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Warming Up With Neutrals

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

A few months ago, I received a call from a homeowner who needed help choosing colors for her home. Pat, the homeowner, had many collections in her home that she has made and also collected over the years:

All of her furnishings were in great condition and were going to stay. This made my job easier since I just had to select colors for existing furnishings with my large color samples from Maria:

We started in the living room and I used the largest upholstered piece in the room to begin looking at colors. Pat and I had decided at the beginning on the consult that we were going to use warm, soft neutrals to bring everything in the room together and also to highlight her collections.

Living Room before painting:

Living room after painting with BEN Moore Monroe Bisque HC-26:

See how the room looks softer? Monroe Bisque is a soft, yellow beige that matches perfectly with the cream flowers in the sofa.

If you are seeing green on the walls in the photos, you are not mistaken! Depending on the light and time of day, Monroe Bisque can look green at times.

Pat carried the Monroe Bisque into the hallway:

Here is a before picture of a sunny breakfast room:

After painting with Ben Moore Palladian Blue HC-144:

Such a pretty room! I suggested using a large mirror on the wall across from the window to open up the room and bring the light in.

Below is a picture of the den before:

And after painting Ben Moore Santorini Blue 1634:

Before:

So pretty after painting:

Below is a before and after picture of one of my favorite rooms in the home. I used the quilt on the to select the color for this room. Guest room before:

Guest room after:

We used ben Moore Georgian Green HC-115 (one of my new favorite colors!). See how the wall color just makes the whole room come together? That is the magic of paint!

Thank you so much Pat for sending me the pictures! I love to see the after photos after a color consultation. I hope you all enjoyed! What a difference a little paint can make!

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

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Posted in Bedrooms, Before & After Pictures, ben moore, color, Dear Kelly, Interior Decorating, Kelly's Best Colors, Living Rooms, Paint Color Selection Help | 8 Responses »
Tags: bedroom, before & after, ben moore, blue, color, Geiorgian Green, hallway, living room, monroe bisque, neutrals, paint selection, painting, Palladain Blue, Santorini Blue, update

The Magic of Paint – For Wood Paneling

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

After: Light and Airy Coastal Living

Are you still stuck in this man’s world?

google

Do you still have walls or ceilings in your home with wood paneling?

Before:

Before: Outdated Living Room

Are you still afraid to paint over?

After:

After: Polished and Modern

Today it is actually very easy to paint over the wood.

Before: Distracting Elements

A fresh coat of white paint ( and a downsized fireplace):

After: Simplistic View

Pretty amazing what paint can do.

Space-saving Kitchen: Before

Space-saving Kitchen: After Coastal Living

So, you decided you like the clean, white surrounding instead of the dreary, dark wood background. Look how easy the steps are today:

1) Clean. You MUST clean the paneling well first. It is not a waste of time, you never know what is layered on that old wood! TSP is a good product I use that cleans surfaces in preparation for painting. It removes grease, oil, sooty dirt and prepares painted surfaces for repainting.

Homeowner’s used to want to fill in the cracks of paneling with compound and then sand it down to get that smooth finished wall. It is a very time consuming job plus it runs the risk of cracking in the future. My advice is to leave the cracks and wood defects alone! I would simply paint the paneling for a look of added depth and texture.

2) Prime. Another step you can not skip. (that’s right, I know who you are). The primer is important because it helps to cover the wall’s imperfections, provides a better surface for the paint to stick to and keeps fresh paint from soaking into patched areas. My top choice for primer is ‘Stix’.

“STIX Bonding Primer A waterborne urethane acrylic bonding primer that strongly bonds to hard, glossy paints and other challenging substrates such as PVC, vinyl, fiberglass, glazed block, tile, pre-coated siding, and galvanized metals. It levels to a smooth film to dramatically improve the topcoat appearance. May be topcoated with latex, alkyd, epoxy, urethane, or lacquer coatings. May be used in interior or exterior applications.” (company ad)

3) Paint. Which color looks best? My favorite painted paneling I have seen in homes and decor magazines are white or cream. To help you narrow down your choices be sure to look at the undertones of your flooring.

apartment therapy

source

white-paneling country living

Look how beautiful this entry is:

Now do you think it’s time?

Before:

mls photo of 1233 Shrader before

After the magic of paint:

mls photo of 1233 Shrader after thefrontsteps.com

It makes the room look so much brighter, cleaner, and full of life. Don’t you agree? Comments?

If you need help updating your home, contact me today!

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Posted in Before & After Pictures, color, Decorating Hints & Tips, Interior Decorating, Kitchens, Living Rooms, Paint Color Selection Help | 9 Responses »
Tags: bedroom, before & after, Decorating ideas, entryway, hallway, Kitchens, living room, paint selection, painting, painting paneling, stix, tsp, update, white kitchens, wood paneling

Before & After Canopy Bed

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Have you ever take an inspirational photograph of a room you love, and try to duplicate it?

There used to be an HGTV show that was based on that idea. They tried to recreate a stunning, expensively designed room on a small budget. Does anyone remember the name of that show? It was on a few years ago.

Well, when I saw this photo below:

I really, really loved it and thought I would give it a try. I bought four white window sheers from JC Penny’s inexpensively at $42.00 . I purchased the 84” length but the 95” would have also worked well.

I took out the two hems (four total), and got out my old but trusty sewing machine and sewed two panels together.

This was the room below before I redecorated. It is another guest room in my NH home. I did like it, I just get this crazy urge to decorate something and then watch out!