Kelly’s Best Colors

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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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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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Best Selling Benjamin Moore Greens

Friday, March 15th, 2013


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In honor of St.Patrick’s Day, I thought I would share with you Ben Moore’s top selling greens. I was actually surprised at the green selections, because it is more of a list of colors with green undertones, rather than pure green. Below are some examples:

November Rain 2142-60 :

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The above photos highlight an understated green with grey tones (or an understated grey with green undertones).

Saybrook Sage HC-114:

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Again, this color can be classified as a green with grey undertones, or a gray with green undertones. The color looks dark in the Ben Moore fan deck, but as you can see above, the brighter the room, the lighter the color will look.

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Gray Mirage 2142-50:

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Another greenish gray color, Gray Mirage is a favorite neutral of Candace Olson.

Here is a pretty sage green color:

Soft Fern 2144-40:

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Did you notice that all of these greens are cooler greens (not warm)?

Camouflage 2143-40:

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Camouflage is a pretty, very beige-green color.

Guilford Green HC-117:

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And last but not least:

Wythe Blue HC-143:

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A couple of my favorite greens right now?

Georgian Green HC-115:

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A beautiful color with stained trim and darker furniture.

Agave:

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Agave (AF-420), Eternity (AF-695), Solitude (AF-545)

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Agave works very well with oak cabinets!

Have you used any of these best selling greens lately? What is one of your favorite greens to use?

To see all of the greens and all of their other colors, visit Benjamin Moore’s Color Gallery.

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

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White Bedding

Saturday, February 9th, 2013


Great color combination and I love the placement of the sunburst mirror!

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As I began my search for bed linens to dress up our new bed, I already knew that I wanted white bedding as my base. I knew that because I noticed that my favorite  bedroom photos seem to all have one thing in common:

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White bed linens. The white looks great no matter what other colors are in the room or what style:

Quilt Headboard

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I bought a quilt and two shams from West Elm to go with my king bed:

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So soft and pretty! There are tons of possibilities with colors, patterns and textures you can work with when you have a white base on the bed. Don’t you agree? Plus, it will always be easy to change the room colors in the future and the white bedding will still work well.

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white bed spread with colorful comforter folded on the end

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Do you use white bedding on your bed?

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

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