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Are Sunken Living Rooms 70’s? Yay or Nay

05/14/2012
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One of the things I did not like at all about our house when touring it initially was the sunken living room (Both angles below). To change it though would be seriously over-renovating as obviously the fireplace would have to be moved. Photos by Maria Killam When designing what the new step would look like,…

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Celebrating Moms in May

05/13/2012
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As I’ve mentioned, one of the biggest reasons I’m moving to the Country is because my Mom will live 2 minutes away from me. A one hour drive is the most I’ve ever lived from my favourite Mom in the world and I will do anything for her, always. So when she said she’d like…

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My Design Studio Behind the House

05/11/2012
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Last weekend we ripped out every single plant in my front yard and this past weekend, we moved to the backyard. Here is what my future design studio looked like when we took possession. Do you think there is enough concrete here? it’s coming out. We will need serious landscaping in the front and back…

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Maria Killam in Canadian Living

05/10/2012
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Brett Walther is the Home & Garden Director of Canadian Living and he asked me to participate in the colour section. This was my take on Purple in the June issue:   Pinterest Brett featured my ebook on another page, and this is his review: BEST COLOUR THEORY In this enlightening ebook, Maria Killam, one…

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How to Hang a Gallery Photo Wall

05/08/2012
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source My client has 3 floors in her home and this gorgeous staircase which had been empty of artwork for a long time. So she called me to help her create a gallery wall. Nothing really beats IKEA frames for the price and she needed a lot of frames. I suggested that once they were…

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6 Ways to Choose the Perfect Neutral Paint Colour

05/06/2012
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I received this question the other day and realized that even though my ebooks covers it in comprehensive detail, I don’t have a single post that answers this question directly. So here are the 6 best ways to choose one: 1. Start with the living room because that’s where the entire colour scheme for the…

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Where I’ll be in May & Some Must-Read Posts

05/02/2012
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On Mothers Day weekend, I will be at the Pure Painters Booth at the EPIC show at the Vancouver Convention Centre West. Here’s what you’ll find at the show: – Sit and listen to visionaries, thought-leaders, musicians, artists and even comedians – Eat and drink your way through 90,000 sqft of local and organic goodies – Shop for…

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It takes a Village to Own a Home

05/01/2012
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  (my nephew William) Photos by Maria Killam My sister Lea (I have 3 sisters) will be moving to one of the first Ecovillages in Canada just down the street from where I will live in Yarrow. source It’s a real community with 20 acres of farmland where everyone participates because this is about eating…

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Advice for Designers: Why your Project isn’t Published

04/29/2012
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After I had finished decorating this living/dining room for my lovely clients Jim & Carol I sent the photos to some magazines. Only to receive zero response. I tried to figure out what was wrong with it.

Then in February, at the Design Bloggers Conference in LA I got to chatting with Kimberley Seldon. She is a celebrity designer from Toronto. She had a show called Design for Living for many years and is the editor of a fabulous on-line magazine called Dabble

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A Happy Yellow Living Room: Before & After

04/27/2012
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Eun emailed me for an on-consultation because she had some questions about colour as well as decorating her living room. She wanted to buy a new sofa. The yellow on the walls and orange drapery were already here when she moved in and she liked the existing colours. Before Notice her carpet is pink beige…

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Quality Cabinets: Maria’s New White Kitchen

04/25/2012
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We have decided to renovate the kitchen now before we move in and not wait until next summer (and it may not be totally finished by the end of May but that’s okay). I called upon one of the best kitchen designers in Vancouver, Jan Romanuk. She doesn’t have a website because she pretty much…

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7 Ideas for Happy Colour

04/24/2012
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Last night IKEA had a media party to launch their brand new store in Richmond. They built one 3 times bigger right beside the old one which will apparently be torn down. EIVOR   It’s always fun when colour trends arrive at big box stores and become totally affordable. This black and white throw will…

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Green Yellows are Mostly Bad: Before & After

04/22/2012
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My lovely client Lynette called me to help her fix the colour in their newly renovated bathroom, it was not working. Before Although this colour did appear in her surround tile, it did not improve the appearance of her bathroom. Since the undertone of her gray tile was purple, that was the colour I selected…

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10 Best Designer Secrets from the Experts

04/20/2012
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My House Beautiful magazine just arrived and this month they are featuring 101 Tips from from the Experts. I love read little ‘best tips’ from designers because I always learn something. These are my favourite 10 Best Designer Secrets from the Experts: 1. Once you’ve used a fabric in a room, never use it anywhere…

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Pure Painters Paint Better Doors

04/18/2012
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source In my new house I’ll be replacing the casings and baseboards but leaving the doors. They have curvy tops but that’s not a deal breaker. And, once they are painted, they will not be noticeable to anyone but me. Replacing them would fall into the realm of over-renovating, if you are doing updates, you need…

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