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One bad decision pays for the designer

6 Common Mistakes New Decorators Make

09/24/2018
15 Comments

Here are 6 common mistakes new decorators make. Are you guilty of making one of these mistakes in your home? Don’t worry, I’m also sharing how to fix it.  6 Common Mistakes New Decorators Make We’ll start with some of the common mistakes I see and end with the biggest and most common mistake at…

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10 Steps For Planning a Timeless New Build

01/26/2018
41 Comments

Are you building a new home? There’s a lot of decisions to be made and you may be wondering what you need to choose first. Here are 10 steps (and more importantly, the order of decisions) for planning your new build.  {source} In January and February we’re unusually busy in our eDesign department working on…

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The Real Cost of DIY Advice

06/09/2015
56 Comments

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately: why is it that so many of us don’t seek out professional advice until there’s an emergency on our doorsteps? Why do we so unquestioningly pay for certain services, like dentistry or health care, but then think we can do it ourselves when it comes to others, like home renovations?

When is the best time to hire a professional to save ourselves the most money?

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What Women Want vs. Men (In a House)

10/14/2014
25 Comments

Overheard at a birthday party with some of my designer friends last weekend: “When I work with builders I always tell them that WOMEN buy houses, not men.” Men want a large TV room {via pinterest} A Garage {via pinterest} Isn’t this amazing! Now this is an organized person! {source} And, No Nagging! {via pinterest} Women want above…

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Why You’ve Never Had a Good Contractor

11/21/2013
53 Comments

Obviously this statement doesn’t apply to everyone, but I’ve heard it a few times lately from clients. And I’ve been thinking about why. And since that’s what I do best – figure out the answer to the question why – I’ve come up with a theory. Here it is: Since I’m a decorator and not…

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5 Best Ways to Choose your Roof Colour

10/08/2013

If the first thing you notice is the colour of the roof when you drive up to your house, that’s a good indication that it may not be the right choice. Here are the 5 best ways to choose your roof colour.  If the first thing you notice is the colour of the roof when…

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Learn to be Bossy Yet Charming

09/08/2013
34 Comments

This is a post written by Irene Hill, my Design Associate: It’s been two years since I’ve started working with Maria and it’s been about the same amount of time since I had a paying client, but occasionally I get an emergency call from a friend. Just recently my phone rang with a plea for…

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From Backyard Shed to Design Studio

08/04/2013
57 Comments

We converted an old shed in my backyard into my interior design studio. See the complete transformation here. The transformation of my design studio is so amazing that it needs few words. Converting a backyard shed into a design studio Above is how it looked the day we took possession of our house. This is…

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Danger: Your Designer has Left the Building

07/21/2013
72 Comments

Have you ever had this happen to you? You hire a designer, consult with them on all the decisions you need to make. All is well. They leave, and then the contractor, painter, tiler. . . in other words the trades who will be executing your project, arrive on the scene. You tell them what…

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First Rule of Design: Boring Now Equals Timeless Later

06/28/2013
85 Comments

In June 2013 when I was working on my landscape transformation, I was at the Nursery and I called Mary Anne White (my Landscape Designer) because I was shopping for Hostas and this was how our conversation went: “Mary Anne, I’m here and there are so many beautiful Hostas, I can’t decide! There’s yellow ones, I…

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