October, 2011

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Designing a Bedroom in the Basement

Monday, October 31st, 2011

Happy Halloween everyone! I told you about our big move into our new condo recently. One of the conditions on finding a place was that we needed to figure out a space for our 20 year old son Kyle, that still lives at home with us. Main issue: Privacy. For him as well as my husband and I!

So we designed my son’s new bedroom in the basement where there was plenty of private space. This is how it looked before:

My husband could have built room himself (he is very handy like that), but time was a crucial issue- we wanted Kyle in his own space as soon as possible! So we had a carpenter come in and sheet rock the walls and install a ceiling:

The more we worked on it, the more I wish it was my room! Great natural lighting (which he does not even appreciate), a place for a sofa (nap time!) and plenty of room to spread out. I had Kyle pick the color out of the Ben Moore fandeck and he choose Stillwater 1650:

A beautiful blue. It took us most of the weekend to finish painting the walls and trim. I choose Cloud White for the trim color because it looks so fresh and clean next to the dark blue wall color:

What a great room this is turning out to be! I think I especially love it because of all the sunlight in the room. Maybe you have an area in your basement that would make a great space just for you??

Before painting:

And after:

I had to stage it a little! haha

He already told me thanks but no thanks on helping him decorate the room. He will do it all himself. OK then. (Actually I am glad he wants to do himself!) He did not like that I had staged the picture on his pillows for my photos. But it’s for the good of the blog Kyle!

Have you tackled any painting projects lately?

If you need help designing your space, contact me today. Thanks for dropping by! I have to go get ready for the trick-or-treaters now!!

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Posted in Bedrooms, Before & After Pictures, ben moore, Interior Decorating | 6 Responses »
Tags: basement, bedroom, ben moore, blue, color, paint selection, painting, update

Sweet Nurseries

Saturday, October 29th, 2011

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A reader wrote and asked if I could please post a few pictures of baby nurseries I’ve seen to help her with ideas and inspiration. This one’s for you Missy!:

designer Finnian's Moon Interiors in Alexandria, VA

beach_cottage

Look how gorgeous:

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Wow. I never had a nursery for my kids like this, did you?

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Amazing! Love it.

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How sweet!!

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Made for a princess:

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I hope these photos gave you some good ideas Missy. I really enjoyed posting them. They are so adorable and precious. Good luck with everything! xo Kelly

All photos from pinterest. I hope you all enjoyed! Which was your favorite? Hard to choose but I think the first picture is my favorite! idk! Maybe the gray & white!? The coral room? All so beautiful.

If you need help creating a sweet nursery for your home, contact me today.

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Posted in Bedrooms, Interior Decorating | 1 Response »
Tags: baby nurseries

Top Five Tips to Understanding Beige Undertones

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

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1) Determine the undertone. All beige colors have either a red/pink, yellow, green or orange undertone. Period. That’s all you have to understand and learn. The color examples I have chosen below have very obvious undertones to help you ‘see’ the color underneath.

stonehouse 1039 red undertones shelburne buff hc-28 yellow undertones

orange undertones manchester tan hc-81 green undertones

2) Remember to Compare. The easiest way to see the undertones in beige is by comparing the color to another beige that you know the undertone is either red, yellow, green or orange. Illustrated above are good examples of the undertones. Pick up a sample of each and carry them with you to help you compare to each other.

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3) Understand the color red. The most difficult beige undertone to work with is:

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Red. Those red undertones just do not play well with others! Especially pinky beige with yellow beige because the yellow beige ends up looking ‘dirty’ next to the pinky beige. I have found the best colors to work with a red/pink beige are browns, cream and dark blues.

House Beautiful

4) Know which undertones to mix to create a unified room. To create the best put together, coordinated look when mixing undertones is to keep the red undertones with red undertones, yellow with yellow, green with green and orange with orange undertones.

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5) Practice makes perfect! The good news is that after you learn what is not working in a room with the undertones, you will be able to correct the mistake. Take a look at your carpet (is it a pinky beige?) and compare it to the beautiful Powell Buff that you painted your walls. Now that you have learned that pinky beige and yellow beige do not work together you can easily ‘fix’ the whole rooms looks by changing the wall color to a pinky beige also, such as shaker beige hc-45.

So I hope this helped you understand beige colors and their undertones better. If you want to be a color superstar like me, you have to take Maria’s True Color Expert workshop!

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Coffee Table Love

Sunday, October 23rd, 2011

I know the popular trend lately has been to use an ottoman in front of the sofa instead of a coffee table.

They can be beautiful and I guess it is nice to have somewhere to put your feet up and relax. But… I have never really trusted those little trays you use on the ottoman that are supposed to hold your beverages to not tip over and spill. Do you?

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