Sharon, one of my lovely True Colour Experts, recently finished a renovation and complete redecoration of a dated 1990’s home. The project turned out so special and beautiful that I asked her if I could share it with you and she generously agreed. Sharon is a talented decorating enthusiast who… Continue Reading →
This guest post is written by Tricia Firmaniuk, my talented virtual design assistant. I’m always saying (and teaching) that the days of different colours in every room are over. Now, the current trend is one main neutral throughout with colour in rooms like the powder room, dining room and bedrooms,… Continue Reading →
Often when I see a Persian or oriental area rug, I think DATED. In fact, I have an Ask Maria post about this very subject where I simply told my reader “This rug will NEVER be amazing”. Well, as I have said many times in this blog (often in the comments) I’m willing to… Continue Reading →
How do you choose the colour of your front door? Well if you have a white or cream house (or another pretty neutral shade) without any fixed elements, technically, your options are endless. But are they? The way to create flow from the outside to the inside is to look… Continue Reading →
My favourite part of the decorating process the styling. I love how a vase of flowers, along with some well distributed accent colours, can transform so many interiors into ‘Wow it looks like a magazine’. My sweet freelance writer and editor of both my eBooks Irene Hill, had a main floor that needed some… Continue Reading →
I often receive emails like this: Hello Maria, I retired a couple of years ago and I have been taking interior design classes at the local community college. I would love to take your color workshop. Do you think this would be beneficial for a novice, Interior Design student? This… Continue Reading →
Jeffrey Bilhuber When I saw this Ask Maria question, I immediately thought of Jeffrey Bilhuber’s recent spread in House Beautiful Magazine. The answer to your question today lovely reader, is inspired by my favourite decorator. Here’s the question: I recently moved with my husband into our first house! I have… Continue Reading →
Today’s guest post is from Claire Jefford, a True Colour Expert and certified interior decorator from Burlington, Ontario. Claire’s got an interesting designer solution for those of you dealing with awkward structural elements in your home, like bulkheads in the basement. Want to know what it is?
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… Continue Reading →
Today’s post is about decorating with charcoal, really important to know since it’s such a popular neutral right now!
If you have a charcoal sofa (just like during the brown trend, when most neutral-loving shoppers purchased a brown one) it’s time for me to help you bring this colour to life.
Why?
Lynda was moving into this pretty little house in a new subdivision: She needed some help with a new colour scheme and was stuck on wall colours. One on-line consultation with me and she had a plan. Lynda had some existing furniture and artwork she wanted to work with, and she sent… Continue Reading →
My Mom knew the colour of the year before I did. About a week ago, I saw her knitting a scarf, and I said “Mom, that’s such an old, dated colour, are you really going to knit a scarf in that colour?” “Well, I found this yarn and decided it… Continue Reading →
Today we’ve driven almost entirely around the North side of the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island. These were the muskoka chairs sitting outside the B&B we stayed at in Maitland. I love that so many people have one chair of each colour. This is the main house that was built… Continue Reading →
Paula from Salad in a Jar hired me in April for an on-line consultation to help with colours and decorating updates on her house. Two hours later, she had a plan and three months later, here is the fabulous result! This is what she said: “Thank-you again for helping me a few… Continue Reading →
This readers question is such a great example of a lesson we can all learn from because I think we can get a little too used to looking at our own stuff and stop seeing it objectively. The answer here is not an inexpensive fix, but if you want to move forward, start counting… Continue Reading →
Getting your white right on the exterior and interior of your house is critical. For a blue or red house, it’s the difference between your house looking nautical or heritage. Red with White Trim { Nautical} Notice how nautical this house looks (above) and of course it helps that there’s… Continue Reading →
