Decorating Hints & Tips

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Decorating Ideas for That Wall Behind the Loo

Monday, June 3rd, 2013

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A frequently asked question when I am working with someone on their bathroom (powder room) design is what to put on the wall behind the toilette:

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Personally, I am not a fan of the bathroom étagère’:

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It just looks a bit dated to me. I also am not crazy about the look of a tiny, glass shelf or one small piece of artwork. Like my decorating rule throughout the rest of the home, I think bigger is better:

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Look how great this mural looks:

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I love the look of a large piece of unexpected art in the bathroom. I always advise if using smaller artwork, try to use a couple pieces to go up the wall like I did here:

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How far should you hang above the toilet? Just like the wall behind the sofa, do not hang pictures up too high as if they are floating in the air. Remember to think of it as a grouping, in this case the toilet is part of the group:

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A good rule is to follow is to keep the top of picture below the top of mirror.

One of my favorite new looks is using chunky shelves. I like the substantial weight of them, much better than the small little glass shelves. Don’t you agree?:

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I also like the idea of a towel rack if it is next to the shower:

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Your bathroom is a part of your home. This room is often overlooked in our design plans. But it should not be left out if you care enough to make the rest of your home beautiful. What do you think of this display of art?:

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I hope I have given you some inspirational ideas you can use for that wall behind the loo!

If you need help decorating your home, contact me today.

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Posted in Dear Kelly, Decorating Hints & Tips, Interior Decorating | 1 Response »
Tags: decorating ideas behind the toilet, decorating the bathroom

Perfect Peonies

Saturday, June 1st, 2013

I love flowers, especially peonies. Raspberry peonies are my favorite flowers in the whole world!:

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When my home is professionally photographed, you will see simple arrangements of peonies on my table:

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Yesterday I stopped by a little herb and plant farm for the first time in search of fresh peonies:

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But as you can see from my pictures, I was about three days early:

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But her gardens were so pretty, I do not mind having to go back:

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Such a beautiful place! They sell herb plants and cut flowers. The cut peonies are only $1.00 each- I am going back next week and getting an armload! And they even have three mascots walking around:

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On my way home, I stopped at a friend’s and her peonies were blossoming like crazy:

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She let me cut a few and I came home and played:

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A little tip I learned about irises- when the flower begins to die:

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Just snap it off to make room for the new blooms:

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I think they look best when grouped together in one color:

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Or not one color is very pretty too:

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One great decorating idea I want to give you is using a white pitcher vase for flowers. Since I purchased, it is my favorite vase to use. Right now I have the vase filled with lilacs:

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The flowers look even better in this white vase! I am so glad I bought it.These lilacs are on their way out. They lasted almost a week with changing the water and cutting the stems every other day. I can’t wait until I fill with my raspberry peonies! I will post a picture. Just remember before you bring in your peonies, dunk them in cold water and shake gently to get all of those little ants out!

Don’t you love peonies? Are they your favorites too? I hope you enjoyed. Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

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Tags: decorating with peonies, peonies

Big Girl’s Bedroom

Wednesday, May 29th, 2013

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I recently completed an online design plan for a mom who’s daughter will be celebrating her thirteenth birthday in June. Mom wants to surprise her with a new bedroom look while she is off visiting her Dad for the weekend. We started with the duvet cover she found at Pottery Barn:

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Isn’t it so pretty? Mom contacted me because she wondered if she should paint the walls in a white or beige because there is so much color in the bedding:

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Definitely not beige, because we are working with a white background in the duvet (clean vs. dirty). Plus, I think painting a white on the walls would make the bed stand out too much in the room. We want a wall color that will enhance the colors of the bedding:

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There are a lot of colors to choose from in the duvet! But since the room is going to be for a young girl, here are a couple suggestions I thought of right away:

Ben Moore Faded Violet CSP-455:

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Ben Moore Pinot Grigio Grape CSP-460:

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Ben Moore Santa Clara 753:

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Ben Moore In The Tropics CSP-640:

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Ben Moore Spa Day CSP-635:

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I always give suggestions of colors that might look close in color because the next step is important where the home owner has to pick up samples and see which shade is working best with the actual fabric. Mom did not want to even look at lime greens which would also work. So we narrowed it down to these few choices and now it is her turn to see which color works best. I also gave her a safe color:

Ben Moore Nimbus Gray 2131-50:

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A beautiful color but remember this is a teen’s room! I think we need some personality on the walls!

I am excited to see which color she chooses. I would love to help pick out other accessories for the room (mirror, little chandelier, artwork). Hint, hint!!

Which color do you think will look great on the walls with her bedding? I know she will be happy with any of the choices!

If you need help choosing paint colors for your home, contact me today.

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Tags: bedroom, ben moore, color, paint selection, painting, Pottery Barn, turquoise, update

A Rug Sets the Color Stage

Thursday, May 16th, 2013

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A reader recently wrote and asked if I would help choose a paint color for her new living room redesign. This is the rug she recently purchased to work with her tan sofa:

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She wondered if she should use a tan/beige color on the walls or not. I told her to visualize what it would be like to see your tan sofa up against a tan wall. I think that it might end up making the room look a little boring and not offer any contrast:

Classic style kitchen and dining room interior in beige pastoral colors

Also, think of how dark the rug will stand out in your room. Optimally, all your furnishing should work ‘together’ to make the room cohesive including your walls, floors and large furnishings.

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Imagine how bottom heavy this room above would be with a dark rug on the floor. So what colors should we look at for the walls?

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I would not suggest black for the walls, so that leaves us with blues and purples and/or grays. Here were a couple of my suggestions to get samples of to see how well it works with the rug:

Benjamin Moore Montpelier AF- 555:

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Kelly Bernier Design

Benjamin Moore Luxe AF-580:

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Kelly Bernier Design

And one more color suggestion is Storm AF-700 which is a beautiful gray which depending on the light, can also look like a pretty blue or a soft lilac-blue color:

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I have used all three colors and they are beautiful wall colors. We will have to wait and see which color works best with her new rug and tan sofa. Then she has to paint a large sample board to see how it looks with her different lighting. We do not want the walls to look too purple. Do you have any other color suggestions? Love to hear them! I will be sure to post which color was the winner.

If you need help selecting paint colors for your home, contact me today.

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Tags: ben moore, Ben Moore Luxe, Ben Moore Montpelier, Ben Moore Storm, blue, color, help selecting paint colors, paint selection, update