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Maria Killam

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The 6-Step Formula Behind Every Beautiful Dining Room

7/02/2026

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Hi, I'm Maria

I'm the creator of The Killam Colour System® and a pioneer of virtual colour consulting since 2010. I've trained thousands of design professionals and guided more than 10,000 colour projects. Here, I teach homeowners and design professionals how to choose timeless finishes and decorate the home they actually want to live in.

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Can you believe we’re already heading into July? This week is an extra special one as our friends, neighbors, and community members across North America gear up for some of the biggest celebrations of the summer.

Whether you are firing up the grill for Canada Day on July 1st 🇨🇦 or setting up the lawn chairs for the 4th of July 🇺🇸, my team and I want to wish you and your family a fantastic, safe, and joyful holiday week!

The steps to a beautiful dining room

Most people assume a beautiful dining room starts with an expensive dining table.

It doesn’t.

Over the past 25 years I’ve discovered there’s a sequence to decorating a dining room, and once you understand that sequence, decorating becomes dramatically easier. In this week’s one-day makeover, I’m walking you through the exact six-step formula I use to transform dining rooms again and again.

You know that feeling of standing in your dining room knowing something isn’t right but having no idea what to fix? The table is fine. The chairs are fine. You’ve got a cabinet against one wall and maybe a buffet against another, and the whole room still feels like a collection of furniture instead of a room. It’s not that you don’t have taste, you just need the right steps.

This week’s makeover was for Terreeia’s best friend Terry and his wife Marcia. When I walked in, they had cabinets everywhere, dishes from decades of life, and no plan. By the end of one day, the dining room was so transformed that when I showed someone the after photos yesterday, they thought it was AI.

It wasn’t. It was the same six-step formula I run every single time. Yes the image above is a sneak peek!!??

The best part? We kept the homeowners’ well-loved dining table—even though it was scratched, chipped and covered with family memories.

If you’ve ever looked at your dining room and felt like something was missing, this video will show you what comes next.

Watch the makeover below and see the six-step formula in action.

Related posts:

5 Common Decorating Mistakes in the Dining Room

Refresh your Dining Room; Before & After

Should my Kitchen and Dining room Match?

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Hi, I'm Maria

Maria Killam is the leading authority on practical colour for real homes. Through her proven Killam Colour System®, she teaches homeowners and design professionals how to choose timeless finishes and get colour right the first time.

eDesign

Timeless

Neutral Undertones

Colour Trends

Bathrooms

Kitchens

Decorating Advice

know what works
and why

Life’s too short to live in a home you don’t love, and it’s too expensive to start from scratch when you don’t have to.

 Let me help you make confident colour decisions for every project in your home.

About Maria

Maria Killam pioneered virtual colour consulting in 2010, long before the industry caught on. She's trained thousands of design professionals since, guided more than 10,000 virtual colour and design projects, and is the creator of The Killam Colour System® and the Understanding Undertones® Neutral Colour Wheel.

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