue: How to Decorate with an Accent Colour

Watch the video to see the dining room with the new drapery I suggested.

Can I rescue one of your rooms with colour?

And here’s Anita and I at the airport on our way back home! 

Does Anita look like my sister, or what!? 

Hey, if you have a room that needs a makeover and you live in the Lower Mainland/Fraser Valley you can apply here.

Don’t be intimidated by the process! It’s just me and my sister with our iPhones and we have a lot of fun on the shopping trip – I promise!

Also, don’t get stressed about the interview. When your place is all styled up, you’ll forget you’re on camera for a few minutes 🙂 – GUARANTEED!

 

Related posts:

Colour Rescue: Create Styling Magic

Colour Rescue: Transform your Room with One Trip to the Store

Colour Rescue: Help, my Bathroom has 3 Different Undertones

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23 Comments

  • HG says:

    Fabulous makeover (and I love that Mattt found Maria when looking for renovation information!).

    5
  • Val says:

    Where are the after photos?

    10
    • Liz in Oregon says:

      The after photos are in the video. Definitely worth watching, even for those of us who would prefer to just read all about it! 🙂

      2
  • Laura P. says:

    What a wonderful makeover for this charming couple! I also liked seeing the color wheel in action. I bought one of Maria’s color wheels and several of her ebooks, and together they really narrow down my choices in decorating. Thanks for all the great tips throughout this video!

    5
  • Sue says:

    As always, great job!

    3
  • Frances says:

    Great color rescue! I’d love to be able to see (study) the after photos. It’s hard to take everything in watching the video. Are they available anywhere?
    Thanks!

    9
    • Liz in Oregon says:

      I’d like after photos too. But pausing the video and taking a screenshot would also work.

      1
    • LenaM says:

      Skip ahead on the bottom time line to get to the after shots without sitting through the entire video.

  • Gwen says:

    You didn’t mention the lack of kitchen bar stools. Is it a choice not to have any or just not found the right ones yet?

    1
  • Erin says:

    I’m learning about whites/creams. Could you share the color their walls were painted?

    3
  • Hey, girl! Waving at you at this great Dallas rescue (we met at the meet & great!). What a charming couple. They had such great bones for a jumping off point for all the decor you added. I spied Anita–hey, cutie! The soft neutrals were so lovely in this home. Yes, I loved the vignette with the curvy Target lamp. Gosh, props to you all for going to so many stores. Keep the “charming bossy” coming!

    4
  • Kimberly says:

    re: the dining room chairs
    They stuck out to me on the initial reveal photos; thank you Maria for explaining *why* they don’t work. M+K have such a beautiful home, I think it’s worth it to get that detail right!

    That said, I think this is a good example of how design takes time, and how you can make the not-quite-right pieces work until you find (or can afford) what you really want.

    I think slipcovered dining room chairs would be really beautiful in that space. Now that I write that, maybe they could slipcover the existing chairs to hide the legs?

    4
  • Julie S says:

    This home truly had the perfect blank canvas for a whole lotta styling. I’m so happy for them to have a COZY living room now, and the dining room feels so good too. And the bedroom! Lots of great work has been done here 🙂

    3
  • Jessica says:

    Beautiful afters! These makeovers are truly an addiction at this point as you make them so attainable for all people, places and budgets, thank you 😉

    3
  • Bette says:

    Ooh. Love this makeover, esp the art you found to put over the fireplace — absolutely perfect. And what a charming couple — happy 23rd anniv to them. This makeover was the best present they could give themselves.

    3
  • Rhonda Walls says:

    What a remarkable transformation! They did have great bones to work with and with Maria’s special touch, it turned out so great!! Having a Color Rescue in Dallas just after theirs, I can attest to EXACTLY how grateful they are to be able to enjoy their new space every day. Great job, as always. Keep the inspiration coming, Maria and Anita!

    4
  • Lisa says:

    This home reminds me of what I did as a home stager because many people have nice furniture but don’t go the extra step of decorating for various reasons. You really made it look so cozy and inviting!

    2
  • Janet Bergeson says:

    Beautiful makeover and home with such a great backstory!

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  • Lisa says:

    that was a fun watch. I just got the color wheel and am excited to start using it 🙂

    1
  • JoDi says:

    What a great anniversary gift! Everything turned out so lovely!

    1
  • Pam says:

    I love these Color Rescue episodes! They make me feel like I could go out to my local HomeGoods stores and put something together. I can’t wait to try!

    Side note: I’m dying to know if the buffet in the dining room is vintage. My mom has the same piece which she purchased in the early 1960’s and uses as a long dresser. I never thought to use it as a buffet!

    1
  • Estelle says:

    Love the corner “vignette” with chair and lamp!
    Perhaps they could have added a Bold accent paint color to one wall in each room to break up all the white/beige/neutrals?
    Also, even though the “art” was purchased only to go with the color scheme, and has no personal meaning, the lamps in the dining room cover parts of the art.
    Otherwise, the clients are Happy! And that’s what matters!

  • Sara Bradley says:

    Love this so much. Thank you for sharing the makeover and information surrounding decision making.

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