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Colour Trends

How to Take Charge of Your Bossy Tile

05/18/2015
22 Comments

When we walked into our room at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport last May, I declared, “This room was decorated BEFORE the brown trend!” It’s a game I like to play with anyone who will listen everywhere I go. What’s the dead giveaway? The colour of the wood-stained furniture: it was all orange and yellow with no…

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Should my Kitchen and Dining Room Match?

05/07/2015
37 Comments

Are you wondering if your kitchen and dining room should match? This is such a common decorating dilemma. See what advice I share with one of my readers.  I’m am a big fan and follower of your “Ask Maria” series. I’ve never done anything like this before so I thought I’d give it a go….

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The Trends You Need to Know Right Now for 2016

04/22/2015
81 Comments

I’m back from High Point Market, the furnishing-industry-only tradeshow that showcases and forecasts upcoming trends in home decor. It’s one of my favourite shows to visit because it means I can tell you all about what’s trendy, and then hear from you about whether you’re going to put it in your own home. Want to know what’s coming up for next year? I know you do.

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Where Chic Designers and Retailers Meet

04/18/2015
2 Comments

At High Point for the furniture show! Where else? ; ) Want to know the biggest difference between a designer sofa and one you buy from a big box store? The quality of the fabric and texture. There’s no microfibre here. See that sofa my friend Traci Zeller is sitting on? That’s what I’m talking…

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How to Update your House From the Tuscan Brown Trend

04/02/2015
14 Comments

I was recently in a Mediterranean style home that had been built and decorated completely inside the Tuscan Brown Trend. Dark (pink beige & butterscotch) Travertine floors throughout the main floor, yellow/gold granite countertops, dark wood stained cabinets throughout, yellow walls everywhere and 8 bathrooms outfitted in very expensive finishes, most with conflicting colours in floors and countertops. My…

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Grey is OUT! (Maybe) The Colour Trend is IN!

03/15/2015
42 Comments

I’ve talked a lot about trends lately, and I know many people out there are confused. When it comes to grey, specifically, we are all eager to know: Is it in? is it out?  I‘ve figured out an easier way to explain it: {via Pinterest} I’m going to stop calling it The Grey Trend and start calling it…

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Ask Maria: How Do You Keep Up with Current Trends? And, is Gray Out?

02/05/2015
24 Comments

I recently received this question about trends:

“I have decided to look for a new position and each job posting requests being ‘up-to-date with current trends and products.’ I understand wanting this skill but I am curious how you keep up-to-date with current products, materials, trends, etc. I try to read a lot, visit show homes (which in reality, by the time they are built, new trends and materials are already available) and I join as many webinars as possible.

I’m curious if you have a favourite website, author, magazine, seminar, stores to keep yourself current. I know you enjoy Pinterest but is there more? Would love for you to include this in one of your blogs.

[Here’s something] interesting. I am reading your White is Complicated book and received a design email yesterday stating that gray is no longer ‘in.’ However, in Calgary, Alberta, gray is still very popular!

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News from WithIt & Trends from Las Vegas Furniture Market

01/20/2015
39 Comments

So I didn’t win, but one of my favourite people did. Deb Barrett won the education award. She is a designer and window coverings expert, she’s written three books and she has also coached and trained design professionals in the industry for many years. I was lucky enough to sit beside her on the shuttle from High Point…

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Maria Killam’s Trend Forecast for 2015

01/02/2015
41 Comments

The look of 2015 is dramatic, modern, and rich. How was your holiday? I am rested and rejuvinated and excited to see what the New Year has in store!  Back to the gym too, it’s fun to eat whatever you want during the holidays but it’s time to stop having a chocolate for desert at…

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Black as an Accent Colour

11/21/2014
35 Comments

What’s my best tip for decorating with black? Make sure you use it as an accent colour.  Remember how much black there was in home decor in the 80s? It seemed like every entertainment center, dining table and chairs, leather sofas and glossy coffee tables were ALL BLACK. It was too much. Now that black…

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3 Ways to Use Fresh to Sell Design

11/04/2014
46 Comments

  Hi everyone, I want to share a little tip about what your clients are really looking for (even though they might not even know it yet). Occasionally I receive comments or emails like this: “We aren’t ALL interested in introducing fresh into our homes, Maria!” “Please don’t exclude those of us who still prefer warm, earthy…

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2015 Trend Alert: Olive Green from High Point

10/18/2014
36 Comments

Today was my first day at High Point Market! Jam packed with all kinds of educational opportunities as well as events, so many products to see, it was fun and very busy! I’m starting off with this image because it was the first thing that greeted us at the Kravet party in the afternoon, I loved…

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How to Coordinate Unusual Colour Combinations

10/12/2014
50 Comments

{More funny texts from moms} It’s 5:00 AM and my phone pings with a text from my Mom: “Come for coffee now! I’m up but I’ll nap later”. (Except she writes it in Finnish, I can read it but do not ask me to have a conversation in Finnish, that’s where my dual language ability ends)….

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