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What’s an Undertone?

08/04/2012
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    Green beige walls, butterscotch sisal carpet (source)     The first semester I taught Colour Theory, I was well into a long talk about colour and specifically the many undertones of colour. All was going well (or so I thought) until one brave soul at the back of the class tentatively raised her…

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Poolside in August

08/03/2012
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Well I’m going on Vacation for the next week. We are staying home for a few days and just hanging out by the lake nearby and then going for a little two night stay somewhere towards the weekend (it’s a surprise). source So this week, I’ll be posting some re-runs of my favourite and best…

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Just Blink Twice and It’ll be Black

08/01/2012
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 Renovation update #28 Every single light fixture needed to be replaced in my new house. When I first arrived at The Lighting Warehouse in Richmond I had the good fortune to work with Anne (one of the owners). She was fabulous. I had spent a bunch of time on-line already selecting everything and then when…

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Colour Interview with Eileen Kathryn Boyd

07/29/2012
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I am a huge fan of Eileen Kathryn Boyd and her work. I had the pleasure of meeting her in New York at Blogfest last year! And she was in this June’s House Beautiful! here’s a bedroom she designed using her fabrics from Duralee. I recently interviewed her for my blog and here are her…

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My Design Studio French Door Fiasco

07/28/2012
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Renovation Update #28  We had just bought this house and I was discussing my plans with my kitchen designer friend Jan Romanuk. She said: ‘I’m doing this big renovation in West Vancouver and we are taking out a set of $4000 sliding glass doors because they are the wrong colour. And they’re only a year…

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37 Days of Learning Undertones

07/26/2012
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I’m starting up a series on my Facebook Fan page. Many of you who have read my eBook have emailed me asking for more lessons on seeing undertones. That eBook is coming but it’s hard because I can’t use any old image (I have to own it) and I can’t exactly email a designer or…

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Living Room Sneak Peek: Before & After

07/25/2012
29 Comments

Photos by Maria Killam Kara called me before Christmas to talk about freshening her kitchen, getting new countertops and backsplash. This was also the year they would redecorate the living room instead of going on an expensive vacation! Before The before picture is so dark because of the window but see the doorway on the…

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Do You Need this Fabulous Task Light?

07/24/2012
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Here’s how you know you’re really busy. I was 1/2 hour early for an consultation the other day and I thought “OMG, how can I be productive and not feel like this time is wasted”. So, I drove around the corner and there was the bank and Chapters. I needed a birthday present for my…

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Update on My Turquoise Bathroom

07/22/2012
46 Comments

Last week when I posted my main bathroom colour (I’m not touching this bathroom until the renovation except for colour, light fixture and accessories) I got this email from one of my lovely readers Sherri Wheeler: ‘What you have done so far is a huge improvement but I think the towel bar really ruins it….

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The Rule of More

07/21/2012
22 Comments

source I chose two different faucets for both of Mom’s bathrooms in the carriage house she built last year. Because I’m in her house and see them all the time (different from a client’s home) one day I said to her, I like the faucet downstairs so much better than the one in your master….

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How to Create a Child-Proof Tablescape

07/16/2012
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This was the view from the kitchen and into the living room at my sister Elizabeth’s house. The ottoman covered a pile of wires that stuck out out of the wall from the last owners’ stereo system. The flat screen is mounted above the fireplace on the right (not shown). When I found this small…

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Advice Every Designer Should Give

07/15/2012
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I’m featured on Tobi Fairly’s blog today with my expert advice, more on that in a minute! This is my sweet nephew Noah and it’s his birthday, he’s seven! My sister Anita (his Mom) has a stunning brand new white kitchen that I helped her with last summer. The reason why you haven’t seen it on…

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Two Ways to Know if You are a One-Trick Pony Designer

07/13/2012
19 Comments

I have a confession. Lately I’ve been feeling like a one-trick pony. Because I’m specifying the same grays over and over and over. Thank goodness I know better. Shaker Beige (source) Because here’s the thing. When the brown trend was here, it was the same, “Oh, you have an espresso brown sofa, brown floors, and…

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