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Which Pendants for My Kitchen Island (or Not)?

05/21/2023
343 Comments

Please help me decide! Should I add new pendant lighting above my kitchen island, or not? I’m testing out 5 options and would love to know what you think. First, let’s take a little tour of the kitchen updates I’ve made so far in my new house. These are the pendants that came with the…

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Decorating with Blue and White: My Upstairs Dining Area

05/08/2023
44 Comments

We’ve made some renovation progress upstairs. Today I’m sharing some blue decorating inspiration from my upstairs dining area.  My upstairs entertainment room will be decorated with primarily blue and white. I love the restraint of this colour palette and I’ve fallen in love with blue since decorating my sister’s kitchen in shades of blue. See…

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Fifth Rule of Design: Don’t Panic, Trust the Plan

05/04/2023
fifth rule of design
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While deep in my renovation plans, I discovered a new design rule that I wanted to share with you. And it’s something I’ve been guilty of myself. That is, overthinking the small details before a project is finished. Hello: panic. So, I was reminded recently to trust the plan. Details matter when planning a renovation….

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2024 Top Colour Trends from High Point Market

04/30/2023
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High Point Market is an excellent moment for trend spotting. Here are the top colour trends we’re seeing for 2024 that appeared at this year’s Spring market. Many designers who attended High Point Market this year declared that it was the “Return of Pretty”. There was very little black. Almost NO gray. But COLOUR? It’s…

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Trend Alert: Burgundy or Bordeaux, Yay or Nay?

04/24/2023
81 Comments

My director of eDesign and I are at High Point Market scouting for colour trends. And, there is one colour we saw over and over again for interiors. So here’s our take on the bordeaux colour trend.  It’s summer in High Point! Tricia and I arrived on Friday night and sat in the square for…

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Take the Burden Off with Customized Exterior eDesign Services

04/20/2023
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I’ve been helping eDesign clients achieve beautiful and timeless exteriors for many years. But, it’s not always easy to share the results without photos of the after. However, I have plenty of stellar feedback from happy homeowners to share instead!  Pulling together colour and finishes for your exterior is one of the most surprisingly difficult…

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Ask Maria: What’s wrong with this wall colour?

04/17/2023
52 Comments

This reader painted her room yellow, but the pretty paint colour she tested didn’t look so pretty on the walls. What went wrong? Is she overthinking it? Here’s my advice about how to choose a yellow paint colour. Here’s a note I received recently from a reader: What’s wrong with this yellow paint colour? “We…

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My Sister and I are Dating

04/13/2023
45 Comments

This is a little story about mending relationships. And, I’m working on one with my sister right now. You might say we are dating. There are four of us If you’ve been following me for a while (read: years) you may not have realized that I have 3 sisters. You’ve seen me  share about my…

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Styling with Lamps and Art: Two Ways

04/10/2023
layering lamps and art
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Decorating with artwork is a little like adding the perfect accessories to a cute outfit to make it really pop. It’s part of what I like to call “a look and a feel.” But one of the trickiest styling details to master is layering. Just ask any designer.  And that includes layering lamps in and…

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Sneak Peek: Trying On Exterior Paint Colours

04/05/2023
103 Comments

Spring is in the air and that means it’s time to choose new exterior paint colours for my house. Here are some colours I’m “trying on” to see what looks best. Before This is what my exterior looks like now: This is a French country home built in 2011. I like the design of the…

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