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Provence Painted Mirror, Part Two

Tuesday, June 18th, 2013

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How was your weekend? I wanted to share with you how my bedroom mirror project I started last week here:

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Ended up turning out. I purchased more of the Chalk Paint® (ASCP) Provence paint to finish the job:

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I loved the color of the Provence, but I decided that I wanted something a little lighter in color. I tried mixing different parts of the Chalk Paint® Provence with Chalk Paint® Old White until I found the perfect color mixture:

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The mixture I was happy with was with one part Provence to three parts Old White. Perfect! See how nice it works with my bedroom fabric?:

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Love it. My original plan was to rub some of the color Chalk Paint® Aubusson Blue over the finish to bring in some of the dark blue of the fabric, but I just wasn’t loving it:

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I like the clean look better, don’t you? It was easy to paint over the blue. You have to experiment and try different techniques, right? So after one coat of the mixed paint, I rubbed on the Clear Wax, waited 24 hours to dry and then buffed to a beautiful shine:

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I’m really happy with it! The lighter color works so much better in the room instead of the Chalk Paint® Antibes. The Magic of Paint! Still a few more projects, but I love how the bedroom is all coming together:

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I have this on my husband’s bedside table:

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A different way to display using books slid sideways as pedestals. Isn’t the house and mushroom so cute? There is a local store here in North Conway, NH where these little houses are made individually by special, disabled adults. They are all so sweet that I can never make up my mind which to buy!

I hope you enjoyed my mirror redesign project. So easy to do and it really is perfect!

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

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Posted in Bedrooms, color, DIY Projects, Interior Decorating, Kelly's Best Colors, Painted Furniture, reuse | No Responses »
Tags: Antibes, ASCP, bedroom, blue, Chalk Paint® Provence, color, decorating, Decorating ideas, mxing ascp colors together, Old White, update

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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Posted in Bedrooms, ben moore, Dear Kelly, Decorating Hints & Tips, Interior Decorating, Kelly's Best Colors, Paint Color Selection Help | 3 Responses »
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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Posted in ben moore, Dear Kelly, Decorating Hints & Tips, Interior Decorating, Kelly's Best Colors, Living Rooms, Paint Color Selection Help | 4 Responses »
Tags: ben moore, Ben Moore Luxe, Ben Moore Montpelier, Ben Moore Storm, blue, color, help selecting paint colors, paint selection, update

Stained Trim Color Consultation

Monday, April 29th, 2013

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I know that I have used this picture above before, but I just love this room with the stained trim, wall color, Chesterfield sofa and that fabulous rug!

I went on a local color consultation today to an older home with dark stained trim. Beautiful home, it just needs a little color love and updating:

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The furniture is staying so we have to work with it. The homeowner thought the only color that would work was maroon or burgundy:

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I did show her a color sample how the burgundy would look and she was not happy with it. I pulled out a medium blue gray, Benjamin Moore Stillwater, 1650:

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She loved it! She never even noticed the blue in the sofa before.What I really loved was how well it looked against the dark trim:

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Beautiful! She loves it and I think it will make a huge difference in the room with the furniture and trim. Whenever I am consulting with stained trim, I always start with the mid-tone colors, which you can read about more here. I hope she will invite me to come back for after pictures.

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Another recent consultation was for a kitchen with oak cabinets:

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Ben Moore Agave AF-420 was chosen and it looks great! Agave has just the right amount of yellow in it that really works well with the oak cabinets. She also has dark woodworking and look at how pretty it is with the Agave:

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I hope I have shown you how unlimited your color choices can be when you are working with stained trim. Keep in the mid-to deeper range of colors and I think that will help you find that perfect wall color.

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

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Posted in Interior Decorating, Kelly's Best Colors, Living Rooms, Paint Color Selection Help | 6 Responses »
Tags: ben moore, Ben Moore Agave, Ben Moore Stillwater, blue, color, colors for stained trim, living room, paint selection, painting, update