3 Ways to Update a Brand New House
04/21/2011Whenever I am with a client either on the phone virtually (like the following house in Omaha) or in person and I announce that the carpet, backsplash or sofa (for example) has a—gasp–pink undertone, my clients almost always react the same way—oh no, what do we do now!
ouse is brand new!”. I replied, ‘”Here’s how you know this kitchen is NOT current, you will never find it in a magazine from 2011”. That was all the confirmation Laura needed (and luckily her husband agreed). She set about painting all the oak woodwork including the kitchen white and here are the results!
In Praise of (Latte) Pink Beige
02/06/2011source Anyone who regularly reads my blog knows how I feel about pink beige (and now the 17 True Colour Experts from my class these past 3 days can see it a mile away as well) you’ll never find it in any of my interiors. And it’s because it’s the most limiting undertone to work with….
If you already have a granite countertop, you may be wondering what backsplash tile looks best? Most people instantly assume that the best backsplash to coordinate with a granite countertop is a tile with a pattern. The problem? You won’t likely find another pattern that matches or coordinates with your granite, so here’s what you…
What Everyone Should Know about Fan Decks
11/24/2010Have you ever looked at a darker or lighter colour on a strip of colours from a fan deck and thought “That doesn’t look right’. Well, you were probably correct. To choose colours accurately, you need to rely on your colour trained eye (or your colour designer) to find a colour in the deck that…
Ugly Costs the Same as Pretty
10/14/2010There’s a moment where maybe you realize you’ve gone too far. You’ve made some purchases already or a design decision about a finish, and you realize that you’re maybe in over your head. You’ve chosen a few things that you like, but now you’re not sure how to pull it altogether. Or maybe you’re stuck…
When Pink Beige works on Exterior
07/24/2010I had the best day today, I kept jumping out of the car taking pictures of the painted ladies in San Francisco–way more fun for me than a museum. I was in colour heaven! You all know how I feel about pink beige. Here it is with orange. See how dirty it looks? A yellow…
Are your Colours Married?
05/10/2010You know the old “There should be a minimum of 3, maximum 4 colours in any room before it’s just a mess” rule? Well I’m exaggerating here but truly, wall colour is the same. If you have tile or stone that already has 4-5 colours in it. . . and sometimes (I know if you’re…
Is Travertine Pink or Yellow?
02/21/2010Last week I flew to Houston to help a client (in the middle of her renovation) with a colour dilemma. Before she called me, she had interviewed 3 designers and the local paint store consultant had also been to her house to talk about colour. Photo by Maria Killam (We tweaked the exterior colour too,…
How a Smart Colour Choice can Save you Money
01/09/2010Yesterday I had lunch with a former student who is also a painter and has done some work for me (she is excellent). I asked her how involved she gets in helping clients with colour and she says many of them totally rely on her expertise. She told me that one lesson she took away…
Does a Nice Neutral Exist?
01/07/2010I helped one of my former students [Amber Beall] get a position as a Colour Designer at a local Benjamin Moore store here in town. We have become great friends and recently met for dinner. She said “I get so tired of hearing, ‘I just want a nice neutral’, because there is no such thing’”….
What Everyone should know about Gray
11/16/2009Since gray is the new brown, I have been hearing all kinds of reactions about how cold it is, with people (including designers) declaring: ‘I would NEVER decorate with gray’. I even had a reader who sent me an email asking about a statement a designer had made, ‘You can’t mix two neutrals together; therefore, brown and gray can’t…
I imagine you’ve heard of the 80/20 rule before, but did you know it can be applied to paint colours? Because, when you know the right 20% of paint colours, that’s all you need. Period. So, you can stop searching Google or Pinterest for the most popular paint colour. The Pareto Principle It’s called ‘The…
My large painted colour boards are such an important guide for choosing colour, that I’ve decided to show you how to make them. But you can save yourself some trouble and buy my curated collection of large painted colour boards here. They are reusable and portable so you can move them around the room and…
My monthly newsletter is going out this week and if you are not already a subscriber to my blog you will receive the top 5 posts of each month along with a unique article that will not be posted on my blog. Source This month the article is “How to know if the Tile…
Yesterday I arrived at a consultation and my client (who was a referral) said “I know you chose a lot of colour for my friend’s condo, but I prefer neutrals”. It had me realize that some people have the perception that neutrals do not fall into the category of ‘colour’. I’m here to tell you…
Hi, I’m Maria
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