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Why your Designer should be a Blogger

08/06/2010
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If you are about to hire a designer to help you with your house, it’s best if your designer also has a blog. Design bloggers really are on the cutting edge of what’s cool and current (maybe). Here’s why. Yesterday I posted about IKEA bookshelves and then Erika from Bluelabel Bungalow posted a comment saying…

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Here’s a way to make your Bookshelf Beautiful

08/04/2010
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When I was debating which bookshelves to buy for my living room I did a search for Billy Bookcases and found some very cool examples of ways to make them look more colourful and custom.  House & Home Magazine   You may or may not know this but what makes a custom bookshelf different from…

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Help! I Hate my Yellow Living Room

08/01/2010
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Update in 2024, find out what I should have done to make my yellow walls work here. (Hint, my walls were naked). So I decided to paint the room yellow to match my sofa (I got talked out of a linen shade which was my first choice initially). Cloverdale Paint sponsored the paint for this…

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The Colour of a Perfect Summer Day

07/30/2010
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Source I have specified BM Summer Blue 2067-50 so many times for little boys rooms that the paint store would know it was my chart just by looking at the colour. It’s really fabulous. And truly the colour of a perfect summer day. Also great in a windowless room because it’s the colour of the…

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Exteriors for Colour Inspiration

07/28/2010
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I know, I look totally obsessed with yellow and raspberry but the truth is, yellow is the only colour I’ve committed to so far in my living room. The reveal is going to be longer than I thought because I haven’t found the one inspiration piece that is making me jump up and down with…

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How to Sell Interior Design

07/26/2010
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I have spoken to many designers over the years who say they can’t charge more than they do because. . . and the reasons are many. Interior Design by Maria Killam My friend Liz Stevenson had no problem asking for money. I have been very lucky to have a few great mentors in my design career…

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When Pink Beige works on Exterior

07/24/2010
22 Comments

I had the best day today, I kept jumping out of the car taking pictures of the painted ladies in San Francisco–way more fun for me than a museum. I was in colour heaven!   You all know how I feel about pink beige.   Here it is with orange. See how dirty it looks?…

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Party at the Vancouver Art Gallery

07/21/2010
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Last night I went to a designer event sponsored by Arborite, The Mohawk Group, Heritage Office Furniture and Best Buy held at the Vancouver Art Gallery. See the covered area on the upper right side of the photo below? That’s where we were and we certainly didn’t need to be covered, it was like being…

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Styling Tricks of the Trade from David Jimenez

07/20/2010
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All photos courtesy of David Jimenez A couple months ago, David emailed me and asked if I would contribute a quote on an article he was working on for Spaces Magazine in Kansas City. Here’s mine, at the top of the first page: Since I first discovered design blogs I have been a huge fan…

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A Consultation on White Benjamin Moore Trim

07/18/2010
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Tammy called me in a panic. She was about to have 10 interior doors sprayed with a new colour and she couldn’t decide between the 140 whites in the fan deck. She found my blog on-line and immediately called me for an appointment. Photos by Maria Killam Her existing trim colour (OC-126) was way too…

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How to bring the Sun into a Dark Bedroom

07/17/2010
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flickr How great is this? In our room at the Vintage Park Hotel where we stayed early this week, the sheers were a soft shade of yellow. On a gray and rainy day though (which it was when we were there), the light coming through feels happy! Photo by Maria Killam I had to share…

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Pattern or Solid: Yay or Nay

07/15/2010
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You read my blog because colour really and truly affects the way you feel every single day in your home. When I am hired for a consultation, many times I’m clear it’s because it’s not easy to decide what there is to change because each change then creates another change. It opens a can of…

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How to get a Man to Embrace Pink

07/12/2010
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When I posted about which colour scheme I was considering (yellow and raspberry) for my living room, I received a comment from a reader saying she could not imagine talking her husband into a pink and yellow family room and asked how to balance that. When I helped Penelope Trunk with her colours a few…

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Will you be Incorporating this Trend for 2010?

07/10/2010
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I fell in love with this Image on Cote de Texas’ post yesterday; click here to read and see the before, it’s such a transformation! Even my favourite leather sofas are here! The drama of the urn on the tree stump table is the best part of this room in my opinion. Then my House &…

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Who else will be Sleepless in Seattle?

07/08/2010
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One of my lovely readers Jen at Bloggers Abode suggested I write a post about what I’m looking for and I thought this was a brilliant plan so here’s my shopping list for my new place. First, I’m totally in love with yellow and raspberry pink for a living room colour scheme. I haven’t committed…

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